[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 820 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 820
Expressing support for designation of February 2020 as National
Citizenship Month.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 30, 2020
Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Garcia of Texas,
Mr. Case, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. McGovern,
Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Mrs.
Napolitano, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Correa, Mr. Garcia of
Illinois, Ms. Norton, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Soto, Mr. Khanna, Ms.
Escobar, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Takano, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Carson of Indiana,
Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Cisneros, Mr. Vela, Mr. Blumenauer, and
Ms. Castor of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for designation of February 2020 as National
Citizenship Month.
Whereas the United States has been recognized for centuries as the land of
opportunity for those seeking economic and educational opportunities as
well as freedom from persecution;
Whereas immigrants account for 13.6 percent of the population of the United
States;
Whereas one in eight people in the United States is an immigrant and one in six
workers in the United States is an immigrant;
Whereas when immigrants arrive in the United States, the vast majority embrace
the principles that strengthen our Nation: valuing work ethic, pursuing
education, and striving for economic opportunity;
Whereas thanks to their reflection of these principles, immigrants have allowed
the United States to thrive economically, socially, and culturally,
which reinforces and further defines our Nation as the land of
opportunity;
Whereas the United States must continue to welcome immigrants from across the
globe in order to remain standing as a beacon for innovation and
advancement;
Whereas the United States, by embracing these principles, continues to attract
the most talented, diverse, and hardest working immigrants;
Whereas the non-citizen population in the United States has been estimated to be
22.5 million in 2017, of which 13.2 million were lawful permanent
residents;
Whereas of those 13.2 million lawful permanent residents, 9 million are eligible
to become naturalized citizens of the United States;
Whereas the United States continues to support our immigrant community,
particularly those that seek a pathway to citizenship;
Whereas naturalization is the formal process by which United States citizenship
is granted to immigrants after they have fulfilled requirements under
the Immigration and Nationality Act;
Whereas U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomes approximately
620,000 to 780,000 citizens each year during naturalization ceremonies;
Whereas nearly 70 percent of lawful permanent residents became eligible to
naturalize more than 15 years ago;
Whereas the high cost of citizenship and lack of information prevent many lawful
permanent residents from naturalizing;
Whereas naturalization application processing should be fair, efficient,
affordable, and accessible to all eligible individuals, not just the
wealthy;
Whereas the proposed hikes in naturalization fees would raise the cost of
applying for citizenship by more than 80 percent, from $640 to $1,170,
while also eliminating the fee waiver and reduced fee for low-income
applicants, making naturalization unaffordable for 4 million eligible
naturalization applicants;
Whereas current USCIS naturalization backlogs are averaging 10 to 16 months,
with some applicants waiting over 2 years before obtaining citizenship;
Whereas lengthy naturalization backlogs with processing times of more than six
months deprive our country of the expeditious integration of new
Americans;
Whereas in addition to adding to the richness and diversity of our Nation's
culture, our immigrant community plays a critical role in growing our
economy, for example, in 2013, immigrants added $1.6 trillion to the
United States gross domestic product (GDP) and helped increase the
standard of living for Americans;
Whereas citizenship alone can boost individual earnings by 8 to 11 percent,
leading to a potential $21 to 45 billion increase in cumulative earnings
over 10 years; and
Whereas in addition to the economic, educational, and cultural benefits of
citizenship, newly naturalized citizens gain the right and privilege to
vote in United States elections, run for public office, bring family
members to the United States, and other benefits: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports the designation of National Citizenship Month;
(2) supports the goals and efforts of National Citizenship
Month, which include raising awareness about the requirements
for naturalization and financial assistance options, hosting
citizenship workshops, modernizing and streamlining the
naturalization process, and attending citizenship ceremonies;
(3) honors the contributions our immigrant community makes
to our Nation;
(4) recognizes that the successful naturalization of the 9
million eligible lawful permanent residents will provide
significant social and economic benefits to our Nation; and
(5) recognizes that when we fully incorporate and integrate
our immigrant community in our Nation, then our democracy and
Nation are further strengthened.
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