Biden administration seeks to give a fillip to US citizenship

MUMBAI: The Biden administration has recently released a comprehensive strategy involving several government agencies to break down barriers to US citizenship and promote naturalization (citizenship) for all who are eligible.
Following an executive order issued by US President Joe Biden, in early February, to restore faith in the legal immigration system and improve the same, a ‘Naturalization Working Group’ (NWG) has been set up to ease the process of acquiring US citizenship. This group comprises representatives from all major government agencies, such as the Department of Labour (DOL), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of State (DOS) to name a few.
A report - Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization, which captures this strategy has been released, by the Biden administration. “Becoming a United States citizen is a tremendous privilege,” said Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). “New citizens, strengthened with the power and responsibilities that American citizenship brings, make our Nation better. This strategy will ensure that aspiring citizens are able to pursue naturalization through a clear and coordinated process,” he added.
The three key pillars of this strategy include Outreach, Partnerships and Education. The working group will notify immigrants when they are eligible for citizenship. The government bodies will team up with various agencies such as the postal services or the US Customs to provide information relating to naturalization (citizenship). Lastly, the citizenship awareness and education campaign will be strengthened to include multilingual learning materials, increasing the outreach to targeted areas (such as rural) or groups (such as military families).
As TOI had reported earlier, the Biden administration has already taken several steps to ease the process of naturalization. For instance, the complex and ideological citizenship test introduced by former President Donald Trump was scrapped and the earlier version reinstated.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will celebrate Independence Day (July 4) this year by welcoming more than 9,400 new citizens in 170 naturalization ceremonies between June 30 and July 7. These ceremonies demonstrate our commitment to welcoming immigrants, it stated.
In the run-up to the US Presidential elections, the number of eligible individuals opting for US citizenship, which gives them the right to vote was at an all-time high. USCIS had naturalized 834,000 new citizens in FY 2019 – an eleven-year high in terms of new oaths of citizenship. 64,631 Indians had obtained US citizenship during this fiscal year, as compared to 52,194 during the fiscal ended September 30, 2018.