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There are 340,000 permanent residents in the state of Illinois that are eligible for citizenship but have yet to apply. 
The Immigration Project serves all of downstate Illinois and through the New Americans Initiative, the organization helps residents fill out citizenship applications and gives legal screenings.
The New American Initiative is funded by the Illinois Department of Human services and is the fiscal agent is the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). Cristina Deutsch of the Immigration Project said the process is very comprehensive and just about filling out forms.
“We advice them correctly, make sure the applicant becomes a citizen successfully,” Deutsch said.
The four steps that the New Americans Initiative addresses are: to make sure the applicant knows enough English for communicating, that they are of good moral character, know civic information to pass the test and make sure they have not abandoned residency, if they’ve traveled for more than six months a year.
The Immigration Project visited the Moline Public Library on Friday, Sept. 28 and will return on Friday, Oct. 28. Recently the organization has been visiting the Quad Cities once a month. They also go to areas like Galesburg and Peoria. With the recent budget cuts by the state of Illinois government, the organization lost some of their funds.
“Our funds were cut but not eliminated. We now have to do our own outreach,” Deutsch said.
The Immigration Project specifically is an agency that receives other kind of grants that help low income people with other issues of immigration.
The New Americans Initiative helps in the citizenship part of it. Deutsch said that they make sure there are ESL classes and civic classes. For those who qualify for the exam in Spanish, a study packet is also available.
“The most important aspect is that they partner with attorneys, when before you were taking a chance in applying. We can study their case and warn them if it’s dangerous to apply. We can help them fix it by finding out if they haven’t paid taxes or child support. We are able to look at the case and advice them correctly,” she said.
For more information on The Immigration Project you can call them at 1-800-298-3235. To schedule an appointment you can dial the same number (1-800-298-3235) extension 104 or 107.
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