Senator Parker Hosts Free Citizenship Application Assistance Event Garnering Hundreds

FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR KEVIN PARKER (D-Brooklyn)

Contact: Kassandra Mayhew | mayhew@nysenate.gov | 718-629-6401 | 718-629-6420 fax

For Immediate Release March 9, 2015

Senator Parker Hosts Free Citizenship Application Assistance Event Garnering Hundreds

Brooklyn, NY – Last Saturday State Senator Kevin Parker (SD21) and The City University of New York partnered to host a free citizenship application assistance event known as Citizenship Now! at Brooklyn College. Volunteer lawyers and counselors assisted over one hundred prospective U.S. citizens one on one at the eighteen year old event. Great grandparents to children gathered to seek citizenship for themselves and to support family members through their journey. Many of the attendees call Senator Parker’s 21st district home and hail from the Caribbean to China.

In addition to citizenship application assistance, the event provided services for relative petitions, naturalization, Diversity Visa lottery entries, replacement of lost/damaged USCIS documents, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Consular processing, and Certificates of citizenship.

“For the millions of immigrants that now call New York home who find the process of becoming a U.S. citizen daunting -- in addition to learning a new way of life and often times a new language -- feelings of discouragement and isolation become inescapable,” Senator Parker stated. “New York has the richest history of immigration and the largest population of immigrants in the nation. Our city was built by immigrants and we must include those who embrace us and want to contribute to our city.” The Brooklyn Senator continued, “The City University of New York’s Citizenship Now event has assisted immigrants through the citizenship application process in all five boroughs for eighteen years, and I am proud to be part of their special team.”

In 1997, to address the overwhelming need for immigration services for students, faculty, and staff, The City University of New York created Citizenship Now! to assist immigrants through the citizenship process. Citizenship Now!’s mission is to provide free and confidential citizenship and immigration law services to aid prospective U.S. citizens. For more information visit www.cuny.edu/about/resources/citizenship.html.

About Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn community that consists of 318,000 constituents in Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope. He is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committees on Energy and Telecommunications and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Assistant Democratic Leader for Intergovernmental Affairs, and Chair of the Democratic Task Force on New Americans.

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