Today, leading nonprofits in Atlanta will formally launch an innovative partnership to provide naturalization services for the city’s nearly 85,000 citizenship-eligible lawful permanent residents.
The New Americans Campaign celebrate its fifth anniversary on July 1 with the launch of this newest site. The Latin American Association, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta, Catholic Charities of Atlanta, Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, the International Rescue Committee and New American Pathways will join the New Americans Campaign as its 17th site.
These seven organizations, as well as collaborators from the City of Atlanta, Coalition for the People’s Agenda and the League of Women Voters of Georgia, join the growing list of over 100 New Americans Campaign partners across the country that promote naturalization for the nearly 9 million citizenship-eligible lawful permanent residents in the United States.
Latin American Association will lead the New Americans Campaign in Atlanta,
“Joining the New Americans Campaign is an exciting opportunity for local nonprofits and community stakeholders to work together to encourage the diverse lawful permanent resident communities of Atlanta to naturalize,” says Jessica Daman, managing director of immigration services at the Latin American Association (LAA). “As U.S. citizens, these individuals may vote and engage more fully in the issues that affect their communities, our city and the state of Georgia. The LAA is thrilled to be the site leader and to convene our partner organizations. We recognize that while Atlanta’s immigrant communities are diverse, when they unite to engage in their communities, they can work together for the common good of all Atlantans.”
Since July 2011, New Americans Campaign sites and affiliated collaborations completed more than 211,000 naturalization applications for lawful permanent residents through more than 3,400 naturalization workshops and clinics nationwide.
The Sapelo Foundation and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation have provided funding for the new site. Additional funding for the New Americans Campaign comes from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the Grove Foundation and the JPB Foundation.
“Naturalization is beneficial for individuals, families and whole communities,” says Eric Cohen, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which leads the New Americans Campaign. “We’re excited to have Atlanta join the New Americans Campaign and to bring more legal services and naturalization support to the approximately 85,000 citizenship-eligible lawful permanent residents that call the Atlanta area home.
Here’s what our New Americans Campaign partners in Atlanta are saying:
Jennifer Bensman, Senior Program Director, Immigration Legal Services, Catholic Charities of Atlanta
“Catholic Charities of Atlanta’s Immigration Legal Services staff is committed to providing quality immigration legal help to low-income individuals throughout the state of Georgia. We are proud to be a part of the New Americans Campaign in Atlanta because we are dedicated to serving those in need who would otherwise not be able to access or afford legal services. It is important for Legal Permanent Residents to apply for and become naturalized U.S. citizens. Citizenship through naturalization affords these individuals all the rights of U.S. citizenship, including the right to vote and unrestricted travel.”
Stephanie Cho, Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta “As an immigrant rights organization that offers in-language legal assistance to the low-income AAPI community, we are particularly excited about partnering with NAC. Georgia has one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in the country and NAC brings important resources and successful and strategic plans to help these immigrant communities naturalize, which leads them to a pathway to greater civic engagement.”
Learn more about our impact and success since 2011:
