On Saturday August 13, Tucson, Arizona had its first Citizenship Workshop, More than 80 lawful immigrants were helped, under the auspices of Mi Familia Vota to fill out the N 400 citizen application form.
It was an interesting scene. The cafeteria at Apollo Middle School on the south side of Tucson on a Saturday morning, not empty, but set up with groups of several tables inhabited by volunteers and immigrants applying for citizenship in the United States. Those attending had already been screened over the telephone. Many had attended a Citizenship Forum on July 16, where the application process was explained to them, and where they were told what papers they needed to bring to the workshop.
I was among the volunteers.
I first heard about the workshop in June when I was invited to a training session for volunteers, but was unable to attend. I was attracted to the idea of helping people become citizens because the country in general, and Arizona in particular, have become so unwelcoming and unfriendly to immigrants. I was able to attend a second training on August 11. The training was given by a local immigration lawyer assisted by an employee of Mi Familia Vota, and introduced us to the form, the naturalization process, and what we could expect.
I worked from about 10:00 until after 1:00, helping two people fill out their immigration forms. Both were hardworking, stable people, and it was a pleasure helping them. Volunteers brought water and snacks around. Immigration lawyers were there to help those with more complicated issues. Congressman Raul Grijalva showed up and went around thanking individual volunteers and offering encouragement to the applicants.
In all, more than 80 people were helped. For me it was a rewarding experience.
In its Mission Statement, Mi Familia Vota describes itself as ” a national organization working to unite and build power in Latino, immigrant and allied communities, and to ensure social and economic justice through increased civic engagement.” They have offices in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Texas. Although this was the first Citizenship Workshop in Tucson, there have already been several in the Phoenix area. There have also been other projects in the state. In 2010 they worked to mobilize the Latino community against SB 1070, the bill that encourages racial profiling by requiring local law enforcement to stop and ask for papers of anyone they believe might be here illegally. The bill was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer, and has been contested by the Obama Justice Department.
Before the 2010 election Mi Familia Vota held a voter registration drive for Yuma County in southwestern Arizona. Between the close of registration and the election, the right-wing blogs were buzzing with rumors of massive voter fraud. Mi Familia Vota, they claimed, had turned in 3000 registration forms on the last day, and that 65% of them had been rejected. Even if this were true, it would not have been voter fraud, since nobody tried to vote fraudulently.
In fact, though, the rumors were nowhere near true. Secretary of State Ken Bennett responded by releasing the numbers. During the last 10 days of registration, Yuma County received 822 voter registrations, of which 84 were rejected. That is closer to 10% than 65%. And since there was speculation that larger couties like Pima and Maricopa were “targeted” by activist groups for similar fraud. The numbers also refute these claims. For example, in Pima County, only 100 registrations out of more than 29,000 were submitted by Mi Familia Vota, and of these “only a handful” were rejected.
These rumors may have been part of the campaign against Raul Grijalva, whose district includes parts of Tucson as well as Yuma County, and whose seat was targeted by Tea Party activists.
With a presidential election coming up in 2012, we can expect similar rumors flying around the blogosphere. We must remember to assure ourselves of the facts, and that groups like Mi Familia Vota that encourage good citizenship and voter involvement fulfill a necessary and patriotic function.
Sources:
http://mifamiliavota.org/about
http://www.yumasun.com/articles/vota-43189-voters-campaigning.html
http://www.kvoa.com/news/voter-registration-fraud-rumors-proven-unfounded