Veronica Razo, a Mexican immigrant from Pilsen, has the desire to become an American.
But that might not be enough. She failed her first attempt six years ago because her English and knowledge of civics didn’t pass muster.
On Monday, the state will launch the New Americans Initiative, which will allocate $3 million this year to agencies that provide immigrants like Razo with guidance to pass the citizenship test and properly fill out the forms.
The money also will pay for ads in Spanish, Polish, Korean and Chinese to encourage eligible legal immigrants to pursue U.S. citizenship. The state will coordinate a network of agencies that will track immigrants through the process to help them successfully complete it.
Alfonso Aguilar, director of the Office of Citizenship at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau, said the Illinois program is a model for states looking to integrate a growing immigrant population.
Since the late 1990s, a small but increasing number of states have created programs to encourage U.S. citizenship, even though only the federal government can confer that status.
“Our civic identity is based not on race and creed but on a shared set of ideals,” Aguilar said. “When our country is becoming more diverse, to retain that national identity, we must promote the civic integration of immigrants.”
Razo, a legal immigrant who came from Mexico 18 years ago, said she wants to become a U.S. citizen to ensure the long-term care of her 12-year-old daughter, Trinidad, who has autism.
On Saturday, the New Americans Initiative will hold its first workshops–in Chicago, Waukegan, Joliet, Aurora, Arlington Heights and West Chicago–to assist immigrants with naturalization.
Razo plans to attend the Chicago workshop and later participate in citizenship-preparation classes offered by Centro Sin Fronteras, a Chicago agency that is part of the New Americans Initiative.
“This country is about challenges,” said Razo, 37. “I’m not giving up.”
Researchers with the Urban Institute estimated that about 340,000 legal immigrants in Illinois were eligible for citizenship in 2002 but had not received it.
Experts say immigrants from Mexico have especially low rates of naturalization because they often have low levels of education and English proficiency.
Immigrants with green cards can apply if they have lived continuously in the United States for five years and have no serious criminal record. To pass the test, they must prove a basic knowledge of English and U.S. history.
Organizers with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, contracted by the state to oversee the program, said their goal is to naturalize 20,000 new citizens annually for the next three years.
But these new citizens are also a new pool of voters, making citizenship programs vulnerable to charges that they are motivated by politics.
State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger (R-Elgin), considered an ally by immigrant advocates, initially backed the Illinois plan but said he now has misgivings. He said he thinks the state could better serve immigrants by funding health care or education.
Rauschenberger, a possible candidate for governor in 2006, said he thinks Gov. Rod Blagojevich created the program to get positive press with Latinos, a vital and growing Democratic voting bloc.
“I don’t think adding another layer of bureaucracy to do PR and generate some nice press releases is a good use of funds,” he said.
Blagojevich has rejected the generalization that the citizenship program is a political maneuver.
