Citizenship bids deluge agency

Immigrant advocates said Thursday that they have helped more than 5,000 legal immigrants in the Valley apply for citizenship in hopes of boosting the number of Latino voters this November.

Advocates are worried, however, that many of those who applied may not get to vote because the immigration service is not processing the requests fast enough because of backlogs created by a rush of new applications for citizenship.

"These applicants have played by the rules," said Joel Foster, a labor organizer and member of Ya es hora, Ciudadania ("Citizenship, it's time"), a coalition of labor unions and grass-roots organizations that help legal immigrants navigate
the naturalization process. "They deserve to have their voices heard on Election Day. They should not have to wait. We are committed to making that
happen."