[colombiamigra] Fw: Press Release: Naturalization Rates among Hispanic Legal Immigrants
- From: william mejia <wmejia8a@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "colombiamigra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <colombiamigra@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2013 17:50:45 -0800 (PST)
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From: Pew Hispanic Center <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: wmejia8a@xxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, February 4, 2013 3:30 PM
Subject: Press Release: Naturalization Rates among Hispanic Legal Immigrants
Press Release February 4, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Russ Oates
roates@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
202-419-4375
The Path Not Taken:
Two-thirds of Legal Mexican Immigrants are not U.S. Citizens
Nearly two-thirds of the 5.4 million legal immigrants from Mexico are not
citizens of the United States, even though they are eligible to naturalize.
Their rate of naturalization----36%----is only half that of legal immigrants
from all other countries combined, according to an analysis of Census Bureau
data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.
This naturalization rate of Mexican immigrants in 2011 compared with 61% for
all immigrants and 68% for all non-Mexican immigrants. The naturalization rate
of Mexican legal immigrants is also lower than that of immigrants from Latin
America and the Caribbean----36% versus 61% in 2011.
Creating a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country
illegally is expected to be one of the most contentious elements of the
immigration legislation that will be considered by the U.S. Congress this year.
Mexican immigrants are by far the largest group of immigrants who are in the
country illegally----accounting for 6.1 million (55%) of the estimated 11.1
million in the U.S. as of 2011.
Mexicans are also the largest group of legal permanent residents, accounting
for 3.9 million out of 12 million. The Center's analysis of current
naturalization rates among Mexican legal immigrants suggests that creating a
pathway to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally does not mean
all would pursue that option. Many could choose an intermediate status----legal
permanent resident----that would remove the threat of deportation, enable them
to work legally and require them to pay taxes, but not afford them the full
rights of U.S. citizenship, including the right to vote.
The last time the United States government created a pathway to citizenship for
immigrants in the country illegally was in 1986 with the passage of the
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). A 2010 study by the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security found that about 40% of the 2.7 million immigrants who
obtained a green card derived from IRCA had naturalized by 2009.
A nationwide survey of Hispanic immigrants by the Pew Hispanic Center explored
the reasons Hispanic immigrants who are legal permanent residents haven't yet
tried to become citizens: 26% identified personal barriers such as a lack of
English proficiency and another 18% identified administrative barriers such as
the financial cost of naturalization. The survey also finds that more than
nine-in-ten (93%) Hispanic immigrants who have not yet naturalized say they
would if they could.
The Pew Hispanic survey also explored the reasons naturalized Latino immigrants
give for becoming U.S. citizens. Almost one-in-five (18%) cite civil and legal
rights, such as the right to vote, as their main reasons for obtaining U.S.
citizenship. Another 16% cite an interest in having access to the benefits and
opportunities derived from U.S. citizenship and 15% give family-related
reasons. Mexican naturalized citizens are more likely to say they became
citizens for practical reasons such as obtaining civil and legal rights (22%)
or specific benefits or opportunities derived from citizenship (20%). Among
non-Mexican naturalized Latinos, family reasons are most often cited (16%).
The report, "The Path Not Taken; Two-Thirds of Legal Mexican Immigrants are not
U.S. Citizens," authored by Research Associate Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, Pew
Hispanic Center, Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center,
Jeffrey Passel, Senior Demographer, Pew Hispanic Center and Paul Taylor,
Director, Pew Hispanic Center, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's
website, www.pewhispanic.org.
The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a
nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and
is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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