Mexican Immigrants’ Desire for Citizenship

In “Amnesty for Mexicans Borders on Futility” (Commentary, July 22), Frank del Olmo perpetuates misleading stereotypes about Mexican immigrants’ attitudes toward the U.S. and U.S. citizenship. He correctly notes that before the 1990s, the naturalization rates of Mexican immigrants lagged behind those of immigrants from many other countries. However, he mischaracterizes most of these immigrants as unmarried workers who failed to become U.S. citizens because of their ties to their home country and their desire to return there eventually.

In 1988, the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund conducted its National Latino Immigrant Survey, which painted a very different picture of Mexican newcomers. The NLIS was the first national survey of a representative sample of Latino immigrants that explored their attitudes toward life in the U.S. and the naturalization process. Virtually all of the Mexican respondents in the survey--98%--reported that they intended to make the U.S. their permanent home. Eighty-six percent believed that U.S. citizenship is important, and 95% of respondents identified the right to vote as a key opportunity of naturalization.

We learned that lack of information about the opportunities of U.S. citizenship and bureaucratic obstacles in the naturalization process were far more plausible explanations for low Mexican naturalization rates than the reasons cited by Del Olmo. Many of these barriers still confront Latino immigrants, particularly the exorbitant fee that immigrants pay to initiate the confusing and unwieldy application process.

Mexican immigrants work here, pay taxes and contribute to the economic and civic life of our communities, and they should have the opportunity to pursue citizenship if they so choose. A guest worker plan that does not provide that opportunity does a great disservice to immigrant workers and our nation as a whole.

Arturo Vargas

Executive Director

NALEO Educational Fund

Los Angeles

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Why does Del Olmo refer to efforts to enforce the most generous immigration laws in the world as “immigrant-bashing”? Such name-calling makes even levels of legal immigration a topic difficult to discuss. Immigration has been the primary driving force behind our state’s population growth of late, and not all regard a California of 50 million people in the near future as in the best interest of the environment and our quality of life. Yet try raising the issue and “bashing” will take on real meaning.

Was the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, chaired by the late Barbara Jordan, acting in a racist, xenophobic manner when it called for a reduction to more historical levels of immigration? We hardly think so.

Alan and Pricela Benson

Newbury Park