- Salt Lake City has launched a program to help eligible immigrants become U.S. citizens.
- Significantly, the initiative, modeled after a program launched in Ogden in 2024, takes extra steps to promote civic awareness.
- Participants, who must be legal permanent residents, are expected to volunteer 20 hours once they've completed the program.
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City has launched a program to inspire eligible immigrants to take the extra steps necessary to become U.S. citizens.
The new effort, modeled after a program launched in 2024 in Ogden, is also meant to encourage civic involvement in the city, distinguishing it from other initiatives that promote citizenship. So far, nine people are enrolled, but boosters are looking for more to fill out the ranks.
"There is a lot of interest from folks all over the county," said Roxanna Orellana, policy adviser for New Americans for Salt Lake City's Department of Community and Neighborhoods Office. The program, however, is only open to residents of Salt Lake City.
The Salt Lake City Future Citizens PATH program is a new initiative, modeled after Ogden's Citizenship PATH program. The aim is to encourage legal permanent residents, immigrants who already have legal U.S. residency, to study civics and U.S. history and complete the other steps to become naturalized citizens. "It assists folks with the legal services, citizenship classes and their filing fee," which can amount to several hundred dollars, Orellana said.
Notably, it also contains an element designed to give participants a jump start in civics, with presentations from guest speakers on a range of topics germane to civic involvement. In the Ogden program, guest speakers have included law enforcement representatives, elected officials, judges and Weber County elections officials. Moreover, a promise to do volunteer work is part of the deal for participants in the Salt Lake City program.
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Voces de Utah
Looking for more news from Utah's Latino community? Visit our Voces de Utah section for more stories, events and features.Once classes are done and class members have applied for citizenship, "we ask folks to volunteer 20 hours as a way to give back and connect with the community," Orellana said.
To take part, participants must speak at least basic English, have legal permanent residency, be willing to take the oath of allegiance to the United States and meet other requirements. Those applying to become U.S. citizens, apart from being legal permanent residents, must demonstrate English proficiency and pass a civics test administered by U.S. immigration officials, among other things.
