"Ya es Hora!" - Or Maybe It's Not, At Least In Rhode Island

This past Saturday, several non-profit groups spent their time helping immigrants complete their applications for naturalization ahead of the projected 69% increase in filing fees that are scheduled to take effect July 30, 2007. According to the Executive Director of the International Institute of Rhode Island, there are approximately 70,000 legal immigrants in the state who are eligible for their citizenship. Despite this rather large number and the generous offer of free assistance, the event was relatively non-eventful. Approximately 200 people turned out, representing two tenths of one percent of those who could have benefited from the assistance. So what went wrong?

First, immigrants in Rhode Island come from all over the world, not just from Spanish speaking countries. Hispanics have become the face of illegal immigration but they are not the only face of immigration. Somewhere mixed in with those 70,000 eligible immigrants are Australians, French, Irish, Italians, Nigerians, Polish, Swedes, and the list goes on and on. I wonder what they thought when they heard, “Ya es Hora!”

Second, the organizers profiled the wrong person in the Providence Journal when seeking publicity for the event. The proud gentleman the newspaper profiled is a Guatemalan immigrant who has been in the
United States, legally mind you, for some 22-years. Nevertheless, the man had to speak through an interpreter because he presumably doesn’t speak English. Undoubtedly, my Guatemalan friend will seek a waiver of the English requirement at his naturalization interview since he is over the age of 50 and has been a lawful permanent resident for more than 20-years. Americans love people who come to this country legally and who desire nothing more than to be an American. But to be an American, you have to assimilate and you cannot assimilate if you do not speak the language. So while there may be 8 million immigrants in the United States eligible for U.S. citizenship, it’s important to remember, there are more than 208 million Americans already eligible to vote. While not your constituents, these Americans are part of your audience, and what motivates them to pick up the phone and call their Senator in opposition to Comprehensive Immigration Reform, is a person getting their citizenship who cannot speak English despite having been here for 22-years.

Third, immigration should be a uniting issue and not the exclusive providency of one ethnic group. Hispanic organizations within the state have done a tremendous service for their clients. Now it’s time for them to join with other groups and put a multi-cultural face on the immigration debate. Although the organizers of “Ya es Hora!” did not actively exclude other ethnic groups from participating in Saturday’s event, they certainly did so constructively. Perhaps next time, referring to the event in the English vernacular will actually bring action to, “Now’s the Time!”