Press Release
New York City Welcomes “Naturalize 2 Million by 2022” Tour
Part of national multicultural campaign to increase citizenship among eligible immigrants
WHAT: National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), in partnership with the Service Employment International Union (SEIU), New York Immigration Coalition, Chinese Progressive Association, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), and Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, will hold a press conference on the “Naturalize 2 Million by 2022!” campaign in New York City, as part of a nationwide effort to encourage two million eligible permanent residents to obtain their citizenship by the end of 2022.
WHO: Commissioner Manuel Castro, NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
Nicole Melaku, Executive Director, NPNA
Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, NYIC
Mae Lee, Chinese Progressive Association
Judy Lei, Voting Rights Organizer, AALDEF
Kyle Bragg, president of SEIU 32BJ
Sharon Toussaint, 1199 SEIU Citizenship Program Supervising Attorney
Lavern Ramadan, 62-year old Naturalized citizen, from South Africa
WHEN: Tuesday, Mar. 22, at 1:30pm. EST
WHERE: Press conference: Steps of City Hall Park, New York, NY 10007. The event will also be streamed on @npnewamericans Facebook Live simultaneously
National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), in partnership with the Service Employment International Union (SEIU), New York Immigration Coalition, Chinese Progressive Association, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). and Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, will hold a press conference on the “Naturalize 2 Million by 2022!” campaign in New York City, Tuesday, Mar. 22, as part of a nationwide effort to encourage two million eligible permanent residents to obtain their citizenship by the end of 2022.
New York City is a founding member of Cities for Citizenship, a national initiative that encourages citizenship among eligible U.S. permanent residents. Nationwide, over nine million people are permanent residents who are potentially eligible for citizenship, with 649,810 of them living in New York City and 1,130,000 of them in the state of New York. Newly naturalized citizens are a powerful voting bloc that could significantly impact the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections.
This month’s naturalization effort will build momentum for “New American Voters 2022,” a digital campaign that encourages millions of newly naturalized citizens to vote in the upcoming elections, which kicks off in the second quarter of the year.
As part of the “Naturalize 2 Million by 2022” campaign, NPNA has partnered with dozens of cities, counties, and over 50 immigrant and refugee advocacy organizations throughout the nation to educate and empower eligible permanent residents to become citizens. Part of the campaign’s efforts include helping eligible immigrants through the naturalization process and providing educational materials and resources to complete the U.S. citizenship test successfully. The campaign tour has traveled to multiple cities, including Los Angeles, CA; McAllen, Austin, and San Antonio, TX; Milwaukee,WI; as well as Montgomery County, MD.
Campaign advocates are uplifting the crucial protections and opportunities that naturalization provides. These benefits include protection from deportation, automatic citizenship when resident children of a naturalized parent turn 18, the ability to petition for family members to migrate, higher wages and greater economic opportunities, and the ability to vote in national, state, and local elections.
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The National Partnership for New Americans is a national multiethnic, multiracial organization that represents 49 of the largest regional immigrant and refugee rights organizations in 39 states. Its members provide large-scale services for the communities, to leverage their collective power and expertise for a national strategy.
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CONTACT:
Fernanda Durand | (214) 402-0186 | fernanda@communicationsshop.us
Stuart Sia | (212) 966-5932 x203 | ssia@aaldef.org