Mexico Helping People Become U.S. Citizens Before
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Mexico is reportedly helping its citizens who are permanent residents in the United States become naturalized, which would allow them to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
The unprecedented effort is seen by many as another way in which the country is opposing Donald Trump's bid to become president.
Bloomberg Business reports:
Officially, Mexico says it respects U.S. sovereignty and has no strategy to influence the result of the presidential race. Yet Mexican diplomats are mobilizing for the first time to assist immigrants in gaining U.S. citizenship, hosting free workshops on naturalization.
"This is a historic moment where the Mexican consulate will open its doors to carry out these types of events in favor of the Mexican community," Adrian Sosa, a spokesman for the consulate in Chicago, said before an event on March 19. In Dallas, about 250 permanent residents attended the consulate’s first "citizenship clinic" in February and another 150 in its second in March. In Las Vegas, the turnout topped 500.
Underscoring the fine line that separates participation from interfering in another country’s election, Sosa noted that the consulate only hosts the event but it’s community organizations who offer the advice.
A Mexican consul official in Las Vegas emphasized that the campaign is to encourage citizenship and that it is not intended to make sure people vote.
Trump made waves early in his campaign by vowing to build a border wall that Mexico would pay for. His repeated promises about the wall drew harsh criticism from former presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon.
Fox and Friends discussed the new report with FoxNews.com contributor Lili Gil Valletta, who said this could result in large numbers of new voters.
But she pointed out that those who are eligible cannot simply fill out a form and quickly become U.S. citizens.
"I went through the process. It can go anywhere from six months to even two years," she said, adding that it also costs $680.
Overall, Valletta said that Mexico's program is walking a "fine line" between helping its people become citizens and influencing another country's elections.