Citizenship bids causing backlogs for immigration agency

The Arizona Republic

Published: 01.12.2008

Immigrant advocates said Thursday that they have helped more than 5,000 legal immigrants in the Phoenix area apply for citizenship in hopes of boosting the number of Latino voters this November.

Advocates are worried, however, that many of those who applied may not get to vote because the immigration service is not processing the requests fast enough because of backlogs created by a rush of new applications for citizenship.

"These applicants have played by the rules," said Joel Foster, a labor organizer and member of Ya es hora, Ciudadania (Citizenship, it's time), a coalition of labor unions and grass-roots organizations that help legal immigrants navigate the naturalization process.

"They deserve to have their voices heard on Election Day," Foster said. "They should not have to wait. We are committed to making that happen."

An immigration official acknowledged a spike in naturalization applications has fueled backlogs, but the agency is trying to process applications faster by working overtime and hiring more employees.