Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

Between 1992 and 2002 naturalization rates climbed as the percentage of immigrants who had become citizens increased from 39 to 49 percent. An increase of this magnitude is remarkable in the face of continuing high levels of legal immigration. At the same time, though, a large pool of more than 7.9 million legal immigrants is currently eligible to naturalize. Many of its members come from groups that have been underrepresented among the recently naturalized or face such barriers to naturalization as limited English skills, little formal education, and low incomes. If the policy goal is to promote integration of immigrants by encouraging naturalization, the characteristics of the eligible pool suggest the value of expanding publicly supported language and civics instruction and approaching changes to the citizenship examination cautiously. Also, the comparatively high levels of naturalization found among refugees suggest the need to re-examine the refugee resettlement program with an eye to understanding the practices that promote citizenship.