Speech #1040197504

Hakeem Olajuwan. Patrick Ewing. and General John Shalikashvili have in common? Theyre all naturalized Americans. people who came to our country as immigrants and made major contributions to American life after receiving the precious gift of American citizenship. Naturalizationthe process by which a legal immigrant is granted the full rights and responsibilities of citizenshiprepresents the final step in a journey toward the American dream. a journey played by the rules. As a firm believer in the American dream. and as a U.S. Senator whose mother became a naturalized citizen. I am pleased to Introduce the Citizenship Promotion Act of 1996 which will put the "N" back in INS. This muchneeded legislation will reform our current system of naturalization so that it can better serve those who want to follow the rules and become full participants in American society. California has much at stake in improving the current delivery of naturalization services due to the high number of immigrants in the State who wish to naturalize. The latest surge in naturalization applications submitted is nowhere more evident than here. In fiscal year 1995. an estimated 1 million people applied for naturalization in the United States. over 380.000 of them live in the State of California. This is a 500percent increase over the totals for fiscal year 1991. Although Doris Meissner. the Commissioner of INS. is actively addressing the naturalization backlog. the wait for a naturalization application to be processed is still a year or longer in cities such as San Francisco and San Jose. Efforts by INS to cut waiting periods in heavily impacted cities continue to be delayed by lack of funding and outdated agency structures. We owe It to those who patiently follow the rules to do better. That is why my legislation is needed. The first component of the legislation will create a citizenship promotion agency within INS. Headed by a new associate commissioner for citizenship. the citizenship promotion agency (CPA] will be responsible for carrying out all of the naturalization activities of the INS. Currently. the INS lumps responsibility for naturalization with their other responsibilities. A separate agency for naturalization within INS will not only elevate the importance of the function but it will clear up the backlog of applications. The naturalization fees will be used to fund the naturalization process only. as they should be. My legislation further provides for funds in the naturalization examinations fee account to be used for English language instruction. Today. there is an overwhelming need for more English language classes catering to immigrants trying to naturalize. The current availability of such classes is inadequate to meet the growing need for this type of Instruction. In Los Angeles. for example. more than 20.000 people are now on waiting lists for English classes. My legislation recognizes that learning English is not only an important component of naturalization. but also the key to opening all of Americas opportunities to our new citizens. The CPA will be encouraged to enter into cooperative agreements with other Government entities as well as private and nonprofit organizations to help carry out its naturalization outreach responsibilities. This will help maximize the capabilities of organizations that perform valuable naturalization outreach services at the local level. My legislation also creates a citizenship advisory board to work with the Citizenship Promotion Agency. This board will give INS the benefit of advice and assistance from people with diverse experiences and perspectives on the naturalization process through the issuance of two reports a year. Many of our most acclaimed Americans have been naturalized citizens. This is particularly true in San Francisco and the bay area. For instance. Lofti Mansouri. director of the San Francisco Opera is a naturalized citizen. Helgi Tommason. the director and choreographer for the San Francisco Ballet. is in the process of becoming one. Leo McCarthy is a naturalized citizen. The last four Nobel Prize winners at UC Berkeley as well as UC Berkeley Chancellor Chang LinTien and UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang are all great thinkers and naturalized Americans. Our Nation has bestowed the gift of citizenship on them. they have repaid our culture and society with the priceless gifts of their knowledge and creativity. These individuals are not only the leading lights in the bay area. they have received accolades the world over for their talents and contributions. From the people we have invited today. you will hear the stories of what they have been through and what naturalization means to them. And while all of our naturalized citizens are not famous. many of them embody the best of Americas traditions and values. Take the example of Joyce Cheng. a naturalized citizen who came from Hong Kong in 1965 to settle in Californias central valley. Ms. Cheng worked at her familys restaurant and two other jobs in order to pay for her education at the University of California at Berkeley.