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Arizona Groups Working To Get Immigrants To Become Naturalized Citizens

Immigrants’ rights advocates around the country are joining together in an effort to mobilize over 1 million people to become naturalized citizens in 2017. And now Arizona groups like Promise Arizona are joining in the effort.

They say becoming a citizen is the best way to protect immigrants from the Trump administration’s increased deportations and build community power. But it’s an expensive process that can be prohibitive to many people.

I spoke with Tara Rahuveer more about this. She's the deputy director of the National Partnership for New Americans, one of the groups that’s behind this campaign. She told me that even though it’s not an election year when we would typically see a surge in applications for citizenship, we’re already seeing high numbers. And she thinks that’s because people are being proactive to protect their families.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.