Bloomington offers citizenship workshop

“What colors are the American flag?” volunteer Kathy Dilcher asked the small group of immigrants.

“Blue, red and white,” one said.

“Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?” Dilcher asked next.

“George Washington,” another guessed. “Oh, wait, no. I’m sorry. It was Thomas Jefferson.”

For five weeks, the City of Bloomington and Indiana Legal Services are offering a citizenship and naturalization class to immigrants who hope to become U.S. citizens.

Six Bloomington residents, who immigrated to Bloomington from places ranging from New Zealand to Japan, registered for the class. Meeting twice a week at City Hall, the course is designed to prepare immigrants for the required citizenship exam in
Indianapolis.

During the exam, immigrants are quizzed on 10 questions, chosen at random from 100.

To become U.S. citizens, immigrants must answer six questions correctly,
Dilcher said.

With questions about American history and geography, along with how local, state and federal governments operate, Dilcher said some questions are easy, but even many life-long citizens would struggle with others.

“They have to be able to read English and write English at the interviews,” Dilcher said. “They’ll be given a dictation, and they have to write it, and they’ll be given something to read.”

Seven years ago, French native Pierre Plessier, 35, moved to the United States with his wife, an American citizen. After five years, he too was eligible to become a U.S. citizen. Now, with the upcoming presidential election, he said he wants his voice to be heard.

“I pay taxes, I live here just like any other person, and the only way to be heard is to become a citizen,” Plessier said. “There are not very many people here who are aware of legal immigration and the process and the years that it takes to come here and to fill out all that red tape and everything like that.”

While Plessier said he understands the motives of immigrants coming into the country illegally, he said he wants to do it the right way.

“There are rules, and they are meant to be followed, and I think it’s just the right thing to do,” Plessier said.

He said the current process to become a legal American citizen is too difficult. Just to take the test, immigrants must pay an application fee of about $680, Dilcher said.

“Instead of trying to focus on illegal immigration, I think what should be focused on is make it easier for people who want to enter the U.S.,” Plessier said. “It is expensive to come here legally, and I think people who are already living in poverty or distress, they are not going to try to get some money to come into the U.S. They’re just going to try to get in with the little things they have.”

Geraldine Miraval, 40, moved to the United States from Mexico nearly 10 years ago.
She said she is looking forward to her ability to vote.

Her husband, an American citizen, first found a job as a professor at the University of New Mexico. They moved to Bloomington when he was hired for a job at IU.

Miraval does not currently work. Instead, she is focusing on raising her three children.
Her 20-year-old son is also looking to become a U.S. citizen, but her 5-year-old twin daughters are already citizens because they were born in the U.S.

“I feel good because the family is here together, and it’s our new home, our new place and we’re happy to do it,” Miraval said. “Now I have a voice. I’m here. I can have my own opinion. I can participate in everything.”

At the end of the course, volunteer attorneys from Indiana Legal Services will offer free legal assistance to those hoping to go through the naturalization process. This service will be offered April 21, the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Citizenship Day.

While Indiana Legal Services is offering its assistance for free, Christie Popp, directing attorney for Indiana Legal Services’ Immigrants and Language Rights Center, said similar naturalization services could cost $1,000 or more.

Denise Brown, 58, from New Zealand said she sees her opportunity to become a U.S. citizen as a sense of belonging.

Her husband, also an American citizen, was stationed in New Zealand in the military when they first met.

After living in Spain for a few years, she has been in the U.S. for 32 years. She lived in California and moved to Bloomington 17 years ago.

She said she can hardly remember living in her home country.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve been gone for so long,” Brown said. “I’ve lived in the United States longer than I’ve lived in New Zealand for. I’m not one or the other, really. I don’t really belong in New Zealand anymore, and I don’t really belong here unless I become a citizen, so I think that will give me a sense of finally belonging here.”