For legal immigrants seeking United States citizenship, to become official beneficiaries of the "land of the free," the "home of the brave," and all the beauty to behold in America, there is good news. On the heels of the Republican Party’s impressive strides within the Latino community, such as the historic win of GOP Congresswoman Mayra Flores, who flipped a Democratic House seat in Texas, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has a new initiative to carry the momentum. On Thursday, the RNC proudly announced a program, called the Republican Civics Initiative (RCI), to help legally residing immigrants become U.S. citizens and, in turn, have the right to vote.
Jonathan Ernest / AP
Otherwise known as green card holders, by definition, legal immigrants are non-citizens with permanent resident status; they are permitted to live and work in the U.S., but they do not have the citizens' right to vote. In a statement from the RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, she said: "The RNC is growing our party through purposeful education and engagement… Our commitment to providing opportunities for all to live out the American Dream is broadening our base because our ideas transcend all backgrounds."
According to the Washington Examiner, RCI will consist of "10-hour training courses in which immigrants can learn U.S. history and politics featured in the civics portion of the U.S. naturalization test," and the courses will be instructed by USCIS-certified members of the RNC.
Adapted from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) civics curriculum, by the end of the program, immigrants will be able to answer basic questions like "When was the Declaration of Independence signed?" and "How many branches of government are there?"
The effort is being praised by many, including Congresswoman Mayra Flores, who shared this tweet:
Source: Twitter
Contrasting with the Republicans’ recent success, the Democrat Party has been the recipient of significant setbacks, with many Hispanics calling out the party for disgraceful attempts at appealing to minorities. One of the most notable instances was First Lady Jill Biden comparing the Hispanic community to "tacos" – in a speech that earned her intense criticism across the board. "For far too long, Democrats have treated us as an interest group, just another voting bloc for them to use to win elections. To them, Hispanics are nothing but a Hispanic Heritage Month prop and a hashtag social media campaign," said Cuban-born Republican Florida Representative Carlos Gimenez in a statement to National Review.
With that frustration in mind, Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel expressed that "Unlike Democrats, Republicans do not take minority communities for granted and we will continue to work to earn each vote ahead of November." Evidently, the launch of this civics training program is a wise and strategic move on behalf of the Republicans, as the midterm elections are quickly approaching.
While the first training course was held at the RNC Hispanic Community Center in Doral, Florida, on Thursday, more courses will be offered in battleground states, including Texas, Georgia, Nevada, California, Pennsylvania and others.
The program will be available to more than 9.2 million lawful permanent residents who are currently eligible to become U.S. citizens, according to the RNC.