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Election Fervor Drives Massive Surge In Immigrants Seeking Citizenship

(REUTERS/Chris Tilley)

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Steve Birr Vice Reporter
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The presidential election is sparking a major surge in immigrants seeking citizenship, according to a Virginia based community activist group.

With immigration as a central issue among campaigns this cycle, local activists say they are seeing three times the interest for gaining citizenship among immigrants in the community. CASA, a Virginia-based immigrant advocacy group is holding community meetings to encourage residents to apply for citizenship so they can vote, reports WJLA.

Roughly a hundred people attended a local elementary school rally Wednesday drawing attention to immigrant issues hosted by CASA. The group, which says they “seek to effect social change,” also held a session before the rally giving immigrants assistance with the citizenship process.

Some of those in attendance are decade long residents of northern Virginia and say the rhetoric in the presidential election is pushing them towards finally gaining their citizenship so they can vote.

“I think it’s time to be a citizen,” Hilda Abraham, a long time resident and mother of 6 from Mexico told WJLA. “I don’t like Trump. I’m sorry but I don’t like him.”

Donald Trump’s Republican candidacy is only part of what is driving the surge however, according to activists with CASA. They argue there is a growing trend of negative sentiment towards immigrants in the country. (RELATED: White House Launches Campaign To Get Immigrants To Sign Up For Citizenship)

“Wherever I travel in the U.S. these days, I see large numbers of eligible immigrants coming forward to apply for naturalization,” Congressman Luis Gutiérrez, who partnered with CASA for Wednesday’s event told ARL Now. “When there is anxiety about what appears to be rising xenophobia, that always motivates people who can seek citizenship to do so and motivates citizens to become voters.”

President Obama launched  the “Stand Stronger” campaign in September, aimed at immigrant outreach to encourage attaining citizenship so they can vote. There are roughly 8 million legal residents who could apply for citizenship currently in the U.S. according to White House estimates, 3 million of which are refugees.

“If you’re eligible, commit to becoming a citizen today,” Obama said in September. “It’s an an important step for you and an important step for our nation. Join us. Together we can make America stand even stronger.”

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