"To each new citizen here today: you make this city stronger. And to all our partners who work on pathways to citizenship, thank you," said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. On the steps of city hall, many celebrated National Citizenship Day on Wednesday, where Lurie reaffirmed this sanctuary city's commitment to the immigrant community. "San Francisco is a city that welcomes immigrants," Lurie said."
"In the crowd, we met Aurelia Ramirez, who became a U.S. citizen in May after entering the US from Mexico 23 years ago. Ramirez said her journey was difficult. She was granted a U-visa in 2015 after being a victim of domestic violence, then was granted a green and finally became naturalized. "Seeing what is going on, 'specially with these problems about ICE, I don't feel safety. But the good thing is that I'm a citizen," Ramirez said."
"Jorge Rivas, the city's director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs has noticed an uptick in people attending citizenship workshops. "If you have questions about whether you qualify, or if you have a complicated history, we can help you. If you come to one of our workshops, we'll work with you and try to assign you an attorney or one of our community partners, so they can look at your case," Rivas said."
San Francisco has naturalized over 14,000 people in the past 12 years and celebrates National Citizenship Day while affirming its sanctuary-city support for immigrants. The city allocates $600,000 annually to a citizenship program that funds ten workshops per year and has enabled over 100 workshops since 2013. Individual journeys include victims receiving U-visas, later green cards and eventual naturalization. Attendance at workshops has increased, and the city's Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs offers legal aid, screening for eligibility and helps connect attendees with attorneys or community partners for case review.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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