Mass. Gov. Patrick’s Budget Recognizes Need of New Americans

Immigrants march in Boston at a past rally for recognition of contributions of immigrants. (Newz file photo, photo by Eduardo de Oliveira)

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Following is an edited excerpt of an article that appears in BrazilianJournal.net.

Governor Patrick's budget recommendation for fiscal year 2009 includes increased funding for the Citizenship for New Americans Program (in Mass.).

The budget line item, which was $500,000 during the previous administration [of Gov. Mitt Romney], will increase to $1,250,000, in recognition of the urgent need for the program.

This funding has helped 1,300 green card holders [for U.S. residency] to naturalize since last year, after receiving English, civics and history classes, and assistance with complicated immigration forms.

The money is administered by the state Office for Immigrant and Refugees (ORI), which distributes it to community-based organizations that provide citizenship services.

In Chelsea, Centro Latino, a non-profit organization, provides citizenship classes and assistance in the naturalization process to many Latinos who reside in the city and its neighboring communities, like Everett and Revere. But the organization has a waiting list due to lack of resources.

In Everett, another non-profit organization called Latinos United in Massachusetts (LUMA) also provides citizenship services, but the executive director, Lucy Pineda, says that since LUMA does not have sufficient funds to pay more staff to provide the services, many people who cannot afford a lawyer end up delaying the naturalization process.

If the budget line-item increase passes the House and the Senate, about 10 more non-profits across the state will be able to provide citizenship assistance.

"The Patrick administration wisely chose to increase investment in the Citizenship for New Americans Program. This investment not only helps permanent residents through the difficult steps of getting US citizenship, but also helps all Massachusetts taxpayers," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition.

As industries, employers and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts struggle with the adverse consequences of a dwindling working-age population - such as contending with decreased state revenues and potentially losing a representative in Congress - the need for new residents in Massachusetts continues to grow.

Source: BrazilianJournal.net

SEE ALSO THESE PAST ARTICLES IN EthnicNewz.org:

"Can Immigrants Save Massachusetts Declining Workforce?" Feb. 17, 2008

"New Nationwide Campaign - Ve Y Vota - Mobilizes Immigrants to Vote," Jan. 16, 2008

"New Coalition Seeks to End 'Toxic' Environment for Immigrants," Feb. 11, 2008

Copyright 2008 New England Ethnic News, EthnicNewz.org. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the express permission of the source. Contact Newz for more information.

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