Welcome the Stranger: HSI's, Immigration and the Process of Naturalization (PT. 1) by Tamice Namae
Hispanic Serving institutions
Hispanic serving institutions are degree-granting institutions with a full-time equivalent of at least 25% Hispanic undergraduate enrollment (Figueredo 2017). There has to be total enrollment, meaning that enrollment of both full-time and part-time students at the graduate or undergraduate level at the institution or by a head count of students who are taking credit courses (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities). According to Pew Research, the Hispanic population is one of the biggest and fastest growing non-white groups in the United States. In the past, the number of Hispanic students who dropped out was quite high but this number has slowly been decreasing as many are now enrolling in college. In fact, many post-secondary schools have become Hispanic-Serving institutions to better serve these learners. This designation enables them to obtain financing from the federal government to better support Hispanic college learners (Lee 2019).
Approximately 35% of Hispanic graduates of high school were enrolled in university in 1996. This amount increased to 47% in 2016. Most HSIs can be found in states with large (and high populations in general) such as Texas, Florida, New York, and California. Most HSIs are small institutions with less than 2,000 full-time learners in student communities. HSIs obtain substantial federal financing, appropriating over $120 million in 2018 for HSI undergraduate programs (Lee 2019).
Immigration
According to Hispanic Federation, Immigrants have a big role to play in remaking America and those from Latin America have brought transformation for communities in both the rural and urban settings. This transformation has not been easy over the past decade because of anti-immigrant dialogue and legislation in the United States has increased. Congress has failed to enact meaningful immigration reforms causing anxiety to the immigrant families as some have been deported, forced to live apart and generally living in fear. Among all immigrants, Mexicans form the largest foreign-born group in the country, representing 25 percent of the 44.5 million immigrants as of 2017. Migration from Mexico to the US has long been said to be motivated by low-skilled, unauthorized employees seeking financial opportunities but that narrative has changed over time as today’s immigrants from Mexico are more learned and can speak English (Batalova, Zong 2018). For Mexicans, naturalization in the U.S is harder compared to other immigrants because of the large presence of mainly unauthorized immigrants affecting their eligibility for U.S citizenship. Approximately 31% of Mexican immigrants were naturalized citizens in 2017, compared with 49% of the total foreign-born population. (Batalova, Zong 2018). Immigration is a major issue especially under the current administration and has been fodder for political debates over the years with no comprehensive reforms in place.
This is devastating reality due to the fact that one of the reasons immigrants come into the U.S is to seek asylum especially those from Central America, a majority of them being minors fleeing from violence in their countries. These asylum seekers end up crossing the U.S-Mexico border for safety to find that they have different legal rights from their counterparts from Mexico. For example, under the Anti-Human Trafficking Law of 2008, minors from non-contiguous nations are entitled to a hearing on deportation before returning home (Felter and Renwick 2018). The Trump administration has intensified efforts to discourage border crossings, including those looking for asylum. The annual cap of refugees admitted to the United States was reduced by half to fifty-thousand. These orders could make it more difficult for individuals to seek asylum (Felter and Renwick 2018).
Many asylum seekers in the United States come from Latin America, particularly the Central American Northern Triangle region of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. They are escaping because both financial and political instability continue to plague their home countries with violence — most of which is gang-related. There are many females escaping; kids who may be unaccompanied or traveling with their parents; and LGBTQ individuals. These regions are among the most dangerous countries in the world despite focused attempts to combat violence in recent years. Women and children, particularly girls, and LGBTQ individuals in the Northern Triangle nations continue to face elevated rates of serious and persistent risk from gender-based violence. Women and children also experience violent physical and sexual violence by nefarious gang members and other people in the Northern Triangle region. In addition, LGBTQ individuals in these nations are susceptible to comparable abuses and threats. Survivors often have no way of pursuing justice, because in these nations there is a high level of impunity and absence of protection. Women, children and LGBTQ caravan travelers have shared horrific stories citing sexual abuse, extreme stress and fear, domestic violence and rape as reasons for fleeing their countries (Mathema 2018).
The Process of Naturalization
According to the Department of Homeland Security, one can become a U.S citizen either by birth or naturalization.
“Naturalization is the process by which US citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act [INA].” To become a citizen by naturalization, you must:
Apply for “derived” or “acquired” citizenship through parents- If one’s parents became citizens before they reached the age of 18, then they may be citizens too and would not need to apply for naturalization
Apply for naturalization by filling for N-400. One would qualify if they have been living as a permanent resident for at least 5 years and meet all other requirements. Also, if they been a permanent resident for at least 3 years and meet requirement for filing as a spouse of a U.S citizen. If one has qualifying service in the U.S armed forces and meets all requirement and lastly if one is a U.S citizen and has a child born and living outside the US and meets all other requirements.
References
Batalova, Jeanne and Zong, Jie. “Mexican Immigrants in the United States”. Migration Policy. October 11, 2018. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/mexican-immigrants-united-states
“Become a Citizen.”Department of Homeland Security. https://www.dhs.gov/how-do-i/become-citizen
Figueredo, David Steele. “What It Means to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution”. Huff Post. May 10, 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-it-means-to-be-a-hispanic-serving-institution_b_59139797e4b01ad573dac0ce
Felter, Claire and Renwick, Danielle. “The U.S. Immigration Debate”. Council on Foreign Relations. July 2, 2018. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-immigration-debate-0
“Hispanic-Serving Institution Definitions”, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. https://www.hacu.net/hacu/HSI_Definition.asp
“Immigration”. Hispanic Federation. https://hispanicfederation.org/programs/immigration/
Lee, Shannon. Hispanic-Serving Institutions: History, Resources & a Look at Top HSI Colleges. Affordable College Online. 2019. https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/hispanic-serving-institutions/
Mathema, Silva. “They Are (Still) Refugees: People Continue to Flee Violence in Latin American Countries”. Center for American Progress. June 1, 2018. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2018/06/01/451474/still-refugees-people-continue-flee-violence-latin-american-countries/