WEST RIDGE — As more immigrants in Chicago and Illinois apply for citizenship status, one West Ridge group is stepping up to help defray the costly process.
The Muslim Women's Resource Center, whose office is on the third floor of Devon Bank at 6445 N. Western Ave., announced it is offering free weekly citizenship classes to any immigrants living in Chicago or Illinois.
“It is important to be a citizen," said Sima Quraishi, the center's executive director. "Many immigrants are here in the United States, working, with kids in school, but they are hesitant to apply for citizenship. They are afraid they will not pass the tests and, of course, the fees can be high."
Citizenship courses generally take about five years to complete and can cost as much as $725 per person, she said.
But the demand is there.
In February, Quraishi said applications for her citizenship program have doubled, many centering around fears related to deportation.
Immigrants who pass the test also see higher incomes and a lower poverty rate when compared with those who remained non-U.S. citizens, Quraishi said.
About 70 percent of her current clients are Muslim, but the group said it serves all nationalities and has worked with immigrants from around the world — many of whom already live in the neighborhood.
The resource center will also offer a second free class that helps low-income families apply for public assistance though its Immigrant Family Resource Program.
The free programs are supported by the state and Chicago's New American Initiative.
The end goal is to help immigrants establish themselves in the United States "to help them overcome cultural and language barriers, and prepare them with appropriate occupational skills to become self sufficient and ready to enter the job market,” she said.
