ILLINOIS COALITION FOR IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS HELPS TRAIN 400 VOLUNTEERS
TO PROVIDE CITIZENSHIP SERVICES
Chicago, Illinois - There are over 1.8 million immigrants in Illinois, 783,000 are U.S. citizens and another
340,000 are currently eligible to become U.S. citizens. Since February 2005, the New American Initiative
in Illinois has assisted 56,458 immigrants to naturalize. This program initiated by The Illinois Coalition for
Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) in partnership with the Illinois Department of Human Services has
held 1,180 citizenship workshops across the state. On March 24, ICIRR will join National Partnership for
New Americans to train long-term volunteers or citizenship coaches who are committed to transforming
legal permanent residents (LPRs) into active citizens. The Partnership is outreaching into new immigrant
communities across the country in an effort to promote a more welcoming democracy in which new
Americans achieve equal opportunity and are a powerful and organized constituency.
ICIRR is a proud partner of The National Partnership for New Americans, and is launching its ambitious
citizenship program, Become a Citizen Now! to train over 1,000 Citizenship Coaches leading up to the
official launch on Saturday March 24. These citizenship coaches will build national capacity over the next
year to meet the Partnership’s collective goal of naturalizing 3650 citizens, assist almost 13,000 legal
permanent residents, and outreach to almost 73,000 people in 2012.
The Partnership is also announcing the launch of a new citizenship website in English and Spanish
www.becomeacitizennow.org and www.hazteciudadanoahora.org as a tool to assist eligible legal
permanent residents to become citizens.
WHAT: Training of Citizenship Coaches who will donate their skills and time to help ICIRR host
successful citizenship clinics in Illinois. The training will enable coaches to help LPR’s at citizenship
workshops throughout the citizenship process, including completing N-400 applications, legal screening,
recruiting and coordinating volunteers, and other event logistics.
WHEN:
Wednesday, March 21, volunteer training, at 2141 S Tan Court, Chicago, IL from 6pm to 8pm.
Thursday, March 22, volunteer training, at World Relief Chicago at 3507 W Lawrence Ave, Ste. 208,
Chicago IL from 6pm to 8pm.
Saturday March 24, citizenship workshop, St. Rita of Cascia Parish, 6243 S Fairfield Avenue,
Chicago, IL from 9am to 12pm.
Second Citizenship workshop: Saturday March 24, Truman College 1145 W Wilson Avenue,
Chicago, IL from 8am to 12pm.
VISUALS: People being trained to be citizenship coaches
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is a statewide coalition of more than 130
organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation
in the civic, cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society. For more information, visit
www.icirr.org.
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