IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 820 

Expressing support for designation of February 2020 as National Citizenship 

Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2020 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. 

CASE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. 

CORREA, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, 

Mr. SOTO, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, 

Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. VELA, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for designation of February 2020 as 

National Citizenship Month. 

Whereas the United States has been recognized for centuries 

as the land of opportunity for those seeking economic and 

educational opportunities as well as freedom from persecution; 

Whereas immigrants account for 13.6 percent of the population of the United States; 


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Whereas one in eight people in the United States is an immigrant and one in six workers in the United States is an 

immigrant; 

Whereas when immigrants arrive in the United States, the 

vast majority embrace the principles that strengthen our 

Nation: valuing work ethic, pursuing education, and 

striving for economic opportunity; 

Whereas thanks to their reflection of these principles, immigrants have allowed the United States to thrive economically, socially, and culturally, which reinforces and further defines our Nation as the land of opportunity; 

Whereas the United States must continue to welcome immigrants from across the globe in order to remain standing 

as a beacon for innovation and advancement; 

Whereas the United States, by embracing these principles, 

continues to attract the most talented, diverse, and hardest working immigrants; 

Whereas the non-citizen population in the United States has 

been estimated to be 22.5 million in 2017, of which 13.2 

million were lawful permanent residents; 

Whereas of those 13.2 million lawful permanent residents, 9 

million are eligible to become naturalized citizens of the 

United States; 

Whereas the United States continues to support our immigrant community, particularly those that seek a pathway 

to citizenship; 

Whereas naturalization is the formal process by which United 

States citizenship is granted to immigrants after they 

have fulfilled requirements under the Immigration and 

Nationality Act; 


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Whereas U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) 

welcomes approximately 620,000 to 780,000 citizens each 

year during naturalization ceremonies; 

Whereas nearly 70 percent of lawful permanent residents became eligible to naturalize more than 15 years ago; 

Whereas the high cost of citizenship and lack of information 

prevent many lawful permanent residents from naturalizing; 

Whereas naturalization application processing should be fair, 

efficient, affordable, and accessible to all eligible individuals, not just the wealthy; 

Whereas the proposed hikes in naturalization fees would raise 

the cost of applying for citizenship by more than 80 percent, from $640 to $1,170, while also eliminating the fee 

waiver and reduced fee for low-income applicants, making 

naturalization unaffordable for 4 million eligible naturalization applicants; 

Whereas current USCIS naturalization backlogs are averaging 10 to 16 months, with some applicants waiting 

over 2 years before obtaining citizenship; 

Whereas lengthy naturalization backlogs with processing 

times of more than six months deprive our country of the 

expeditious integration of new Americans; 

Whereas in addition to adding to the richness and diversity 

of our Nation’s culture, our immigrant community plays 

a critical role in growing our economy, for example, in 

2013, immigrants added $1.6 trillion to the United 

States gross domestic product (GDP) and helped increase 

the standard of living for Americans; 


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Whereas citizenship alone can boost individual earnings by 8 

to 11 percent, leading to a potential $21 to 45 billion increase in cumulative earnings over 10 years; and 

Whereas in addition to the economic, educational, and cultural benefits of citizenship, newly naturalized citizens 

gain the right and privilege to vote in United States elections, run for public office, bring family members to the 

United States, and other benefits: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of National Citi3 zenship Month; 

4 (2) supports the goals and efforts of National 

5 Citizenship Month, which include raising awareness 

6 about the requirements for naturalization and finan7 cial assistance options, hosting citizenship work8 shops, modernizing and streamlining the naturaliza9 tion process, and attending citizenship ceremonies; 

10 (3) honors the contributions our immigrant 

11 community makes to our Nation; 

12 (4) recognizes that the successful naturalization 

13 of the 9 million eligible lawful permanent residents 

14 will provide significant social and economic benefits 

15 to our Nation; and 

16 (5) recognizes that when we fully incorporate 

17 and integrate our immigrant community in our NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:40 Jan 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR820.IH HR820

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1 tion, then our democracy and Nation are further 

2 strengthened. 

Æ 


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