American Jewish Committee Calls For Naturalization Process That Is Fair To Immigrants

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 5 March 1997

The American Jewish Committee has urged the federal government to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the process of naturalization is accessible for all immigrants who are eligible to become U.S. citizens.

AJC, a member of the Campaign to Promote Naturalization, a coalition of ethnic, immigrant advocacy and civil rights groups, took part in press conferences today held in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles. The news conferences were scheduled to take place prior to hearings by the U.S. Congressional Oversight Committee on Naturalization, which is expected to review U.S. naturalization procedures used in recent years. Similar events in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle are also planned throughout the month of March.

David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, released the following statement:

"Few American institutions compare to naturalization in so profoundly and effectively binding this country and immigrants to one another. For the immigrant, citizenship offers security, stability and a sense of ownership in the enterprise of American democracy. For the nation, new citizens provide an important source of intellectual, cultural and economic capital.

"Over the last year, naturalization rates increased greatly, due in large measure to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's commendable efforts in recent years to catch up with a long backlog of applicants for citizenship. This welcome development has nevertheless drawn criticism from some quarters. Critics have charged that the naturalization process is not stringent enough and that it should be reformed to make naturalization more difficult to achieve.

"It is altogether fitting that Congress, which sets immigration and naturalization laws, monitor the execution of those laws, and it is entirely appropriate that members of the Oversight Committee seek to refine the naturalization process where they believe there are problems. But the American Jewish Committee believes that the fundamental framework of our current process of naturalization has served the country and generations of immigrants well. That process requires immigrants to reside legally in the country for five years after their arrival and pass rigorous tests ensuring their English proficiency and understanding of American history and civic values.

"Proposals to lengthen the permanent residency requirement to eight years and to require onerous fees to applicants appear to have no other purpose than to harass immigrants and leave them in a state of legal limbo longer than is reasonable. It would be especially unfair to punish those who have already applied for naturalization, and thus, in the middle of the game, change the rules nearly all have diligently played by. Similarly, there is no well-founded reason to impose such extreme burdens on new applicants either.

"We share concerns about speculation that among those recently naturalized there were people with criminal records that would have disqualified them from becoming citizens. The American Jewish Committee encourages the INS and other relevant government authorities to conduct thorough background checks to insure that criminal aliens do not illegally join the ranks of the naturalized, and we welcome the INS's stated commitment to revoke citizenship from those aliens whose criminal records should have disqualified them from naturalization. Still, we must stress that such checks should be carried out in a manner that does not gratuitously burden would-be citizens or delay their cases unnecessarily.

"The central question underlying the discussion about reforming the naturalization process is whether or not we as a country view immigrants as an asset or a liability. The American Jewish Committee does not advocate an unchecked flow of immigration to the country. We also strongly support efforts to protect the integrity of our international borders, so long as those efforts are consistent with due process and civil rights concerns.

"At the same time, we believe deeply that immigrants are in incalculable ways assets to this country. The evidence of this is abundant. Our own Jewish community, much of which can still be counted as foreign born, has proved its loyalty to and respect for fundamental American values and contributed greatly to America's rich cultural, political and economic life. Every immigrant community can fairly boast of a similar contribution.

"Citizenship does not, never has and never should come cheaply for anyone. For most immigrants, it is an achievement that solidifies their own commitment to America. We support a policy that encourages citizenship, puts it within reasonable reach and taps the potential that lies within each immigrant.

"We join our allies who comprise the Campaign to Promote Naturalization, as well as other like-minded Americans, in urging our policy makers to preserve the great tradition of naturalization."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org