HRC Joins Ya Es Hora in 12 Citizenship Workshops Across the Country

Under the leadership of our steering committees and in coalition with national and local organizations, HRC recruited volunteers for twelve ya es hora citizenship workshops across the country from September 5 through October 3, ranging from 5-80 volunteers in each city, and on average about 20-30 volunteers per city. These cities include Boston, Los Angeles, Arlington, VA, Washington, D.C.,  Phoenix, Denver, Houston, Queens, NY, Charlotte, Chicago, San Diego, and Santa Ana, CA.

In addition, under the leadership of one of our diversity co-chairs, HRC served as the lead organization in San Diego with the help of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund (NALEO) by convening a coalition table among local organizations and coordinating the planning and preparations, in addition to helping recruit volunteers.

HRC’s participation in ya es hora citizenship workshops throughout the months of September and October marks the expansion of its involvement since July, when HRC joined the coalition in five cities. ya es hora is a coalition of faith, labor, media, and community-based organizations hosting a series of volunteer citizenship workshops as part of a civic engagement campaign aimed at providing immigrants with resources to apply for citizenship and to become active participants in U.S. democracy. Joining this coalition has been a historic opportunity for HRC to engage the Latino/a community, including its own Latino/a members, partner organizations, fellow volunteers, and citizenship applicants.

After the jump are remarks from some of our volunteers and pictures from some the workshops.

From Daniel Penaloza, Washington, D.C. diversity subcommittee volunteer who lead our participation in Washington, D.C. on September 12^th:

“I had a great time at our Washington, DC Ya Es Hora workshop. Our HRC volunteers were well-received by other volunteers and the applicants, and our strong presence gave many of us a chance to have a heart-to-heart dialogue with other volunteers and applicants about who we are as LGBT people and allies and why we are participating in Ya Es Hora. People picked up the HRC Spanish brochures that we put on the registration table and asked us questions when they noticed our shirts, and many volunteers asked to partner up with our HRC volunteers so that they can learn more about why were are there and what we do.

One of the most important learning moments for me was during the volunteer training session before the workshop started. As we were being taught how to help people fill out the N-400 citizenship application form, the instructor pointed out the fact that males between the ages of 18 and 25, including legal permanent residents, are required to register for the Selective Service System, and that the N-400 application asks this question of male applicants. One of our transgender volunteers pointed out the fact, however, that some transgender applicants may not have been identifying as male when they were 18 to 25 years old, and thus, if volunteers are helping transgender legal permanent residents complete their N-400 forms, they should be mindful of this possibility and this question. It was an eye-opener for the volunteers and attorneys in the room, and certainly one of the most poignant educational moments among many of the day. Not only did we all get to learn about LGBT and immigration issues, but we experienced a concrete example of the intersection between the two, and how this intersection can affect a real-life person.”

From Sharon Wong, Washington, D.C. Steering Committee diversity co-chair who lead our participation in Arlington, VA on September 12^th:

“I’m glad I volunteered with the Ya Es Hora campaign. It’s been quite a while since I had to fill out my own paperwork to apply for citizenship, and so it gave me a sense of helping and giving back.  Most of the ones I filled out were for couples, and it made me think about how same-sex couples are denied a similar benefit.  Despite that, it was a great experience.  My girlfriend and I were paired with an individual from Catholic Charities.  She had volunteered before and was a tremendous help in us getting through as many applications as we did, with us working sometimes with a husband and wife team at the same time.  Since she was Spanish-speaking, it helped us when our applicants didn’t always understand some of the questions, especially some questions we couldn’t believe were still being asked or how they were phrased!  All our applicants were from Bolivia, and were well-prepared with their documentation.  It was great to get to know them, not just to fill out paperwork and ask questions, but to really talk to them about their lives, their travels, their jobs, their children. The day flew by and we ended up becoming friends with our teammate who we found out was also lesbian! In addition to helping the community, we also met a new friend!”

From Paul Guillory, HRC Board of Governors member and Houston Steering Committee diversity co-chair who lead our participation in Houston, TX on September 19^th:

Last month HRC’s Houston Steering Committee began planning to partner with a number of organization for the recent Ya Es Hora Citizenship and Immigration Forum that was held on Saturday, September 19. Meeting with representatives from Mi Familia Vota, the National Association of Latin Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, the City of Houston Mayor’s Citizens’ Assistance Office, and Neighborhood-Centers, I did not know what to anticipate, but I was willing to find out what was expected. After meeting them, I started to really feel that this partnership locally and nationally would be something very important to the future of HRC, and would become an essential part of our work here in Houston, Texas.

