Approximately 3,600 people were to be sworn in as U.S. citizens in El Paso,Texas during ceremonies scheduled for the end of August and early September. The majority of residents are from Mexico with the remainder from countries as close as Canada and as far as Vietnam. The El Paso Immigration and Naturalization Service, which conducts the naturalization ceremonies, will have naturalized about 16,000 residents by the end of the federal fiscal year ending August 30, 1996. This is nearly half of the 25,480 residents naturalized since 1994.
Many residents, some who have been in the U.S. for 40 years, are being prompted to seek citizenship because of the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment they feel is sweeping the nation. They see citizenship as a way to protect their rights. The oldest resident in the recent ceremonies is 91 years old. Volunteers were on hand at the ceremonies to register the new citizens to vote.
Source: El Paso Times