NPNA, Members and Cities from Across the Country Launch National Campaign “Naturalize NOW” (“Hazte Ciudadano”)

The Campaign Aims to Assist One Million Eligible Residents By 2020 in Citizenship Application Process

WHO: National Partnership for New Americans, CASA, CHIRLA, City Officials, Pedro

Biaggi, and members of the community

WHAT: National Launch “Hazte Ciudadano”

WHEN: Wednesday, May 29th, 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

WHERE: CASA, 8151 15th Ave, Hyattsville MD

WASHINGTON – As part of an effort to enfranchise one million eligible U.S. residents before the 2020 elections, the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is launching ‘Naturalize NOW,’ a nationwide campaign to motivate Lawful Permanent Residents to submit their citizenship application as soon as possible to ensure their right to vote in the next election.

The campaign will kick off with a community event at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 29 at CASA. As part of the campaign, member organizations, and municipalities across the nation will announce bold efforts to mobilize and activate members of the community to submit their application as soon as possible. These efforts will include community events, financial assistance, traditional and social media campaigns, and fundraising campaigns.

The citizenship application process is sometimes long and costly. NPNA will provide over $600,000 in regrants to 20 organizations in partnership with municipalities through NPNA’s Cities for Citizenship (C4C) America is Home grant that will assist new Americans who want to begin the citizenship process.

More than 731,000 applicants are currently awaiting approval of their citizenship applications throughout the nation in a process that takes an average of 10 months but can take up to 30 months for certain individuals whose applications are pending in processing offices facing more significant delays.

Other regulations and changes in policy and practice at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), including changes to the fee waiver, are putting citizenship out of reach as the 2020 Presidential election gets closer. For these reasons, it is imperative that eligible residents Naturalize NOW to have their voice heard in the 2020 elections.