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Casa Aztlan makes citizenship pitch to immigrants
Pilsen group hopes to help 300 area residents become U.S. citizens

By ELISE SIMMONS, Medill News Service


Pilsen-based Casa Aztlan has begun a citywide campaign to help Mexican immigrants become U.S. citizens.

"This is a campaign with a goal of driving a large number of immigrants on the road to citizenship," said Elizabeth "Lisa" Hernandez, Democratic candidate for state representative in the 24th District, who is based in west suburban Berwyn.

Hernandez spoke at a news conference called by officials of Casa Aztlan, which has offices in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and in Berwyn. Officials of the organization said they hope to get up to 300 members of their community on the road to citizenship at a special workshop to be held Saturday.

The comprehensive workshop is designed to help immigrants start the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. Participants must be permanent residents for five years or three, if married to a U.S. citizen.

Photo identification and fingerprinting will be done on site at the workshop. Participants should also bring a money order made out to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the successor organization to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

"What the workshop is set up to do is answer questions and help individuals handle the forms they need," said Chris Bentley, USCIS media coordinator.

"The money order is part of the processing for the application and fingerprints."

After immigrants gain citizenship status, they will be eligible to better represent the growing needs of the Latino community by participating in the democratic process.

"This is a positive way of encouraging folks who haven’t started their citizenship path," Hernandez said.

Casa Aztlan is among several immigrant advocacy organizations that streamline the citizenship paperwork and make sure that an application is accurate before submitting it to USCIS.

"Normally, it takes two years to become a U.S. citizen" after the paperwork has begun, said Isabel Beltran, program coordinator for Casa Aztlan. "With our help, citizenship becomes a six-month process."

The workshop runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the First Bank of the Americas, 5310 W. Cermak Rd., Cicero. Beltran said her group intends to hold workshops every month.

For more information, contact Beltran at (70 863-4236.