With less than two months to go before the presidential election, the Obama administration has dedicated another $10 million to groups that assist with quickly naturalizing immigrants, in addition to the $19 million the Obama administration spent just a few months ago for the same reason.
According to Judicial Watch, the money is to be disseminated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to various groups that offer naturalization pathways and educational courses to new immigrants.
The fresh $10 million will reportedly help more than 25,000 immigrants from more than 50 countries in the citizenship process, according to USCIS. According to Judicial Watch, the administration is targeting heavy immigrant populations living in states like California, Florida, Washington, Ohio, and New York, among others.
“We intend to award about $1 million to first-time recipients in the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program for fiscal year 2016,” the DHS grant states. “Additionally, another $9 million will fund programs that provide both citizenship instruction and instruction and naturalization application services.”
The move comes just over a year after Obama formed a Task Force on New Americans, a special group dedicated to helping green card holders become U.S. citizens, whose goal, according to the Task Force, is to "strengthen civic, economic, and linguistic integration and to build strong and welcoming communities." He appointed Cecilia Munoz, former vice president of well-known open borders group National Council of La Raza, to lead as chairwoman.
In these taxpayer-funded programs, immigrants and refugees will be provided with free “citizen preparation” programs to help them towards naturalization through instructional courses and applications.
Judicial Watch notes that since 2009, the USCIS has spent a total of $63 million on helping over 156,000 immigrants prepare for citizenship. The $10 million in new grants will help permanent residents apply for U.S. citizenship through 46 organizations found in 21 states, and will be funded through September 2018.