Who becomes President of the United States if the President and the vice-president should die? "Well, that depends on who you ask," I responded during my citizenship verbal examination back in 1981. "If you ask Alexander Haig, he'd say it's the Secretary of State." Without any facial expressions, the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services) examiner looked straight at me and asked, "Is that your answer?" I paused, realizing that the examiner was not interested in the fact that I was aware of current events, but instead wanted the official response. "No, actually next in line for the presidency is the Speaker of the House." Obviously, the examiner didn't find it humorous that Secretary of State Haig raised a few eyebrows when at a news conference immediately following the assassination attempt on President Reagan, he came out and declared, "I'm in charge here." This constitutionally was not accurate; the Secretary of State is fourth in line to the presidency. Despite my attempts to lighten up the mood during the verbal exam, I passed and soon became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America.
At the swearing in ceremonies, as new citizens, we were told and encouraged to participate in our democracy by exercising our rights and responsibilities - registering to vote. In short, if you don't like the way things are being run, don't complain. Instead, get involved in the process, cast your ballot, and make a difference.
In a study released last month by the non-partisan group Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, new estimates show that California immigrants and their children will play a greater role in our democracy as potential new voters. The three key populations studied in the report include adult immigrants that became naturalized citizens, legal immigrants that are eligible to naturalize, and U.S.-citizen children of immigrant parents.
Naturalized citizens are foreign-born individuals that become U.S. citizens after fulfilling a few requirements; applicants must be at least 18 years of age, a permanent legal resident ("Green Card Holder") residing in the U.S. continuously for a period of 5 years, or 3 years via marriage to a U.S. citizen, pass an English and civic exam, and finally take an oath of allegiance to the United States.
According to the report, in California there are 6.5 million immigrants that are either naturalized adults or eligible to naturalize. Of those, 4.2 million are naturalized citizens. In Santa Clara County, the number is 288,000. When broken down by nationalities, the largest group is from Vietnam followed by China and the Philippines.
The population that is harder to track is the 2.3 million legal immigrants eligible to naturalize. Why? Because some live out their whole lives and never find a need to obtain citizenship. The reasons for not taking that final step vary. For some, it is the fear of losing financial interests abroad by becoming a citizen. For others, it could be as simple as not wanting to pay the $700 application fee.
For me, the catalyst for becoming a naturalized citizen came in college when my physics class took a tour of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Before the tour, as a foreign-born student, I was taken aside to a private office and questioned on my family history. It was at the height of the cold war. After the questioning, I re-joined my classmates and continued the tour. Soon after, I applied for citizenship.
In Santa Clara County, there are 193,000 immigrants eligible to become naturalized citizens. Of these, immigrants from Mexico represent the largest group, followed by immigrants from Vietnam and Europe. Statewide, Mexicans represent 40 percent of the total immigrants.
The population group that can have a major impact in civic participation is our youth, as demonstrated by their increased involvement during the current presidential primaries. Today, half of all California teens ages 12 to 17 have an immigrant parent. By the next presidential election in 2012, approximately 1.3 million of them will become eligible to vote. In Santa Clara County, there are 59,000 teens of which of 45 percent are Asian and 37 percent Latino.
It is worth noting that the study only looked at legal immigration, which for the most part has been overshadowed by the national debate on illegal immigration and Congress's failed attempt to pass a comprehensive immigration reform policy.
When combined, naturalized and eligible to naturalize immigrants and their children could represent 29 percent (7.7 million) of all voters by year 2012.
Rob Paral, lead researcher for the report states, "The immigration debate should be about these 7.7 million potential new voters and how best to engage them in civic life
This report underscores the fact that every sector of California society - from government to business to philanthropy - has a stake in the timely integration of immigrants."
The complete report which aggregates the three populations in the study by major jurisdictions, state Senate and Assembly districts, can be downloaded at www.gcir.org
Mario Bañuelos
Mario Bañuelos Mario Bañuelos has lived in Morgan Hill for 19 years. He has served on the South Valley Dayworker Committee and is a member of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation. He is married and has four children. Reach him at mbanuelos@charter.net.
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