[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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