Comunidades Unidas and NPNA Encourage Eligible Immigrants to Apply for Citizenship and Take a Stand Against Second Wall
Comunidades Unidas Joins “One Million Citizens by 2020 Campaign” and Condemns the Administration’s Attacks on Citizenship
February 21, 2019 - Comunidades Unidas / Communities United calls on eligible lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to apply for citizenship and demand that the Trump Administration undo the bureaucratic bottleneck that is keeping hundreds of thousands of
eligible LPRs from becoming citizens and voting in the 2020 presidential elections. The goal of this national partnership is to reach one million eligible lawful permanent residents by 2020, including the more than 20,000 eligible LPRs in Salt Lake County.
"Despite all the barriers and constant attacks, we want immigrant families to know that we stand beside them. We need to take action, naturalize, and vote in 2020!” said Mayra Cedano, Program Manager for Comunidades Unidas.
There are over 750,000 citizenship applications before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency that is part of the Department of Homeland Security. This has almost doubled since 2015, with the majority of it occurring under the current administration.
In Utah, the backlog is close to 6,000 applications. The processing delays for applications is 16 to 19 months. Processing delays are so long that some eligible residents in Utah are at risk of not getting through the citizenship process in time to vote in the 2020 elections.
Additional barriers to citizenship add urgency to the importance of applying for naturalization now. These include a proposed change to the citizenship fee waiver that would build a wall around citizenship based on wealth and class; the proposed changes to the N-400 form to apply for naturalization that would make it more burdensome for applicants, the legal community, and USCIS adjudicators themselves; new policy guidance making it more difficult for LPRs with disabilities to apply; and efforts to strip citizenship away from naturalized citizens.
Comunidades Unidas calls on all eligible residents to apply for naturalization as soon as they are eligible to begin the application process. Local organizations like CU are prepared to help new Americans navigate through the application process.
We encourage eligible residents to call 801-487-4143 to make an appointment for a consultation. Applicants may qualify for a reduced fee or a fee waiver depending on income.
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