SAN FRANCISCO — One year after the president announced new executive actions on immigration, the New Americans Campaign is celebrating the ensuing progress on citizenship.
Nearly 9 million green card holders living lawfully in the U.S. are eligible to become citizens. Because of last year’s executive order, substantial strides are helping to address the barriers to citizenship so that more people can gain rights, freedoms and responsibilities as new Americans.
“There’s another side of the immigration debate, and it’s important that we not lose sight of the milestones we have reached in welcoming new Americans to our communities,” said Melissa Rodgers of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, director of the New Americans Campaign. “We have witnessed the power of innovation and collaboration over the last year in breaking down the barriers to citizenship.
"Working alongside the government and our network of partners since 2011, the New Americans Campaign has helped more than 180,000 aspiring new Americans complete their citizenship applications and save more than $161 million in legal and application fees by accessing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services resources and free or low-cost services from our partners. These services are available at local events held by our partners across the country each week.”
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Led by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the New Americans Campaign is an innovative and unprecedented effort that brings together a coalition of funders, leading national immigration and service organizations, and over one hundred local service providers across 18 different cities to help aspiring Americans reach their dream of citizenship. To learn more about the New Americans Campaign, please visit www.newamericanscampaign.org and follow the conversation at #NewAmericans.