forwarded from www.immigrationportal.com
Citizenship Promotion Act of 2007 Will Help Newcomers Surmount Obstacles to U.S. Citizenship
Legislation will provide opportunity to avoid fee hike and make other
improvements in naturalization process
WASHINGTON, March 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association
of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund issued
the following statement in response to the introduction today of the
Citizenship Promotion Act of 2007 by U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL):
"The NALEO Educational Fund strongly supports the Citizenship Promotion
Act of 2007 ("CPA"), introduced today by U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)
and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), because it would remove many of the
obstacles in the path of legal permanent residents who are eager to become
full Americans. This legislation would enhance our national security by
providing for greater accountability in the background checks that are
conducted on applicants for U.S. citizenship. The CPA also would establish
a national program to promote U.S. citizenship and help community
organizations provide a wide range of naturalization education, outreach
and assistance services to our nation's newcomers.
The CPA addresses one of the most significant barriers that could place
the dream of U.S. citizenship beyond the reach of thousands of legal
permanent residents -- the proposal of the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) to raise the fees for starting the
naturalization process from $400 to $675. The CPA would freeze those fees
at their current level, and explicitly authorize Congress to appropriate
funds to supplement those fees to help cover the type of costs that the
USCIS claims are largely responsible for the fee hikes, such as
infrastructure investments, capital improvements, and business system
upgrades. The USCIS must then re-evaluate its need for the proposed
increases in light of the funds available from Congress, and the agency may
be able to reduce the amount of the hike, or avoid it altogether.
The CPA would also make the test for U.S. citizenship fairer by
providing for uniform administration of the exam throughout the nation. The
legislation would require the USCIS, when administering the test, to take
into account the special circumstances of applicants who face particular
challenges because of their age, education, or other similar
characteristics. This provision would put into law the regulatory
requirement of "due consideration" for such applicants that currently
applies to the agency.
In addition, the CPA would strengthen our national security by
providing for greater accountability in the system of conducting background
checks on naturalization applicants. Many naturalization applicants have
experienced lengthy waiting times during their application processing
because these checks are not completed in a timely manner. The bill
generally would require the FBI to complete those background checks within
90 days, and impose documentation and Congressional reporting requirements
on the FBI if background check delays for specific applicants extend beyond
that period. The CPA also would mandate a comprehensive Government
Accountability Office (GAO) study on the FBI's background checks
procedures.
Finally, the CPA would create a national New Americans Initiative
("NAI") to provide $80 million for U.S. citizenship promotion, education
and assistance by the USCIS and non-profit community organizations. Through
the NAI, the USCIS must develop outreach materials to encourage legal
permanent residents to apply for naturalization, and must disseminate those
materials through public service announcements and other media. The NAI
also establishes a program that makes resources available for community
organizations with experience and expertise in working with newcomers to
provide a broad range of U.S. citizenship services. These services include
English and civics classes, legal services, outreach and education
activities, and application assistance.
We commend the leadership of U.S. Senator Obama and U.S. Rep. Gutierrez
for their efforts on behalf of the CPA. We also appreciate the support and
assistance provided by the other original co-sponsors of the bill: U.S.
Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Jeff Bingaman
(D-NM); and U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Mike
Honda (D- CA), Ed Pastor (D-AZ), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), and Hilda Solis
(D-CA).
We now urge the Congress and the President to work together to ensure
the swift enactment of the CPA. In addition, the USCIS must work with
Congress so that there is a timely appropriation of the funding authorized
by the CPA that will enable the agency to avoid imposing its proposed
application fee hikes. The CPA allows the agency to pursue funding so that
it can make major investments to enhance the delivery of its services
without having to pass the entire cost on to hardworking, taxpaying
newcomers. Under the provisions of the CPA, our system for financing
immigration services could become a partnership where applicants pay a
reasonable fee for quality service, but Congress must appropriate
sufficient monies to make that partnership a reality.
According to data published by the Office of Immigration Statistics,
there are about 8 million legal permanent residents in our nation who are
eligible to naturalize and about half of these are Latino. Immigrants who
apply for naturalization are eager to demonstrate their commitment to this
country by becoming full participants in our nation's civic life. By
removing obstacles in the path to U.S. citizenship, the CPA will help
newcomers and our nation realize the dream of a strong and vibrant
democracy.
About the NALEO Educational Fund
The NALEO Educational Fund is the leading organization that facilitates
full Latino participation in the American political process, from
citizenship to public service. The NALEO Educational Fund is a non-profit,
non-partisan organization whose constituency includes the more than 6,000
Latino elected and appointed officials nationwide.
SOURCE NALEO Educational Fund