More than 250 LPRs attended a citizenship workshop on Feb. 6 hosted by the local Mexican consulate and Dallas New Americans Campaign partners
More than 2.6 million Mexican-native lawful permanent residents (LPRs) are eligible to become U.S. citizens. Across the country, New Americans Campaign partners are collaborating with the Mexican Embassy and consular network to help more of these LPRs access Campaign partners’ citizenship services.
In October, Campaign partners hosted a webinar for consulate staff and naturalization services providers to hear specific examples of how these new partnerships offer help with the citizenship process. More recently, on Feb. 6, Dallas New Americans Campaign partners collaborated with the local Mexican consulate to offer free help with citizenship applications for eligible LPRs.
More than 250 LPRs received assistance at the workshop this month, which was hosted in partnership with the Mexican Consulate, New Americans Campaign partners Catholic Charities of Dallas, Proyecto Inmigrante and the International Rescue Committee, as well as North Texas Dream Team, University of North Texas College of Law, Dallas Hispanic Bar Association and the Dallas chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Catholic Charities of Dallas provides citizenship information at the workshop on Feb. 6
“The consular network is uniquely positioned to assist Mexican-native LPRs with the citizenship process,” said Luis Arango, citizenship program manager at Catholic Charities of Dallas and the Dallas New Americans Campaign site leader. “This is an important new partnership and an innovative way for the New Americans Campaign and other naturalization services providers to reach more citizenship-eligible LPRs.”
The Mexican Embassy and consular network currently promote naturalization as a component of immigrant integration and highlight the right of Mexican nationals to maintain their Mexican citizenship while also obtaining U.S. citizenship. Consulates are trusted sources of immigration information and are prime locations for community-serving events, such as naturalization workshops. They also have community outreach staff and daily contact with hundreds of Mexican nationals. This makes partnering with the New Americans Campaign a natural fit.