(a) The United States Constitution refers to citizenship as “privileges and immunities.” However, it is deeper; it is a connection between individuals and their country including a sense of belonging responsibilities. Individuals are citizens of the United States by birth, derived from their parents, or by naturalization. In order for immigrants to be eligible to apply for
citizenship they must be legal permanent residents (LPRs) for three to five years, have good moral character, pass criminal background checks, read and write basic English, and understand the basics of United States history and government.
(b) The attainment of citizenship for individuals brings a permanent protection from deportation, increases economic and professional opportunities, provides a chance to petition for qualified family members to legalize or immigrate to the United States, and bestows the opportunity to vote. The potential economic benefits to local and state governments is calculated to be between $21,000,000,000 to $45,000,000,000 in income, spending, and new tax revenues. Furthermore, naturalization increases homeownership and decreases the unemployment rate among this population.
(c) One of the main barriers that prevents eligible LPRs from naturalizing is the
cost for legal representation. As a result of federal regulatory changes, the process of applying for United States citizenship is more arduous and costly. In December of 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that starting December 2, 2019, it will no longer consider use of certain public benefits in determining whether an immigrant is eligible for a fee waiver, which means that fewer immigrants will be able to afford to pay the hefty fees for citizenship, which is typically $725. Furthermore, USCIS is proposing a new rule to raise immigration application fees—including an 83 percent hike, an increase from $725 to $1,170, in order to apply for United States citizenship.
(d) The Golden State is home to approximately 2,200,000 LPRs who are eligible to naturalize, the largest population of LPRs in the nation, which is estimated to be 8,500,000 and represents 7.5 percent of the state’s entire population.
Approximately 54 percent of the state’s total LPRs eligible population resides in five counties: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, Santa Clara, and San Bernardino.
(e) It is estimated that if the state increases naturalization over five years, the state would have potential earning gains of nearly $18,000,000,000 over 10 years. The attainment of citizenship transforms the lives of immigrants as their income increases between 8 percent to 11 percent.
(f) A recent study by the University of Southern California indicates that out of the population eligible to naturalize in California that only 19 percent have a high probability of naturalization, in comparison to 47 percent who have a low probability of naturalization. According to this analysis, a LPR who is eligible to naturalize is more likely to naturalize if the person resides in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, or Ohio,
which are all states that are governed by Republican governors.