In the United States, an estimated 8.2 million immigrants are currently eligible for citizenship. After California (2.5 million), New York is home to the second largest naturalization-eligible population in the United States (950,000).* Immigrants eligible for citizenship represent diverse communities, from Filipino immigrants to Ethiopian refugees.
Citizenship brings significant social, economic, and civic benefits not only for immigrants and their families, but also for local communities, individual states, and the country as a whole. In order to help large numbers of immigrants become U.S. citizens, national, state, and local funders are working together to build a stronger immigrant integration infrastructure that expands access to immigration legal services, citizenship application assistance, and English language instruction.
Join your grantmaking colleagues over lunch to learn about how citizenship advances larger philanthropic goals such as economic mobility and access to education; hear about a new national citizenship initiative; and see how an interactive on-line tool helps individuals understand their eligibility for naturalization.
* Rob Paral and Associates. Benchmarks of Immigrant Civic Engagement. Prepared for Carnegie. Corporation of New York. New York, NY: July 2010. Data are estimates based on USCIS statewide data apportioned to local levels using the American Community Survey.
Explore
- Obtain an overview on current demographic trends among citizenship-eligible immigrants in the United States.
- Learn about the process in which an immigrant becomes a citizen.
- Hear foundation colleagues’ perspectives on investing in citizenship, and learn about current funding opportunities.
- Preview an innovative citizenship-service technology
A Philanthropy New York Members Briefing co-sponsored by Carnegie Corporation of New York, New York Community Trust, Open Society Foundations, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR).
Presenters
- Matthew Burnett, Executive Director, Immigration Advocates Network (IAN)
- Eric Cohen, Executive Director, Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)
- Julissa Gutierrez, Northeast Director of Civic Engagement, NALEO Education Fund
- Kaying Hang, Associate Director, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)
- Raquiba LaBrie, Program Director, Equality and Opportunity Fund, Open Society Foundations
- Geri Mannion (Moderator), Director, U.S. Democracy and Special Opportunities Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York