Critics slam proposed fees, US citizenship rules
LOS ANGELES -- Advocacy groups are decrying an array of proposed federal immigration measures, including application fee increases and online filing requirements, that they say will sharply reduce the ability of some legal immigrants to become US citizens.
President Bush signed a bill last week authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the US-Mexico border. Immigrant rights groups say that the US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services is erecting a regulatory "second wall" that would disproportionately hurt Mexican immigrants, who tend to be less educated and earn lower incomes than others.
Last week, a coalition of more than 230 religious, labor, and immigrant rights groups delivered a letter to Emilio González, citizenship bureau director, expressing strong concern about application fee increases that could more than double to $800, a mandatory online filing system, extensive new paperwork, and a revised history and civics test they say could be more difficult.
"Together they appear to us a clear strategy pursued through administrative fiat to make the dream of American citizenship unattainable for many lower-income, less-educated immigrants," said the letter, which was initiated by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
US immigration officials deny any partisan motives. They say they are aiming to make the system more efficient, financially self-sustaining, and better able to ensure that new citizens understand foundational American values and historical events.
In 1997, the US Commission on Immigration Reform recommended some of the initiatives, including the move to automation and a revised test . The final proposals are expected to be announced in the next few months and would take 12 to 18 months to implement.
To become citizens, legal permanent residents must live in the United States five years, or three if they are married to a US citizen or serve in the military. They must also pass English and civics tests, be of "good moral character" and take an oath of allegiance.
