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July 17, 2007

Citizenship campaign for legal immigrants gets push

PROVIDENCE -- A collection of church, union and community organizations today promoted a national campaign to motivate legal immigrants to become citizens and use the power of their vote.

The International Institute of Rhode Island estimates that about 150,000 people in the Ocean State are foreign born, says its executive director William Shuey. About 50,000 are already U.S. citizens. Of the remaining 100,000, at least 70,000 are here legally and eligible for citizenship, he says.

On Saturday, the International Institute, the Diocese of Providence, Progresso Latino and Project Hope will offer citizen application advice at four locations in Providence and Central Falls.

Rocio Saenz, president of Local 615 of the Service Employees International Union, says there are 8 million legal immigrants nationally eligible for U.S. citizenship. The national movement -- "ya es hora’’, or, now’s the time -- has a goal to naturalize more than 1 million new citizens this year and in time for next year’s elections.

Saenz says the push has been motivated by a 69 percent increase in naturalization fees (from $400 to $675) set to go into effect on Aug. 1 and the "ugly tone of the immigration debate’’ which cast aspersion on all hard-working immigrants, no matter their legal status.

President Bush’s effort to overhaul the nation’s immigration policy failed last month when the Senate could not unite on the proposal which offered legal status to millions of illegal immigrants while trying to tighten the nation’s borders.

-- Journal staff writer Tom Mooney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 5:37 PM | Permalink

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