Becoming an American with the help of the AFL-CIO
From the AFL-CIO
At the 2017 AFL-CIO Convention, delegates unanimously passed a resolution encouraging an active drive to help naturalize some 9.3 million people currently eligible to apply for citizenship, saying it would “provide concrete worker protections, expand and diversify the electorate, and help us build power to win the sweeping changes that working people expect and deserve.”
Less than two years later, the Texas AFL-CIO and the Texas Labor Citizenship Campaign are using the broad reach of the labor movement to help aspiring Americans realize their dreams.
At a naturalization ceremony in San Antonio yesterday, Raquel officially became an American. She is one of the first beneficiaries of the Texas Labor Citizenship Campaign, a partnership of the Texas AFL-CIO and nearly 20 unions.
The campaign began in August 2018, and so far nearly 350 workers have been helped with the process of becoming U.S. citizens.
The Texas Labor Citizenship Campaign has held more than two dozen union-led informational sessions, trainings and clinics to educate eligible union members and their families about the requirements, process and cost associated with applying for citizenship. In addition, applicants receive assistance from immigration attorneys and nearly 275 union-recruited volunteers.
There are 1.1 million Texans eligible to apply for citizenship—the largest in the United States.
“This is a long-term project with broad goals, not something that aims at a single issue or specific election. The benefits of citizenship drives will be lasting. We are engaging unions, building strong bonds with community activists, bringing informed voices into the political dialogue and engaging in solidarity with working people who too often do not benefit from the labor rights our movement has achieved.” —Texas AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Montserrat Garibay on the launch of the Texas Labor Citizenship Campaign.
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