Billionaire Carlos Slim's Foundation to Help Mexican Residents Become U.S. Citizens Dolia Estevez - Forbes
go to original April 4, 2017

The Carlos Slim Foundation, Mexican billioniare Carlos Slim Helú's philanthropic organization, joined forces with the National Autonomous University of Mexico, known as UNAM, and the country’s Commission on Human Rights to help Mexican legal immigrants in the U.S. become citizens, the three organizations announced last month. There are 2.7 million permanent residents from Mexico eligible for U.S. citizenship who haven’t taken that step yet, according to the Pew Center.

The joint effort comes at a time when the Trump Administration is taking steps to reduce the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S., including proposing to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Although legal permanent residents have not been directly affected by Trump's policies, becoming citizens could be beneficial to them.

At a ceremony in Mexico City, where the organizations signed the agreement on March 14, the Carlos Slim Foundation was represented by Marco Antonio Slim Domit, Slim Helú's second eldest son, who holds several executive positions in the family's businesses.

Slim Domit said that through Acceso Latino - a web platform launched three years ago to keep Latinos informed about training opportunities and their rights - the Foundation will instruct permanent residents how to apply for citizenship. "We are certain that what we're signing will improve the life of many individuals and families," Slim Domit said in a statement.

UNAM, Latin America's largest university, will train 50 instructors who will give 10 workshops at its satellite branches in San Antonio, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and Tucson. The workshops seek to attract Mexican legal residents who, despite being eligible for U.S. citizenship, haven't yet applied for it. The Commission on Human Rights will teach migrants, both legal and unauthorized, how to defend their rights.

According to the Pew Center, Mexicans are the largest pool of eligible immigrants, accounting for almost a third of the legal permanent residents in the U.S. But while 68% of eligible non-Mexican immigrants have become citizens, only 36% of eligible Mexicans have.

Read the rest at Forbes

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!