In early 2010, the City of Los Angeles and USCIS entered into a letter of agreement to enhance immigrant integration in Los Angeles. The two-year agreement was a pilot project that ended in early 2010. In April 2012, Los Angeles and the USCIS renewed the agreement. The agreement includes a commitment to initiatives such as education, outreach programs, citizenship awareness campaigns, and other initiatives intended to strengthen immigrant integration in Los Angeles. The agreement will mean that the city and USCIS will work together to:
1) Conduct informational sessions about US citizenship. These sessions will be for permanent residents who may qualify for naturalization and will be intended to raise awareness about citizenship.
2) Create and hand out informational materials at city facilities and locations. These materials will contain information about the naturalization process.
3) Air informational videos on public access television. The USCIS videos will provide information about citizenship and other information important to immigrant integration.
4) Provide materials and training to Los Angeles Public Library workers, so that librarians are knowledgeable about the USCIS and about naturalization, allowing them to help green card holders and immigrants when they come to the library seeking information.
The USCIS and the city of Los Angeles will additionally be cooperating on other initiatives aimed at immigration integration. Los Angeles is the first city to further its immigration integration efforts by working so closely with the USCIS. Currently, it is not known whether other cities will be entering into similar agreements with the USCIS.
Los Angeles is one of the most diverse cities in the country and is a residence for many immigrants and green card holders. It is also the second largest city in the nation, which makes it an obvious choice for immigration integration. The aim of immigration integration, according to the USCIS, is to help qualified green card holders understand more about naturalization processes and about citizenship rights and duties.