Immigrants are becoming U.S. citizens at the fastest average rate in a decade

The federal government is processing citizenship requests at the fastest rate in a decade, addressing a backlog that accumulated during the Trump administration and the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the close to 3.3 million immigrants who have become citizens during the Biden administration, processing speed sits at under five months, on par with 2013 and 2014.

The accelerated pace in naturalizations is the result of several measures, as reported by The New York Times. First off, President Biden's announced an executive order in 2021 aimed at reversing restrictive immigration policies from the previous administration and, among other steps, calls for action to "substantially reduce current naturalization processing times."

Secondly, the administration introduced new technology and additional staff to clear the backlog of citizenship applications, which had increased due to the Trump administration's heightened scrutiny and delays caused by the pandemic. Lastly, the naturalization application was shortened from 20 pages to 14.

The spike in naturalization has sparked discussions about its potential impact on the electorate, especially on battleground states such as Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. A recent survey by New American Voters suggested that among naturalized citizens, 81.4% said they "definitely" would cast a ballot in the 2024 election, and another 14.5 percent said they "probably" would vote.

Experts like Xiao Wang, CEO of Boundless, a company that uses government data to analyze immigration trends, expressed to the Times what the political impact of such measures could entail:

"The surge in naturalization efficiency isn't just about clearing backlogs; it's potentially reshaping the electorate, merely months before a pivotal election. Every citizenship application could be a vote that decides Senate seats or even the presidency."

The issue could become spark even more controversy as there are two months to go before the close of the 2024 fiscal year and some nine million green-card holders are currently eligible to become U.S. citizens. The four states with the largest number of immigrants who qualify for citizenship are California, New York, Texas, and Florida while the top countries of origin are Mexico, India, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.