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The process of becoming a legal U.S. citizen has been lengthening for years, but the backlog in citizenship applications has increased significantly during the Trump administration, which is concerning to immigrant advocates. People applying for citizenship must fill out a written application, take a citizenship test, and be interviewed, and each of those steps takes longer now. Listen to hear about recent changes in the citizenship application process and timeline and how they are viewed by various participants in the process.
Story Length: 3:44
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April 9, 2018
4:07
Every ten years the U.S. Census Bureau aims to count every person living in the United States, and the next census begins on April 1, 2020. Data from the census directly affects how billions of dollars in federal and state aid are allocated to local and state governments. When the questions were initially approved and released, they included the question: Is this person a citizen of the United States? Some states expressed fears about how this question would affect the response rate, which would impact their state budgets. Listen to hear more about the proposed changes to the 2020 census questions.
Update: Since this story was published, it was decided that the citizenship question would not be included on the 2020 U.S. Census form, after the Supreme Court ruled against it.
Read MoreApril 3, 2018
5:30
The Trump administration designated March 5, 2018 as the last day that recipients of DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, could apply to renew their status. But the fate of these young people is still uncertain as Congress hasn’t reached a compromise on this issue. One DACA recipient is a woman who graduated from college and is supporting her family on her teacher’s salary. But her younger sister is not protected by DACA. Listen to this story to learn more about the effects of the government’s decision not to accept new DACA applications.
Read MoreJanuary 22, 2018
2:44
In 2001, earthquakes devastated El Salvador. Former President George W. Bush implemented a humanitarian program that allowed some Salvadorans to live and work in America temporarily. The Temporary Protected Status has been regularly renewed since then. Last week, the Trump Administration announced it would be ending the program. This affects about 200,000 people who have been living, working, and paying taxes in the United States for 17 years. They will return to a country with few jobs and one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Listen to learn more about the impact of ending this program.
Read MoreSeptember 11, 2017
3:35
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump administration will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months. This program was established by executive action during the Obama administration to grant people under 16 who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents a temporary reprieve from deportation. Immigration officials will stop taking new applications and will decide on renewals on a case by case basis. Listen to hear more about the ending of the DACA program.
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