Natural Americans - ized - increase in numbers - includes a related article on Americans who leave the country

American Demographics, March, 1997 by Marcia Mogelonsky

Dag Ax, age 48, had been in the U.S for 27 years and served in the military for 18 before he became an official American. "The Army had let a noncitizen act as a recruiter," says Ax. "This was a big no-no, but all was forgiven, since I had become a citizen.,

The U.S. gained about 5 million new citizens in 1995. Four million were born here. Another 1.1 million became naturalized American citizens during the fiscal year. This was more than twice the number naturalized in the previous record year of 1994. Even as the numbers soar, however, immigrants may not be naturalizing at the rates they used to.

As of 1995, 31 percent of the nation's 23 million foreign-born people had become citizens, according to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey. This is the lowest rate since the bureau started collecting such information in 1920. Ironically, part of the downturn may be due to huge numbers of immigrants in recent years, since anyone who's been in the country less than five years isn't yet eligible for naturalization. But others are eligible and haven't opted to become full-fledged Americans.

Motivations for U.S. citizenship can range from the altruistic to the mundane. Some become citizens because they want to "be free." Others pledge allegiance because U.S. citizenship confers financial or physical security. Given the recent pitch of the political debates surrounding immigration, however, another factor -- anxiety -- has prompted thousands of legal permanent residents to take the oath of citizenship.

"When I was a practicing immigration lawyer (five years ago), naturalization was a natural course for many of my clients. They had embraced a new life and wanted to align themselves firmly with our system of government," says Enid Trucios-Hynes, assistant professor of law at the University of Louisville. "The other reason many of my clients sought naturalization was for tax purposes. Estate taxes are considerably higher for noncitizens than for citizens, and many foreign-born spouses of American business people opted to naturalize because of this fact. But now many nonnaturalized immigrants are very concerned about our government's intent to limit eligibility for welfare and even other benefits. They are becoming citizens as quickly as possible."

"Until last year, there was very little that distinguished a citizen from a legal permanent resident," says Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies. "The only real differential was the ability to vote. But that has all changed. By enacting laws to deny welfare and other benefits to any person who is not a citizen, the government has forced people to rethink their relationship with the United States. This country never really pressed the issue before, but now it is sending the message that if you are going to stay here for good, then become a citizen."

"I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE..."

Krikorian does not think that the push to naturalize legal permanent residents is necessarily a bad thing. "Being naturalized is a way for a person to formally consummate his or her relationship with the United States. Being naturalized gives people the right to vote and to participate fully in our system of government."

Recent government initiatives to naturalize as many immigrants as possible are not the only factors contributing to the deluge at Immigration and Naturalization Service offices around the country. There is also the continuing fallout from the amnesty program of the late 1980s, which allowed more than I million illegal immigrants to become legal residents. These new permanent residents had to wait five years before becoming citizens, but by 1994 many were eligible.

There is also the "might as well do it" philosophy of many longterm permanent residents whose alien registration cards were recalled in the 1992 Green Card Replacement Program. This initiative requires long-term permanent residents to replace their old green cards with new ones. Many are choosing instead to become naturalized, paying an application fee only slightly higher than for the new green card.

Newly eligible and long-term residents have contributed to a 70 percent increase in naturalizations between 1992 and 1994. Its no wonder naturalization ceremonies fill whole football stadiums and concert halls in such major gateway cities as Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami. Even smaller cities can put together massive swearing-in ceremonies. Danitza Valdez, originally from Lima, Peru, attended her ceremony last year at the San Jose Arena. "There were about 10,000 people,,, says Valdez. "It was very nice. I got kind of emotional, because its an achievement."

The current naturalization law, which allows any person over age I@ who has been legally admitted to the United States to become a citizen after establishing residency for five consecutive years, is essentially the same law enacted in 1802, with only one change. In 1952 the McCarran-Walter Act opened naturalized citizenship to people of all races.