For Immediate Release                                              Press contact: Imelda Aguirre, 202-225-2410
Wednesday, June 7, 2006                                                                  imelda.aguirre@mail.house.gov

Hispanic Caucus Joins National Groups in Aggressive Citizenship Effort

July 1st National Citizenship Day campaign designed to build on mobilization efforts and to keep pressure on Congress as it continues to work on immigration reform

(Washington D.C.)- Today, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) stood with immigrant advocacy groups to announce the launch of National Citizenship Day, a national network of citizenship workshops to be held across the country on July 1, 2006.  Providing an overview of the campaign were Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D- Calif.), CHC chair, and Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.), chair of the CHC Immigration Task Force. 

The campaign will feature workshops led by Members of Congress and immigrant groups to provide comprehensive assistance to immigrants wishing to take their first steps toward naturalized U.S. citizenship.  According to the Department of Homeland Security, eight million individuals are currently eligible for citizenship.  In recent months, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website has received a record number of hits from people interested in downloading citizenship forms.

"This new initiative will provide a meaningful and critical step toward U.S. citizenship for thousands of men, women and children across the country, so that they too can fully share in the rights that citizens enjoy and also help shoulder the responsibilities," said Rep. Gutierrez. "It will allow these men and women to better protect their families and to better advocate for the best interests of our immigrant community and our country."

Rep. Gutierrez initiated this form of citizenship workshop during his first term in Congress.  In 1994, the Congressman became the first elected official to receive authorization to help complete and submit immigration documentation.

Providing details of the importance of local and national efforts were: Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), board member of National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO); Jaime Contreras, chair of both the National Capital Immigration Coalition and Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ-District 82; Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum; Jenny Arwade, vice president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and executive director of the Albany Park Neighborhood Council of Chicago; Cristina Lopez, deputy executive
director and chief of staff of the Center for Community Change; and Cecilia Munoz, vice president of the Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation of the National Council of La Raza. 

“Throughout the year, the NALEO Educational Fund works nationwide to assist eligible permanent residents to apply for U.S. Citizenship, and NALEO is proud to participate in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ National Citizenship Day” said Rep. Roybal-Allard.  “For example, in Los Angeles, NALEO, in collaboration with the ‘We Are America Coalition,’ will join me and other Los Angeles area members of Congress on July 1st for a citizenship workshop that we hope will be duplicated throughout the country.  I encourage my colleagues and community-based organizations to participate in the July 1 National Day of Citizenship and help naturalize eligible legal permanent residents in their communities.”

The NALEO Education Fund can be reached at 1-866-839-8682. 

“Over the past several months, millions of people who want comprehensive immigration reform have spoken out in hundreds of cities,” said Cristina Lopez of the Center for Community Change.  “Our goal was to stop immoral and unworkable immigration reform from becoming law.  While that fight is not over, we have begun to focus on building a new political paradigm and invigorating our democracy with millions of new voters.  On July 1, many organizations will aim to bring eligible new voters into the democratic process and ensure that registered voters have the skills and information they need to activate their communities.

“We have marched and will continue to do so,” said Jaime Contreras of the National Capital Immigration Coalition and SEIU Local 32BJ-District 82.  “We have demonstrated our economic power and now it's time to show our voting power.”  The National Capital Immigration Coalition helped coordinate the recent local immigration events.

July 1st workshops will be conducted in numerous cities across the nation, including the following:   

Yuma, AZ
Los Angeles, Santa Elena, Napa, Salinas, Woodland, Los Banos, and Gilroy, CA
Washington, DC
Miami Shores, FL
Boise, ID
Bloomington, Ottawa, Aurora and Chicago, IL
Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island, NE
Morristown and Newark, NJ
New York, NY
Nashville, TN
El Paso, San Antonio and Houston, TX
Milwaukee, WI
           
Please note this list is not complete as other workshop sites will be added throughout the month. 

For more information on how to apply for U.S. citizenship, please contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at 1-800-375-5283 or visit www.uscis.gov.  For more information on how to plan a citizenship workshop in your area, please contact the CHC at 202-225-2410.

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The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is comprised of 21 members of Congress of Hispanic descent.  Since 1976 the CHC has been addressing the needs of the Hispanic community in all areas of American life.  For more information on the CHC call (202) 225-2410.

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