Latinos and our Nation’s Democracy
This will be a special Fourth of July. In 2011, the United States will celebrate the 235th anniversary of its founding, and for the first time, Americans of Hispanic descent will join in the celebration as the nation’s second largest population group. Numbering 50.5 million strong according to the 2010 Census, the future success of the United States is inextricably linked to the success of this demographic group that represents one of every six Americans.
The nation’s Latino population is richly diverse, including different national origins – Latinos can be of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Salvadoran, or other origin; each bringing unique cultural perspectives and traditions to the fabric of America. The settlement and dispersion of Latinos in states such as California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, and New York has played an integral role in each state’s historical development and its modern-day social and cultural identity.
There also exists diversity of the immigrant experience. There are Latinos who can trace their families’ presence in the United States to the time before the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, and there are Latinos who joined the American family this year.
The integration of the Latino newcomers into our political traditions has been a key focus of the NALEO Educational Fund since its inception. For nearly 30 years, we have been encouraging and helping Latino legal permanent residents to apply for U.S. citizenship so that they can enjoy the full benefits of life in the United States.
In 2007, the NALEO Educational Fund joined with other national partners including the National Council of La Raza, SEIU and the Spanish-language media companies Univision Communications, Entravision, and impremedia to launch a new campaign to bring naturalization efforts to scale through the ya es hora! Ciudadanía! campaign. This effort has consisted of intense promotion of the benefits of U.S. citizenship via television, radio and print coupled with a network of service providers extending information and assistance to those ready to apply for U.S. citizenship. Since its launch, ya es hora! Ciudadanía! has served hundreds of thousands of prospective citizens and has received numerous awards for its innovation and impact.
The ya es hora! Ciudadanía! campaign will enter in high gear once again this summer, using the commemoration of our Independence Day to once again engage the nation’s citizenship-eligible Latino immigrant population to naturalize. Dozens of naturalization application assistance workshops are scheduled across the country throughout July, where eligible applicants can receive free assistance with their applications, low or no-cost photographs, and pro-bono legal assistance. (Please click here for a calendar of events.) In addition, the NALEO Educational Fund will continue to operate its bilingual citizenship information hotline, open from 8am to 8pm Eastern, Monday through Friday. Anyone interested in applying for U.S. citizenship can call 888-839-8682 to have their questions answered, and receive referrals to services.
A large share of those who contact the NALEO Educational Fund for assistance have lived in the United States for many years – sometimes for decades. As legal permanent residents, they have contributed to the cultural and economic vitality of our great nation. As United States citizens, they can continue to contribute to our country, but also enjoy all the full benefits of any other American, even if they were born in another country. Most critically, they can contribute in one of the most important ways possible – as active participants in America’s democracy. Most of those legal permanent residents naturalizing now will be eligible to vote in the 2012 Presidential Elections. After all, on the eve of the anniversary of our great nation’s independence, few things show one’s passion than making one’s voice heard at the ballot box.