Publication
Citizenship Matters: Encouraging Immigrants to Become Americans
Naturalization is not just about the immigrants. It is about the contributions and vitality the United States gains each time an immigrant becomes a citizen.
Immigration Policy
Our Shared Responsibility
It is in the best interest of the United States, local communities, and businesses to promote naturalization and support immigrants on their journey to citizenship.
When U.S. immigration policy is at its best, it creates new Americans eager to contribute to our great country, strengthens our democracy, and fills critical gaps in the labor force, making us more competitive in the global economy. Naturalized citizens chose to be Americans. They choose our democracy, our freedoms, and our culture. Immigrants are as patriotic or more patriotic than native-born Americans. They enhance our communities, punch above their weight in economic terms, and enrich American culture and history.
Immigrants comprise less than 14% of our population but make up 17% of the U.S. labor force. The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted their contributions further. Nearly 30% of physicians in the United States are foreign born, as are more than 15% of registered nurses. And almost 17% of grocery-store workers, 18% of food-delivery drivers, and 19% of truck drivers are foreign born.
Naturalization is not just about the immigrants. It is about the contributions and vitality the United States gains each time an immigrant becomes a citizen. The United States should make it a priority to encourage immigrants to become Americans. The United States should make it a priority to encourage immigrants to become Americans, and all of us should work together to welcome them.
The latest
Mar 8, 2024
Dallas Morning News: Annunciation House makes the crisis at the border better, not worse
Video · Feb 29, 2024
Nonprofit organizations play a critical role along the U.S.-Mexico border
“It would be really sad to see organizations like [Annunciation House] not able to exist anymore because we know they do such a good part of the welcoming [of migrants]. And they’re an example that we can look to as a group of people that have always worked – no matter who’s in power in the United States, no matter what the immigration policies look like – they find a way to make it work. They find a way to serve people.”
Report · Dec 8, 2022
Welcoming Immigrants: A State and Local Policy Agenda for Helping Immigrants
Blueprint for Opportunity series policy recommendations
Video · Feb 23, 2021
Making “We” as Big as It Can Be
Sanjay Ramabhadran, a partner in VERSA Infrastructure, Anurima Bhargava, a Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and Gita Pullapilly, a Hollywood screenwriter, director, and producer, describe how their identities as immigrants or the children of immigrants were shaped. They also discuss how the American identity is always being expanded and refined.
Report · Jan 20, 2021
Citizenship Matters: Encouraging Immigrants to Become Americans
Naturalization is not just about the immigrants. It is about the contributions and vitality the United States gains each time an immigrant becomes a citizen.