Citizenship Denials Up in Metro Areas
INS explains that it’s only now getting to backlog of bad applications
By Janet Dang and AP

The rate of legal immigrants denied U.S. citizenship in metropolitan areas increased more than 250 percent in a year’s time, according to federal immigration records.

From October to March, the Immigration and Naturalization Service denied citizenship to 56,235 people in its Los Angeles district -- a 1,625 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. Denials in other areas with high immigrant populations also skyrocketed -- Dallas and Miami’s rates jumped more than 500 percent; Chicago’s, 355 percent; and New York’s, 197 percent.

San Francisco’s citizenship denials have escalated as well. Though month-to-month figures were unavailable, INS spokeswoman Sharon Rummery did say that 1,412 applicants were denied in 1997 compared with 2,184 in 1998 -- a 54 percent increase.

Nationwide, the INS currently has about 2 million citizenship applications pending. Statistics show the number of new citizens also increased, but not nearly as fast as denials.

INS officials explained the figures by saying that for years, the agency had set aside problematic applications, such as those that failed to include a current address or suitable fingerprints. It finally got around to them this year, which accounts in part for the increase in denials, she said.

Bureaucratic mistakes also may have played a role. A computer system changeover last year led to the loss of an unknown number of home addresses. The mishap may have led to wrongful rejections, said William Yates, head of citizenship operations.

Failing to respond to mail from the INS can lead to being denied citizenship, and though the agency’s Los Angeles office claims that only a few hundred immigrants were denied citizenship because of lost addresses, immigrant-rights advocates say the number is much higher.

Also this month, some 50 demonstrators lobbying to retain state-run welfare and food programs for immigrants staged a protest at Gov. Gray Davis’ office in Los Angeles.

At issue is the future of the California Food Assistance Program and the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants. Both were created to allow thousands of poor legal immigrants to continue receiving welfare and food stamps after federal welfare reform went into effect three years ago, and both will expire next July unless Davis allocates more money to them.

Immigrant-rights advocates say some 10,000 immigrants get food stamps and about 5,000 receive cash welfare. More than half of the recipients are in Los Angeles County, 90 percent of whom are of Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese descent, according to Karin Wang, an attorney for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California.

Wang said she’s not sure the governor will continue the programs, especially given his decision to mediate -- rather than to order -- an end to the state’s appeal of Prop. 187.

“We thought that was bad enough,” she said. “Now Davis wants to shut down the lifeline for many vulnerable immigrants.”

But Michael Bustamante, Davis’ spokesman, said no decision on ending the programs has been made. “It’s premature at best to say one way or the other what the governor will be doing,” he said. “It will be part of the budget discussion.”

The governor could act on the budget bill by June 30, and many immigrant-rights advocates worry that the programs are on shaky ground. Said Wang: “We’re not sure if at all he’ll be there for us 100 percent.”

She said the programs have helped thousands of workers and older immigrants, who must now prove disability to qualify for federal social security funds. “SSI makes it hard for an 80-year old woman to prove disability, but obviously she can’t work,” Wang said.

“The feds reimburses the state” for cash assistance, Wang continued. “There really should be no argument to not extend it or not expand it.”

In fact, advocates say far too many immigrants have been unaware of the state’s programs, despite outreach efforts by groups including the Chinatown Senior Citizen Service and the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium.

“They don’t speak English. They don’t even know how to take the bus down to the office,” explained George Poon, director of the Chinatown Senior Citizen Service. “We have to help them with filling out the application.”