More in Paul’s previous post.

From Cynthia Leigh Lewis, Phoenix Steering Committee political co-chair who lead our participation in Phoenix, AZ on September 19^th:

“The Ya Es Hora citizenship event is quickly becoming a “go-to” event for our volunteers. As with the event in July, we were able to recruit volunteers never before involved in any HRC events prior to this one. Our volunteers came from HRC@ASU, GLSEN and a conversational Spanish group, all through outreach to allied organizations and previous YEH volunteers.

This event we processed over 120 individuals and had 60 volunteers! We even processed the citizenship application for the school Principal where the event was hosted. She was so encouraged by the turnout and the professionalism of HRC and Mi Familia Vota that she has offered to host future events at her school with the complete support of her Superintendent who also made an appearance at the event! And lastly, we were treated once again to a fabulous breakfast and the most amazing homemade burritos by volunteers in the community who expressed their appreciation for our work.”

From David Wilson, member of HRC Board of Directors and Boston Steering Committee who lead our participation in Boston, Mass. on September 19^th:

“Boston’s citizenship workshop was conducted on Saturday, September 19th from 10am to 2pm.  The workshop had to be extended an hour due to the large turnout of applicants. The total number of applicants processed that day was approximately 125 people. There were approximately 20 total volunteers of which 8 were from the HRC family. We had the largest number of volunteers, who looked great in their HRC t-shirts. Approximately 20 cities and towns from around the Greater Boston area were represented, and the applicants’ countries of origin were from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America.

One teaching moment for me and a few of our volunteers was the lack of financial resources, legal assistance, language barriers and the overall support needed to find a job, housing, medical care places, putting many very qualified legal immigrants on a path to not succeed.  For example, I processed two families that had sons who finished high school in the US but could not find meaningful employment, so two or three part-time jobs were the only alternative, which left too much free time. When bad situations happened in the neighborhood, these young men found themselves defenseless and often too eager to run or plead guilty, which would not have happened with proper legal advice. These situations then turned up during the application process with serious consequences that could have been prevented. So if we use our national network of pro bono attorneys to provide legal assistance before well-qualified legal immigrants get in trouble, we could prevent arrests, bad debt, tax issues etc.”

From David Hurst, Greater New York Steering Committee diversity co-chair who lead our participation in Queens, NY on September 19^th:

“HRC volunteers from all over New York City participated in the historic Ya Es Hora campaign in Corona, Queens, to help legal immigrants in the area fill out their paperwork and take their first steps toward citizenship. NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund) partnered with the Citizenship and Immigration Project at The City University of New York to organize our volunteers to action on behalf of a community in need of assistance.

Community has different meanings to different people. Sometimes in the LGBT community we lose track of the larger community that we live in and don’t reach out to help as often as we should. Saturday’s workshop was a wonderful demonstration of our volunteers’ commitment to the community and diversity in every way. I believe that those individuals and families that were assisted by our volunteers will have an open mind when issues of LGBT equality come up in the future. This was one of the most positive experiences I have had while working with HRC over the past three years. A few of our volunteers have even signed up to do additional workshops with the host agency! ¡Que buen día!”

From LaWana Mayfield, HRC Board of Governors member and North Carolina Steering Committee diversity co-chair who lead our participation in Charlotte, NC on September 19^th:

“Saturday was an amazing opportunity to learn more about the process to become a U.S. Citizen. As an African American I did not realize the liberties I take for granted and being able to participate in Ya Es Hora helped me to appreciate my Country even more. HRC and the Ya Es Hora campaign is showing me the importance of giving my time in “Community” in all of its Diversity.”

From Francisco Chavez, HRC volunteer at the Charlotte, NC workshop on September 19^th:

“The citizenship workshop was a very educational and rewarding experience. I felt very welcomed by the coordinators in charge and felt comfortable in providing the attendees with my interpreting services because the major tasks had already been taken well taken care of.  Knowing that the HRC had taken an interest in helping the immigrant community in the city motivated me to participate; after all, all minorities, including the LGBT community, should always work together to reach equality and access resources.”

