NEW MEXICO IMMIGRANT GROUPS JOIN A NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN TO HELP NATURALIZE 2 MILLION IMMIGRANTS BY 2022

September 17, 2021

Santa Fe, NM – In recognition of national Citizenship Day (September 17th), New Mexico immigrant groups Somos Un Pueblo Unido and El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos joined the National Partnership For New Americans (NPNA) in a nationwide effort to naturalize two million people in the U.S. by the end of 2022. We’re Ready! is a public awareness campaign involving 50 immigrant and refugee organizations in over 100 cities and it will help millions of eligible lawful permanent residents become citizens through workshops, community outreach, exam preparation tutoring, and pro se naturalization clinics.

On Friday, September 17th at 5:30 PM, Somos will hold a Facebook live informational forum in Spanish with potentially eligible community members. Also joining the forum will be recently naturalized citizens and elected officials from Santa Fe, Roswell, and Lovington to discuss how citizenship impacts their families and communities. The forum can be see on Somos' Facebook page here: facebook.com/SomosUnPueblo

In New Mexico, approximately 55,000 lawful permanent residents are eligible to apply for full citizenship, according to the University of Southern California’s Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration.

Somos started its citizenship community outreach program in 2006 in Roswell and Chaves counties through a campaign called Viva el Voto. The organization expanded its program to Santa Fe in 2018 in conjunction with the City of Santa Fe, a City for Citizenship, and several local partners. The program has helped hundreds of New Mexicans apply.

EL CENTRO also has a program to promote naturalization among Bernalillo County residents. El CENTRO posted several videos and messages today on its social media accounts encouraging lawful permanent residents to become citizens in commemoration of national citizenship day.

The following are statements from community members and elected officials involved in the September 17th citizenship effort:

Alan Webber, Mayor of Santa Fe:

“I am extremely proud to be Mayor of a city that welcomes immigrants, celebrates diversity and promotes citizenship! There is no better sight than to see people from around the world and from every walk of life taking the oath of citizenship and becoming proud U.S. Americans. On behalf of the City of Santa Fe, I pledge to do everything I can to make Citizenship Day one of the happiest, proudest and brightest days for everyone in our community. We need to keep making more Americans!”

Maria Reina Tercero, Somos Un Pueblo Unido Member, originally from Nicaragua who was a lawful permanent resident for 20 years before applying for citizenship:

“I left my country because of the political and economic situation we were living in. I was able to bring my daughter here to a country with opportunities. I was missing out on the rights that as a citizen you have such as the right to vote and choose your candidates, your president, your congress, and your local elected officials. I want to vote for my community.”

Maria Romano, Somos Un Pueblo Unido Community Organizer in Hobbs:

“There are so many obstacles to citizenship in rural communities, and they worsened during the pandemic. We will continue to organize locally and at the national level to remove barriers such as high fees, lack of legal resources, and lack of English programs.”

Juan Oropeza, Roswell City Councilor:

“When we talk about immigration, we must talk about the economic impact that immigration has on our nation. Immigrants have a big impact on our economy because they work and pay numerous kinds of taxes, which is a big source of revenue for most of our communities. It 's been documented that immigrants infuse millions of dollars into our economy.”

Bryan Castillo, newly naturalized citizen & member of El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos:

"It is time for new citizens to take action to grow the power of our communities. As a new citizen myself, I feel it’s my obligation to get out and vote and elect politicans that will create positive change and who will work with our communities to end the discrimination we face."

Fabiola Landeros, a newly naturalized citizen and organizer with El CENTRO:

"I joined the over 76,000 naturalized citizens in New Mexico as a way to grow the power of my community. We have organized for decades to garner support for full immigrant integration and workers' justice, and we believe the majority of elected officials and voters share our values. As we work to harness the voting power of new citizens and first generation voters, candidates that adopt anti-immigrant, Trumpian platforms should be put on alert."

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Somos Un Pueblo Unido is a statewide immigrant-based civil and workers' rights organization with membership teams in eight counties and offices in
Santa Fe, Hobbs and Roswell.