ORLANDO, Fla. – Becoming a U.S. Citizen can be a long and difficult process, which may be the reason why some people ultimately end up putting it off.
On Saturday at the Consulate of Mexico in Orlando, the American Federation of Teachers hosted its “Together We Rise” citizenship clinic along with the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association, the Florida Education Association, the Consul of Mexico and the Consul of the Dominican Republic.
“It’s a very tedious, very tedious, very expensive and very frightening journey,” AFT Executive Vice President Evelyn DeJesus said.
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DeJesus said the clinics help people with the process of attaining U.S. citizenship through naturalization.
“We make it seamless, we make it safe, we make it available for them to ask questions and whatever they need or whatever they don’t have,” DeJesus said. “We can tell them, ‘You need to get this, a birth certificate,’ whatever it is that they have. But, you know, if you’re here 15 years, you may not always have all your paperwork in order.”
AFT estimates there are 9 million lawful permanent residents that are eligible for naturalization, with 880,000 being right here in Florida.
“Young man said to me one day, ‘I may not have the right papers, but I have the right values,’” DeJesus said. “Those are the values we’re looking for. The values of dignity, of justice, of love, of compassion, of being a great citizen. Isn’t that what America is about?”
State Rep. Johanna Lopez, D-Orlando, was also at Saturday’s clinic.
She said finishing the citizenship process is a priority for immigrants.
“We don’t know what is going to happen the next day,” Lopez said. “You know we are living in a challenging time with the current president, so I think that they know that they have to take this as a priority and do what they have to do in finishing their paperwork to become a citizen.”
To learn more about AFT and to see the organization’s immigration resources, click here.