Below is a picture of our HRC volunteer team at the workshop in Los Angeles, CA on September 19^th:

From Bob Berry, HRC Board of Governors member and Chicago Steering Committee diversity co-chair who lead our participation in Cicero, IL on September 26^th:

“When I was seeking out volunteers for Ya Es Hora, as the time approached, I was worried about getting volunteers for a non-HRC event. Doing this was certainly out of my comfort zone and I was thinking for others as well. This was going to be a lot different than staffing booths or marching in a parade.

I couldn’t have been more wrong! We had 9 volunteers attend the evening training and then 10 the actual workshop. 90 % of the HRC volunteers were Hispanic! After I got everyone into their HRC shirts and seated ready to receive the applicants I stood at the back of the room and the HRC Equality symbol scattered across the room on the backs of our volunteers. At that very moment I couldn’t have been prouder at being a volunteer for HRC.”

From Jennifer M Kons, Acting Director of New Americans Initiative, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

“Bob and Hy, I just got back from our Mega workshop in Cicero where 129 people came to apply for Citizenship.  This is one of our biggest turnouts since the fee increase (probably the biggest). 16 lucky winners got $275 towards the cost of their Citizenship fee. Thank you so much for coordinating with us on this. The HRC volunteers were awesome and were crucial in meeting the higher than expected applicant turnout.  I talked to most of the HRC volunteers and it sounded like they had really good experiences.  I hope we can continue to collaborate. Thanks again for helping us make this an awesome workshop!”

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights also highlighted HRC’s participation on their blog.

From Jenn Chan, San Diego Steering Committee diversity co-chair who lead our participation in San Diego, CA on September 26^th:

“I was pleasantly surprised with how smoothly our event went.  I really expected it to be a bit more “frantic” than it was; as it happened, we were well prepared for anything that came our way!  The workshop toolkit was a great guidebook, we had all the documentation necessary, all the equipment was working perfectly… and the donuts were fresh from the corner bakery!

Being the lead organization was a great opportunity.  Approaching other coalitions to join us in this citizenship campaign was a challenge.  What I heard from the initial groups I contacted was something along the lines of surprise.  They asked, “The Human Rights Campaign is working on a citizenship workshop?” and I said, “Yes, we are!  We face similar challenges when it comes to health care, retirement security, to protection from job discrimination and immigration is no different.”

During the first few meetings we weren’t even sure that we’d be able to put on the workshop.  Did we have the capacity, the resources or enough time?  That didn’t stop us though.  We persevered and eventually the panic passed and the workshop details started to work themselves out.  In fact, the actual day of the workshop was the easiest day of all simply because of all the preparation and planning.  Everything had fallen into place.  We just had to let things happen.

Was it a lot of work?  Yes.  Were there times we thought that we wouldn’t make it?  Absolutely.  Was it worth it?  I’ll let the more than 40-something people who attended our workshop answer that.  We started receiving their thank you’s from the moment they walked in the doors.  And after they had completed the workshop, well, the amount of gratitude they showed us is really something you want to feel for yourselves.”

From Carin Jacobs, Orange County / Long Beach / Palm Springs Steering Committee diversity co-chair who lead our participation in Santa Ana, CA on October 3^rd:

“Five volunteers and I participated in “Ya Es Hora”, a community citizenship workshop, aiding people in their applications for US citizenship.  Volunteers aided NALEO in their efforts to educate and facilitate citizenship eligibility and application to over 50 residents of Orange County.  Most were legal residents that had fulfilled their residency time requirement and were in need of help with legal aid, translation, photos, copies and general questions.  We all wore our HRC T-shirts and displayed our equality symbol with great pride.  The applicants and organizers alike were truly grateful for our help.  We expressed our desire to reach out to other communities and to help them in their journey toward inclusion and equality.”

HRC is deeply grateful for the welcoming leadership and support of many of its ya es hora coalition partners. These partners include the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund (NALEO), Mi Familia Vota, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Univision, impreMedia, Central American Resource Center of Washington, DC (CARECEN), Hogar Immigrant Services, Catholic Charities, Neighborhood Centers Inc., City of Houston Mayor’s Citizens’ Assistance Office, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, Univision 45/Telefutura 67, La Tremenda 1010 AM, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA Coalition), City University of New York (CUNY), Latin American Coalition, International House, Charlotte School of Law, Mecklenburg County Bar, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), Center for Social Advocacy, Empower San Diego, The San Diego LGBT Community Center, Unite Here, Justice Overcoming Boundaries (JOB), Cesar Chavez Service Club, and San Diego Unity League. They created a safe and welcoming environment for our volunteers, and we are deeply grateful for their partnership.