The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is celebrating this July 4 season with more than 140 separate naturalization ceremonies welcoming about 6,600 new U.S. citizens. In a post to the USCIS website, director Ur Mendoza Jaddou said:
Throughout our nation’s history, the promise of both life and liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness, is what has drawn millions from across the globe to call America their home. At USCIS, our belief in the promise of America is renewed daily as we work to welcome immigrants as our fellow citizens. There is nothing more patriotic than making the choice to be an American. This July 4, I’m proud to celebrate the more than 6,600 people who have invested their lives and hopes in our nation as new U.S. citizens. Our country will be stronger and more diverse because of the choice they have made.
Ms. Jaddou, the daughter of an Iraqi father and Mexican mother, is right about one thing: our country will certainly be made more diverse. While this year’s naturalized citizens hail from virtually all the world’s countries, Mexico, India, the Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic represent the top five sources of new citizens. “Made stronger” is more of a stretch, though surely the Democrat party will be strengthened. Groups such as the League of Women Voters are standing by at most of the ceremonies to sign up the new voters. Foreign-born voters already account for 10 percent of the voters in the U.S., the highest share in history, and surveys show they vote Democrat over Republican by a two-to-one margin.
As of June 15, USCIS had naturalized 661,500 new U.S. citizens so far this fiscal year, which began last October. At the current rate, it may well exceed last year’s total of 855,000. Currently, the U.S. has about 46.2 million foreign-born residents, the largest number ever recorded, making up 14.2 percent of the total population. The Census Bureau projects that by 2060, the U.S. population will have increased 22% over the 2020 figure, to a total of 404 million. Virtually all of that increase (95 percent) will come from immigration.
For more, see the NY Post.