Mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez signed a letter of agreement to continue a partnership strengthening citizenship education and awareness efforts.

“Our partnership with USCIS has helped open the doors of opportunity for the immigrant community in Chicago, and we are proud to strengthen this relationship by renewing our letter of agreement,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Naturalized citizens make tremendous contributions to our communities, our city and our country every day, and we will continue to support the immigrant community and assist as many Chicagoans as possible in navigating the naturalization process.”

“USCIS is proud of this ongoing partnership with Mayor Emanuel to provide immigrants with greater access to citizenship information and resources, and we are excited to renew our agreement,” said Rodríguez. “The city of Chicago has always been a welcoming home to immigrants from all over the world. USCIS wants to ensure that all immigrants have access to accurate immigration information, and the proper tools to help them become responsible and educated citizens of this great city of Chicago.”

As part of this partnership, Chicago Public Library branches will continue promoting “Citizenship Corners” which make USCIS citizenship preparation materials more accessible to people throughout the city. USCIS will also provide training to librarians and city officials about the naturalization process and the free preparation resources available to immigrants who come to local public libraries in search of information.
Under the agreement, which will remain in effect for three years, USCIS and the city of Chicago also plan to:
• Provide citizenship information through schools, community centers and other city facilities.
• Expand community partnerships to hold naturalization information sessions throughout Chicago.
• Raise awareness on how to avoid immigration scams.
• Celebrate citizenship by holding naturalization ceremonies at prominent venues in the city of Chicago.

Since taking office, Mayor Emanuel has launched a series of initiatives to increase naturalization rates among U.S. permanent residents, including launching the Cities for Citizenship Campaign with Mayors of New York City and Los Angeles. Earlier this year, through a partnership between the Mayor’s Office of New Americans, the Chicago Public Library Foundation, the Chicago Public Library (CPL), and Citi Community Development, the Chicago Cities for Citizenship campaign funded eight community based organizations to help Chicagoans achieve citizenship by providing education, outreach, and direct assistance to immigrants at ten CPL branches, as well as financial education.

For more information on Cities for Citizenship, please visit: http://www.citiesforcitizenship.org and for more information about USCIS and its programs, visit uscis.gov.

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