Path to Citizenship: The Financial Dilemma of the Modern Day Immigrant

The United States is currently undergoing an immigration crisis. Thousands of undocumented adults, families, and unaccompanied children attempt to cross the border on a monthly basis. In a country that once encouraged mass migration to its land, it is now increasingly difficult for migrants in the modern day to obtain citizenship, particularly for those who are not financially well-off. While immigrants face a plethora of issues, one of the primary issues they face are the increasing monetary requirements and setbacks when attempting to obtain citizenship. This presentation examines immigration policies from the Trump and Obama administrations, deportation and immigration statistics throughout both administrations, current naturalization requirements and the personal experiences of undocumented individuals to highlight the citizenship dilemma that immigrants face in the United States today. The information on immigration policies gathered from government websites and archives highlight the citizenship requirements of prospective immigrants, which show that with increasing demand, the policies have adapted to weed out the less wealthy. The experiences of undocumented individuals were gathered through interviews and newspaper articles, those of which explain the financial insecurities and difficulties moving forward on the path to citizenship due to the policies. Throughout the research process, my findings conclude that the application and processing fees of relevant applications continue to increase, negatively impacting the ability for those who simply cannot afford it to obtain citizenship.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1088/thumbnail.jp