Some barriers immigrants cite for not applying for citizenship, advocates say, include a fear that their English-speaking abilities aren't good enough and that the administrative process for applying is too complex.
Carlos Enriquez came to the United States from Colombia about 10 years ago as a tourist, intending to visit Walt Disney World and some friends in Florida. But he liked the United States so much he never left, choosing instead to abandon all his possessions and start over with a new job. Three years ago, Enriquez moved from Florida to Chicago. He bought a condominium, got married and became a father.
During all of this, the 34-year-old insurance agent was a legal permanent resident and did not consider becoming a U.S. citizen. He thought the required test might be too difficult and the application process would be too much work — until he heard talk about a new immigration law.
"I wanted to feel more secure," Enriquez says, adding that he was scared when he heard politicians discuss deportation for illegal immigrants.
"My life is already here, so if you send me to Colombia, I won't know what to do anymore. I don't have friends [there] anymore," Enriquez says. "It was really scary to think about that."
Enriquez met someone who helps immigrants complete citizenship applications, and she convinced him the process wouldn't be difficult. He attended a citizenship workshop where he received help in completing the required paperwork and became a citizen on July 11, 2006. Now he helps others apply through such workshops across Illinois.
Enriquez is one of thousands of legal immigrants who have applied to become U.S. citizens since the issue of immigration reform heated up at the national level. Congress failed to approve an immigration reform measure in late June that focused mostly on illegal immigrants, but that prompted other legal immigrants to seek naturalization.
In Illinois, applications this July outpaced those filed last July by nearly 4,500. Many individuals likely were hoping to beat a July 30 deadline, after which application fees jumped about 69 percent. Still more applied because they feared changes in the test that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to make in the spring of 2008. And many applied so they'll be eligible to vote in the 2008 national election, immigration advocates say.
"I think immigrants and immigrant communities are starting to realize that, if they're going to have a say in American government, and particularly the immigration debate, they're going to have to become citizens and register and vote," says Fred Tsao, policy director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, a Chicago-based immigrants' rights advocacy organization.
The numbers show an upward trend. From October 2006 through June 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services received 770,944 applications from people nationwide seeking to become citizens, says Marilu Cabrera, spokeswoman for the agency's north central region, which is based in Chicago. For the 2006 fiscal year, which ran from October 2005 through September 2006, the agency received 730,642 naturalization applications. In the 2005 fiscal year, the agency received 602,972 applications for citizenship.
The numbers are increasing in Illinois also. In July 2007, Cabrera says, 7,432 Illinois residents applied for citizenship, compared to 2,945 in July 2006.
"We've never seen this number," Cabrera said of the July 2007 figure. "That's very high."
Cabrera predicts the agency will receive more applications nationwide for citizenship by the end of this fiscal year than it did during the last fiscal year. One reason, she says, is the new test. However, Cabrera denies the agency is trying to make the test harder, as some immigrants fear.
"We don't want to fail people on purpose," she says. "We want to make the test more meaningful for those who want to become citizens."
For example, she says the new test might ask people what their rights are as a U.S. citizen, instead of the current test that relies more on memorization skills. The new test was offered as a pilot program in 10 cities across the United States last winter, and 92.9 percent passed the civics portion, while 98.9 percent passed the writing part, Cabrera says.
Applicants are asked 10 questions that test their knowledge of U.S. government and English, Cabrera says. They are given 100 questions to study before the test, and they are asked to answer 10 of those during the test. They must answer six questions correctly to pass. They also are asked to write one sentence in English. They have three chances to write the sentence correctly.
To become a U.S. citizen, an applicant must pass the English and civics test, have no criminal background and have lived in the United States for five years as a legal permanent resident or three years if he or she acquired residency through a spouse who is a U.S. citizen.
Concern about increased fees also pushed the rise in applications. Many immigrant advocacy groups have complained about the higher citizenship application fee, which jumped from $400 to $675. "A 70 percent increase is pretty precipitous," Tsao says, adding that the new $675 fee can be what some people earn working 40 hours a week for four weeks.
