NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP UPDATE

According to a study recently released by the Public Policy Institute, a non-partisan think-tank based in California, the rate at which immigrants are choosing to become US citizens has been steadily growing since the early 1990s, reaching its highest levels since the 1950s.  In 1996 alone, over 1 million people became naturalized US citizens.

Researchers give many reasons for this changing trend, but two are of primary importance.  First is the Immigration Reform and Control Act, passed in 1986, which legalized the status of many undocumented immigrants and made them eligible to apply for citizenship beginning in 1993.  Second is the anti-immigrant laws passed in 1996, which restricted immigrants’ use of welfare and other public benefits, and made long-time legal permanent residents deportable even for minor offenses that occurred long ago. 

If the experience of naturalized Hispanic immigrants is any indicator, more and more immigrants should be naturalizing to increase their political might.  As they have become US citizens, they have become voters, and are currently being courted by all the presidential candidates.

The report is available online at http://www.ppic.org/#ppic123.

In other citizenship news, September 17 was Citizenship Day.  Thousands of people across the US participated in naturalization ceremonies.  President Clinton took the occasion to announce the proposed creation of the Common Ground Partnerships, an initiative that would offer combined English language instruction with education in civics.  The administration has budgeted $70 million for the program.

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