Title
A MOTION declaring King County's support for the Cities for Citizenship initiative and directing the executive to sign the county onto the initiative as a participating community.
Body
WHEREAS, there are approximately 290,000 lawful permanent residents in Washington state and over 75,000 lawful permanent residents eligible to naturalize in King County, and
WHEREAS, naturalization provides benefits to lawful permanent residents by providing them with full civil and political rights, protection against deportation, easier travel abroad, and full access to government jobs and assistance, and
WHEREAS, research from the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration found that immigrants who naturalize can see an estimated 8 percent to 11 percent increase in their earnings and suggest the increased earnings not only boost financial security for families but also generate spending and economic activity in the community, and
WHEREAS, according to reports from the Migration Policy Institute and the Pew Research Center, far fewer immigrants naturalize than are eligible to do so and barriers to naturalization include low English language proficiency and the cost and complexity of the naturalization process, and
WHEREAS, cities and counties are uniquely situated to encourage and support their immigrant constituents to apply for citizenship, and
WHEREAS, the Cities for Citizenship initiative is a national initiative aimed at increasing citizenship among eligible permanent residents in the United States and encouraging local jurisdictions across the country to invest in citizenship programs, and
WHEREAS, Cities for Citizenship is premised on the idea that when municipal leaders develop and invest in naturalization efforts, they produce substantial economic and civic benefits for all of their constituents, and
WHEREAS, the Cities for Citizenship initiative, coordinated by the National Partnership for New Americans, is a network of over 100 cities and counties, in...

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