Most US Citizens don't pay attention to what is happening, nor to the downstream ramifications of whatever action has been taken....For instance, how many remember Clinton-Gore's immigration push for "Citizenship - USA" of both 1996, and 1996.... There is much about this program in the Internet archives....but as a starter....
For Instance: >>>>>"Citizenship U.S.A." was launched last August in Los Angeles. Similar drives were made in Miami, New York, Chicago, and now San Francisco. Together, the five cities account for more than 75 percent of citizenship applications <<<<< Are we SURE that voter fraud didn't occur in any of these cities?????
Record Numbers Apply for Citizenship
Anti-immigrant movement a likely factor
AsianWeek |
May 17-23, 1996
Photo by Henry Woon
By Bert Eljera
Faced with an upsurge in applications for citizenship, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has embarked on a nationwide effort to help immigrants become United States citizens.
On Tuesday, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner kicked off "Citizenship U.S.A." in San Francisco with the intent of swearing in more than 1 million new citizens nationwide by September.
"Welcoming new citizens is one of the most important things we do as a nation," Meissner said. "Our goal is to ensure we become current with our citizenship processing by the end of this fiscal year."
Meissner later attended two ceremonies, in which 3,500 immigrants took their oath as U.S. citizens before U.S. Magistrate Judge Owen Woodruff at the Masonic Auditorium on Nob Hill.
About 8 million immigrants are eligible to apply for citizenship, Meissner said. Until 1994, an average of 300,000 applied each year. Since 1995, however, the number has just exploded, she said.
"There is no single explanation," Meissner said, adding that the current anti-immigrant sentiment may be a factor.
She said immigrants who gained legal status after the 1986 amnesty program are now eligible for citizenship, and many of them are availing themselves of the opportunity.
In addition, Meissner said that with the INS program to replace the old alien registration cards with newer, tamper-proof cards, many immigrants have decided to apply for citizenship instead.
Meissner said that in 1995, the INS completed more than 1 million citizenship applications, more than double the number in the previous year. The number of applications has steadily risen since 1992, she said.
In San Francisco, one of five cities targeted for the "Citizenship U.S.A." drive, 54,272 citizenship applications were accepted in 1995. Of that number, 49,958 were approved.
Over the past three years, the number of citizenship applications processed at the San Francisco district office has risen 95 percent, according to INS records.
Through the first half of fiscal 1996, the San Francisco district has completed 36,030 applications, a 53 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
As of March, the district office had 116,314 pending applications. About 9,000 more applications are usually received each month, but the district hopes to swear in 18,000 new citizens a month during the campaign, INS officials said.
To meet the growing demand, the INS has hired more employees, improved the citizenship process, and expanded partnership with community groups and local officials.
The San Francisco INS district office, for instance, has hired 144 new employees, a three-fold increase since last summer. Ninety-five employees are assigned exclusively to work on naturalization applications.
In addition, a citizenship center has opened in Oakland and San Jose and a third one will open this month in Fresno.
An INS team also conducts interviews four times a week in selected locations provided by community organizations involved in the citizenship drive. Some of the INS community partners are: La Raza Centro Legal, Caracen, the Asian Law Caucus, the Oakland Chinese Community Council, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Catholic Charities, and the Portuguese Cultural Center.
The organizations call interviewees to remind them of appointments, thus reducing the number of applicants who fail to appear for interviews. The groups also prepare brochures and flyers with information about the citizenship application and testing process.
"We don’t get paid for this, but this is satisfying work," said Carol D. Hurtado, program director of the Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights.
Hurtado and other volunteers were at the Masonic Auditorium swearing-in ceremony Tuesday, helping the new citizens register as voters.
She said her group has registered about 6,000 new voters since last summer. About 500 new voters register after each citizenship swearing-in ceremony, she said.
David E. Lee, executive director of the Chinese American Voters Education Committee, a Chinatown-based nonprofit group, said as many as 4,000 Chinese immigrants have become U.S. citizens over the past eight months.
In Tuesday’s naturalization ceremony, about half of those who took their oath were Chinese immigrants, he said.
"It has a lot to do with the anti-immigrant rhetoric we’re hearing from the U.S. Congress," Lee said. "The information has trickled down to the immigrant community and has created a fear that their rights and privileges may be denied."
He said many longtime Asian immigrants, many of them elderly, are worried their Social Security benefits may be taken away if they do not become citizens.
There is also a big push to get new citizens to register to vote and participate in the elections.
"The sentiment in society is moving too much to the right-and against immigrants, minorities, and affirmative action," Lee said. "People must be aware of the issues and realize the need to register and vote."
Lee’s group is one of several community organizations the INS has tapped to help schedule naturalization ceremonies and provide volunteers at these events.
The San Francisco district office plans to hold naturalization ceremonies every two months, with up to 2,000 applicants at each ceremony.
Meissner said San Francisco presents a unique problem because of its very diverse immigrant population.
"There are lots of nationalities, and many immigrants are elderly which makes it difficult for them to come to the office for interviews," she said.
That’s why help from community organizations is crucial to make the program succeed, Meissner said. "Citizenship U.S.A." was launched last August in Los Angeles. Similar drives were made in Miami, New York, Chicago, and now San Francisco. Together, the five cities account for more than 75 percent of citizenship applications, Meissner said.
She said that new citizens ranged from infants to a 105-year-old San Francisco woman, the oldest known person to become a new citizen.
"People are realizing that to protect their interest, it’s important to become a citizen," Meissner said.
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