Read stories from the new Americans our network has helped, our partners and volunteers working on the ground, and the New Americans Campaign.

NAC 2022 Year End Report

As the end of the year approaches, I am thankful for my time serving as the Director of the New Americans Campaign (NAC). It has been a privilege to see our partners overcome economic and public health barriers and continue to help people become US citizens. On the heels of a global pandemic, our NAC […]

December 23, 2022
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A Successful Collaborative Funding Model Supporting Citizenship

In 1952, President Truman signed into law “Citizenship Day” celebrating and recognizing the contributions of naturalized citizens. As we mark the 70th anniversary of Citizenship Day on Saturday, Sept. 17, we also have the opportunity to highlight the work of crucial initiatives to support citizenship efforts. Big ideas and bold ambitions benefit from partnerships, and I […]

September 16, 2022
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NIIC 2021 Expanding Access to Naturalization

This past October, almost 1,000 immigrant rights advocates and policymakers gathered in Las Vegas for the National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC). It is an important transitional time, and it was a welcome opportunity for practitioners and immigrant community leaders to engage with one another as well as with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) senior […]

November 11, 2021
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Lucia Martel-Dow is Launching the New Americans Campaign’s Next Decade

This past summer the New Americans Campaign celebrated our 10th Anniversary. We gave thanks to our funders and partners and reflected on the hard work and achievement of our amazing naturalization collaborative of more than 200 organizations across the country. We also welcomed our new director Lucia Martel-Dow. We’re excited that Lucia will lead us […]

October 26, 2021
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Prioritizing U.S. Citizenship

The authors of the report Making Citizenship an Organizing Principle of the U.S. Immigration System gathered for an online discussion on June 9 with Felicia Escobar Carrillo, Chief of Staff of the Office of the Director of USCIS, and Kelly Ryan, Senior Adviser and Chair of the Interagency Working Group on the Promotion of Naturalization. […]

June 14, 2021
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What USA Learns learned during the Covid-19 pandemic

Last year, teachers of adult English language and U.S. citizenship classes had to pivot quickly when the pandemic hit. Instructors tried to maintain forward momentum and keep students engaged virtually, despite daunting obstacles. When USCIS offices were closed and citizenship workshops were canceled, the naturalization process stalled, and the backlog soared. To add to the […]

April 8, 2021
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Naturalization Policy Update

The Biden Harris Administration has begun to remove the unnecessary and hateful barriers to the naturalization process imposed by the previous president. These recent policy decisions align with priorities supported by the New Americans Campaign and advocated by the Naturalization Working Group (NWG) which sent recommendations to members of the Biden Harris transition team. Below is […]

March 8, 2021
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New American Campaign partners and affiliates receive USCIS grants

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its 12th annual citizenship and assimilation grants on September 30. We are pleased to announce that 13 of our New Americans Campaign partners and affiliates received grants this year. In total, 39 organizations in 18 states that will share the award of nearly $10 million. The funding […]

December 1, 2020
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Making Naturalization a State Priority in 2021: A New Guide for State Government

The 2020 election marks a turning point that offers new opportunities for naturalization. There is much talk of positive immigration reforms and much work to do. The U.S. is currently home to 9 million lawful permanent residents eligible to naturalize. During the worst months of the pandemic, the route to U.S. citizenship was completely shut […]

November 19, 2020
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IRC Volunteer Sarah Johnson: Raising Funds in Phoenix with a New Americans Campaign EFFORTS Grant

The New Americans Campaign, with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, set up a fund in 2018 to help partners develop and experiment with new fundraising strategies for their naturalization programs. The goal of the Experimentation Fund for Optimizing Revenue-raising Techniques & Streams (EFFORTS) was to encourage partners to find new revenue streams, […]

October 23, 2020
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