Help lawful immigrants prepare for citizenship

Posts throughout the country often host naturalization orientation sessions to help teach proficiency in the English language and lessons in U.S. history and civics. To encourage other posts to follow this tradition of helping lawful immigrants assimilate into our society and become naturalized citizens, The American Legion has created the “Citizenship Outreach Guide.”

The guide can be downloaded for free online here.

In 2008, The American Legion adopted Resolution 12, “Task Force on New Americans,” which calls upon American Legion posts to support the efforts of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – the federal government agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. And Resolution 31, passed during the 2014 Spring Meetings, also encourages posts to assist legal immigrants seeking the path to naturalized U.S. citizenship.

The Citizenship Outreach Guide provides several examples of how posts can collaborate with USCIS to celebrate and honor lawful immigrants. For example, posts can hold naturalization information sessions; provide a color guard during naturalization ceremonies; host a welcome reception or naturalization oath ceremony; tutor immigrants with reading or writing; and more.

The guide also provides resources on how posts can promote citizenship and immigrant integration in their local communities. Failure to embrace new immigrants into society can be divisive to a community and promote racial and cultural bias. The American Legion strives to uphold a commitment to a leader in mentoring candidates for U.S. citizenship and supporting their assimilation into local communities.

Share how your post is helping lawful immigrants assimilate into society and become citizens on www.legiontown.org.