Citizenship clinics spark hope

In a time marked by fear, division and uncertainty, especially for immigrant communities, the AFT’s Together We Rise citizenship clinics are bright reminders that we can still build connections and strengthen resolve to preserve our democracy. At one recent clinic, on June 21 in Orlando, Fla., the AFT helped prepare more than 120 lawful permanent residents to become U.S. citizens: Each walked out of the event with completed citizenship applications, full of hope for a more secure future.

The clinic was one of dozens offered across four states and counting. The AFT and its affiliates have partnered with organizations like Mi Familia en Acción, El Rescate, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and SOAR Immigration Legal Services, as well as faith networks and other immigrant rights organizations and local nonprofits, to first inform community members of the requirements of applying for U.S. citizenship and then provide free legal advice and access to experts who assist with required paperwork—an intimidating part of a process that many eligible individuals avoid for years.

Through naturalization, residents attain U.S. citizenship and a more secure place in a country where they have been contributing to their communities sometimes for decades. To date, the AFT’s Together We Rise citizenship program has helped more than 1,400 lawful permanent residents obtain their U.S. citizenship and has reached more than 2,700 individuals. Clinics have taken place in Florida, California, Texas and Oregon, and participants represent countries from all over the world.

Each clinic features a community fair as well, featuring children’s activities, food and music, and free book distributions. In Orlando, AFT volunteers distributed multicultural books and backpacks full of school supplies. These events ensure that communities that often feel invisible are told: You matter. You belong. We’ve got your back.

At the recent clinic in Orlando, the AFT partnered with Mi Familia en Acción, the Florida Education Association, the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, Central Florida LCLAA and the consulates from Mexico and the Dominican Republic. On hand were FEA Vice President Carole Gauronskas, OCCTA Vice President Maira Rivera, Florida state Rep. Johanna López, Central Florida LCLAA President Victor Sanchez and the consulate of Mexico’s vice counsel for social and economic policy, Vicente Colmenares Sumo.

Other recent clinics include one in Los Angeles hosted by Cornell Law School’s Path2Papers program, with El Rescate, the CFT and Los Angeles Unified School District school board member Rocío Rivas, on June 28. The event included a special session for people with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, widely known as DACA. DACA recipients arrived in the United States as children; DACA status allows them to attend school, work and otherwise engage with their communities, but they have to renew it every two years. The AFT is advocating for a permanent path to citizenship for DACA recipients.

Meanwhile in Orlando, AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus summed up Together We Rise this way: “Citizenship clinics are more than just paperwork—they’re about dignity, opportunity and democracy.” The program is a “game changer” for the more than 880,000 lawful permanent residents in Florida and the more than 9 million nationwide eligible to become U.S. citizens, she added.

“We don’t just talk about democracy,” said DeJesus. “We build it.”

For more information on the AFT’s Together We Rise citizenship clinics, contact Cesar Moreno Perez in the AFT’s Human Rights and Community Relations Department at cmoreno@aft.org.

[Virginia Myers]