Obama Admin. Launches Ad Campaign Encouraging Immigrants To Become Citizens

The Obama administration is embarking on a media campaign to encourage immigrants to naturalize and become citizens.

This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released promotional materials and started an ad campaign aimed at raising awareness and promoting U.S. citizenship for lawful permanent residents.

“USCIS is proud to expand its efforts to assist those eligible for citizenship – the highest privilege of our nation’s immigration system – to take the necessary steps to complete their journey,” USCIS Director León Rodríguez said in a statement Monday. “Through this initiative, USCIS continues to emphasize the importance of citizenship to both individuals and the nation while providing free preparation tools for aspiring citizens.”

Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics estimates that there are 8.8 million permanent residents eligible to apply for citizenship.

The Obama administrations media campaign will be conducted in various languages.

Print and digital advertisements will be in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. Radio public service announcements will be heard in Spanish and Chinese and video public service announcements will be in English and Spanish.

The online digital advertisements will run from July 1- August 15. In September the agency will add print and digital media ads.

The campaign is part of an Obama administration push to encourage immigrants to become citizens. In recent months, the Obama administration has partnered with six cities including New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville, and Atlanta to promote naturalization.

“We know that citizenship opens up opportunities – opportunities to vote, to get a better job, to feel more like a part of the community – and we want to support our immigrant friends and neighbors however we can,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement when New York City and USCIS announced their partnership last month.

According to a USCIS release, immigrant groups are encouraged to help the effort by:

– Sharing digital and print campaign materials.

– Placing a USCIS banner or widget on the organization’s website.

– Registering for a free copy of the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit and using the contents in citizenship or English language programs.

– Placing the media campaign’s print advertisement posters in office waiting areas, classrooms, community centers and other visible areas.

– Requesting to download and use the available PSAs, free of charge, over the one-year life of the campaign.

– Adding the organization’s English language and/or citizenship education programs to America’s Literacy Directory at www.literacydirectory.org.