Lifting barriers to citizenship for low-income immigrants

said braka 11:18 PM
Yet for many immigrants who aspire to become U.S.

citizens, that moment never arrives. Since the 1970s, naturalization rates in the United States have lagged behind those of other major host countries. It's a striking disparity given that the vast majority of immigrants in the United States express interest in . And since gaining citizenship often boosts immigrants' social mobility and integration, the fact that so many are left behind points to a troubling loss of solidarity for their host communities.
What holds them back? Why are some immigrants more likely than others to complete the naturalization process?
New research from Stanford University's Immigration Policy Lab, in collaboration with researchers at George Mason University and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, provides the first concrete evidence of a major barrier to citizenship for low-income immigrants. The findings help explain why citizenship-promotion efforts face significant challenges, and they provide a blueprint for solutions to ensure that all immigrants have equal access to citizenship and its benefits.
A Life-Changing Program
In seeking to understand disparities in naturalization patterns, previous studies have focused on the immigrants themselves—individual characteristics like language skills, resources, or country of origin. Here, the researchers considered an external factor out of immigrants' control: the high costs of the citizenship application process.
For many low-income immigrants, the price tag is daunting: $725 just to file the application, plus hundreds or even thousands more if you need English classes or consultations with immigration lawyers. Charitable organizations have stepped up to provide free language training, legal advice, and help navigating the paperwork. But the application fee has only become more burdensome, rising by 800 percent in real terms since 1985, when it was $35 (or $80.25 in today's dollars). The federal government offers a fee waiver for the poorest immigrants—those with incomes below 150% of the poverty line—but for many others who aren't destitute but struggle to make ends meet, that fee alone can put citizenship out of reach.


Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-barriers-citizenship-low-income-immigrants.html#jCp