But Cabrera notes that the biggest share of the agency's funding comes from fees. The agency receives only about 1 percent of its nearly $2 billion budget in funding from Congress.
"We haven't done this process in a bubble," Cabrera says, adding that the agency sought input from community groups. "But we explained the fact that, in order to provide services, we need to charge what it costs us to process applications.
"We are a fee-based agency and we need to recover the cost of doing business," Cabrera says, adding that the agency also hopes to reduce the processing time for applications. Applicants can seek waivers if they cannot afford the fees.
In Illinois, immigration advocates say more individuals are seeking help with naturalization applications. Through the New Americans Initiative, the state gives grants to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. That group distributes the money to community organizations so they can offer free services to immigrants seeking help with the naturalization process.
The New Americans Initiative, which took effect in 2004, offers workshops at various community organizations, schools, churches or parks where immigrants can get help filling out the required paperwork to apply for U.S. citizenship. Immigrants can have their pictures taken for their applications, consult with lawyers and receive referrals to English and citizenship classes.
More than 26,000 legal permanent residents have received help with their citizenship applications since the first workshop was held in February 2005, says Karla Avila, director of the New Americans Initiative.
At the Instituto del Progreso Latino in Chicago, one of the grantees for the New Americans Initiative, workers were helping two people apply for citizenship every hour during the weeks leading up to the July 30 fee increase. They normally help one person per hour, says Sonia Gaete, the program's citizenship director.
Despite higher fees, Avila hopes legal immigrants continue to apply for citizenship as the 2008 national election draws closer. "That will be the only way we can get immigration reform and elect politicians that are aware of the needs of the immigrant community."
Other citizenship campaigns across the country have prompted people to apply for naturalization, advocates say. In California, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund is part of a multimedia campaign to encourage legal residents to apply for citizenship. The group's representatives say they have received more than 35,000 calls to their citizenship hotline since the campaign started in February.
Some barriers immigrants cite for not applying for citizenship, advocates say, include a fear that their English-speaking abilities aren't good enough and that the administrative process for applying is too complex. But rallies and marches calling attention to immigration reform during the past two years have helped motivate some to apply for citizenship to get the economic and personal security that citizenship would provide, says Javier Angulo, the group's director of civic education.
"I think there's really a sense that Congress has failed the [immigrant] community and people want to do something," Angulo says. "Even legal permanent residency is not secure enough. To be fully secure, you must become a U.S. citizen." U.S. citizens also have greater flexibility in petitioning for family members to come to the United States from other countries and have more employment opportunities, Angulo says.
Immigration reform is still on the national political agenda. "The issue is not going away. Just because the Senate failed to do anything doesn't mean 12 million undocumented citizens will disappear overnight," Tsao says. "We need to take a deep breath and really think through what our policies should be."
The immigration reform proposal that failed in the Senate in late June would have strengthened border security, allowed employers to hire temporary workers and provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, both Chicago Democrats, co-sponsored a measure that would drop citizenship application fees to the levels they stood at before the recent increase. The proposal, which is pending in committee, also would ensure that some costs not associated with the application process be funded through Congress and not through increased filing fees.
Another proposal is designed to make attaining citizenship easier. U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, co-sponsored a measure that would offer a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are high school graduates if they finish at least two years of college or military service. Christina Angarola, spokeswoman for Durbin, says the proposal, known as the DREAM Act, was part of the failed immigration reform measure. She said that Durbin plans to reintroduce it this fall.
Reaching the goal of citizenship is equivalent to gaining new power, some say. Enriquez, the Chicago insurance agent who became a citizen last year, says, "I want to make sure that I can be a part of the change. You make the difference when you vote. If you don't vote, nobody knows that you are there."
He thinks any reform to immigration laws should help those who want to become U.S. citizens. "I'm a strong believer that we should give immigrants who live here and are working hard the opportunity to become part of the country and part of the whole society," Enriquez says.
He says he feels proud to be a U.S. citizen and enjoys helping others apply for naturalization.
"Now I feel at home."
Maura Kelly Lannan is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance reporter who formerly covered Illinois government and politics for The Associated Press in Chicago.
Illinois Issues, September 2007
