PLATFORM : The Personal, More Than the Political, Drives Citizenship

Applications for U.S. citizenship are up 80% from last year nationally, and in Los Angeles, with its high immigrant population, the increase is 500%.

The popular belief is that Proposition 187, with its call for restrictions on education and benefits for illegal immigrants, is frightening legal residents into seeking citizenship. But M.K. KUEHLER spoke with participants at a mass naturalization ceremony in Riverside this month and found that more personal reasons predominated among this group, which had begun the naturalization process several years ago.

LUIS BECERRA, Mexico U.S. resident 20 years, in the Marine Corps since 1991

Mexico is my mother country, but the United States is my father country. The Marines have made me the man I am and want to be. I want to apply to the California Highway Patrol, but I couldn’t without being a citizen.

At first I wasn’t interested [in the military], but after school both the Army and the Marine Corps called me at the same time. I went to the Marines because I liked what they offered--education benefits and making me a better-disciplined person.

I want to join the CHP because I’m already used to uniformed life and rank structure. They have good pay and benefits. I’m one of “the few and the proud,” and I want to go to one of the other few and proud organizations in the state.

It feels just great to be a citizen. It is one of the best feelings I ever had, like when I graduated from boot camp.

ANH HANG, Vietnam U.S. resident five years

You can travel easier with an American passport. My oldest brother and my little brother and my parents are here, but my three older sisters want to stay in Vietnam. They want to see this country, but they don’t want to learn another language.

We planned to apply [for citizenship] from the beginning. My oldest brother is in the Army and he is already a citizen. My little brother will be one, and so will my mother. There are lots of benefits, and if my sisters want to come here it’s easier to sponsor them.

MARYROSE COOK, Czechoslovakia U.S. resident 46 years

I’ve wanted to live in America since I was a little girl. My friend’s aunt from America would come and I listened to her stories.

I married an American soldier [in World War II] but he was killed, so I came to America as a widow. His parents sponsored me. They were in West Virginia. I was scared to death. Some people pointed fingers at me and said “foreigner.” I just ignored it, but it did hurt inside. In most places everyone was very congenial.

After I put in my citizenship application [to the Immigration and Naturalization Service], I never heard from them. I wrote letters to them in the 1950s and in the ‘80s, and still never heard. This time, I picked up a Palm Springs newspaper and saw a small ad about these INS people helping people to become citizens. I called the lady and she was very nice--I had always heard that INS people were terribly mean. She told me what was going to happen and I followed through and it happened just like she said.

I’ve tried to be a good American, I just didn’t have the certificate. I volunteer at a hospital and try to give back a little for the good time I’ve had here so far.

ALISON ABID, England, and DR. ARSHAD ABID, Pakistan U.S. residents for seven years

She: My dad is from Scotland. He was sent on a business trip to South Africa, met my mother and ended up staying. I grew up in Zimbabwe [formerly Rhodesia]. I studied nursing in Rhodesia, and got more training in obstetrics in England.

He: We met in Zimbabwe and traveled in Austria, Saudi Arabia and England. This is the best place of all those places. In Europe, the weather is bad and it is really cramped. We liked Zimbabwe--the open country, the animals. This place is closest to that.

She: We’re going to stay in this country. There are a lot of political problems in Zimbabwe, and problems in education and medicine. My husband is a cardiologist and the field is much more advanced here. America is so big. There are so many more places to go and more chances to progress. England is like an old boys’ school. You’ve got to know somebody and there are not many job opportunities. There’s more future here.

TUNDE AUGE, Hungary U.S. resident six years

There are a lot of advantages--I want to vote, and when I go to Hungary, it’s easier to travel. Also, Men [in Hungary] have to join the military, but there are few women in it. Here, I am a seaman apprentice in the Navy.

We had relatives here in Los Angeles and my parents brought us when I was 13. I didn’t like it here. I didn’t speak any English at all. The last three months of the eighth grade, all I said all day was, “I don’t speak English.” That summer, I learned English from television--the talk shows and series. When I started my freshman year, it was better. I used English a lot and picked it up real quick after a time. I still speak Hungarian with my parents.

After high school I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I thought I’d join the military to give me time to decide. I’m still deciding, but the GI Bill will pay three-fourths of college [tuition].