This Citizenship Day Local Immigrant/Refugee Organizations Urge Eligible Candidates to Begin Naturalization Process
Media Contact: Flaviano Graciano, fgraciano@nmilc.org
9|17|2022
Albuquerque, N.M. - This Citizenship Day, the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, and the City of Albuquerque are urging eligible candidates to begin their naturalization process as a way to ensure that all immigrants in the community have the opportunity to integrate into the cultural, economic and civic life in Albuquerque.
In line with the “ABQ is Home” initiative, that recognizes the proud contributions by the immigrant community and their integration to our city NMILC and El CENTRO have worked together over the years to provide permanent legal residents free legal clinics; that have helped the immigrant community obtain essential services to help them navigate through the naturalization process.
Beginning October 2nd, the fee for the citizenship application is set to increase by 81%, potentially creating more financial barriers to an already pricey process. Just last week, Albuquerque joined other cities in signing onto an amicus brief challenging the lawfulness of the USCIS fee increase. Today, the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center will be conducting remote screenings for those interested in beginning the naturalization process. More information on remote screenings is available on the NMILC’s Citizenship/Residency webpage.
Laura Garcia, Supervising Attorney with the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said:
“Even without the fee increase, payment is already a huge barrier many eligible immigrants face when deciding whether or not to apply for citizenship. As a result of these revisions, many legal permanent residents who are eligible and were hoping to become U.S. citizens soon have no choice but to put their dream of naturalizing on hold.”
Fabiola Boweden, community organizer with El Centro, said:
“As a new citizen myself, I urge those who are eligible to naturalize to use their new status to protect our families from the devastating impact of deportation,” said Fabiola Landeros, community organizer at El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos. “We are seeing existing racial and economic inequities being exposed and exacerbated by COVID-19. Therefore, we need to exercise our rights as new citizens to engage mixed status families and lift our communities' voices so their needs can be heard in the 2020 elections and ensure that we elect candidates that share our values."
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, Cities for Citizenship national partner said:
“Albuquerque has repeatedly taken stances to show that we are a city that is welcoming to immigrants. We stand with immigrants and we will continue to work diligently to denounce policies that create barriers to Citizenship while ensuring that Albuquerque is a welcoming city for all.”
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New Mexican Immigrant Law Center's mission is to advance justice and equity by empowering low-income immigrant communities through collaborative legal services, advocacy, and education.