The overall decrease in the number of naturalizations last year occurred after special congressional funding to process the backlog of citizenship applications ran out. But applications continued to soar in the Latino community because of the targeted citizenship campaigns, experts said.
Jorge-Mario Cabrera, an El Salvador native and Long Beach community activist, finally naturalized last year with his mother; he had been eligible since 1992. He said he had not become a citizen sooner because he wasn't sure why it would matter and he still clung to his allegiances to his native land.
That changed a few years ago when the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would have criminalized illegal immigrants and those who aided them. Millions of immigrants and supporters poured into the streets to protest, and community organizations mobilized to urge people like Cabrera to naturalize, register to vote and make their voices heard.
Cabrera, 39, and his 73-year-old mother took the plunge.
"We felt there were millions of voices left unheard every year, so we decided our two votes were needed to make a difference," he said.
--
teresa.watanabe@latimes.com
To view the complete citizenship report, visit http://www.dhs.gov/ ximgtn/statistics/.
