Photo: WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hundreds of immigrants to Boston took their next steps to becoming American citizens on Saturday.
Citizenship Day is an annual event where people eligible to become naturalized citizens get free legal help with their application. This year's event at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center had more than 400 people applying.
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"I feel very grateful, very blessed, and it’s an amazing opportunity," said Deena, who arrived from Portugal 14 years ago. "It’s really, really a great feeling. I’m sweating just talking about it."
"I know this city upside down, and I think I’m ready to be an American now," said Jean Fenfen, a Haiti native who came to Boston more than a decade ago and has since graduated high school and college. "Boston [can] become my home now. Not my second home anymore, but my home."
Volunteers from the non-profit Project Citizenship—which co-hosted the event with Mayor Michelle Wu and the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Advancement—helped the prospective new citizens navigate the application process.
"Project Citizen is the largest citizenship provider in Boston and in the state of Massachusetts," said executive director Gail Breslow. "Last year, we served over 1,000 individuals. Our goal is to increase that to 1,200-1,300. There is definitely an uptick in interest and in demand."
Breslow told WBZ NewsRadio that after filing their applications, the applicants should become citizens in about six months.
"And with the benefits of citizenship, the people who are here today will have the right to vote, they’ll have the right to travel freely, they’ll have access to federal job opportunities, they’ll have the ultimate protection from deportation," Breslow said.
WBZ's Mike Macklin reports.
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