Report predicts outsized impact in midterms for new citizens
Oct. 19—Mario Vasquez, a native of Guatemala who became a U.S. citizen in August, is looking forward to voting in New Mexico for the first time in the November general election.
The longtime construction and maintenance worker is one of thousands of foreign-born state residents who have become citizens in recent years and about 77,000 total naturalized New Mexicans, according to a new report that spotlights the group's voting power.
"This bloc of potential voters — called New American Voters — is multiracial, multigenerational, geographically diverse and majority female," said the National Partnership for New Americans and local immigrant advocacy groups in a news release announcing the report.
Members of several groups gathered Tuesday at the state Capitol to present the report, which shows about 18,000 newly naturalized citizens are eligible to vote in New Mexico. The event came as 49 state residents took their oath of citizenship during a naturalization ceremony at the Meow Wolf entertainment venue, underscoring the continued growth of the potential voting bloc.
Among the statistics in the report:
* More than 15,000 people in New Mexico became naturalized citizens between 2016 and 2020.
* About 72 percent of those new citizens are from Latin America and the Caribbean, including 63 percent who are from Mexico.
* The next largest group is made up of people from Asian and Pacific Island nations, at 18 percent, followed by 5 percent who are from Europe and 3 percent from Africa.
* More than half were younger than 45, and about 58 percent were women.
* Over 1,000 applications for citizenship are backlogged in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Albuquerque.
Nicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans, told the crowd at the Capitol her organization travels from state to state to raise awareness of the voting power of new Americans.
In an interview after the event, Melaku said she was impressed by the level of support advocacy groups have received in New Mexico.
"It's amazing to see so many community partners that have big membership bases come together to be able to really make sure that our communities know there are people around to be able to help them" reach the polls in November, Melaku said. "I can see that ... state and local government is concerned with immigrant inclusion or immigrant integration issues, and that's really refreshing to see."
Berta Andrade, 76, a member of the local immigrant advocacy group Somos Acción, which aims to mobilize voters, said she became a U.S. citizen in 2016 because she feared the effects of Donald Trump's presidency.
The native of Chihuahua, Mexico, has lived in Hobbs for 30 years. She said in a statement she is excited to knock on people's doors and encourage them to vote.
Vasquez, 63, also is a member of Somos Acción. "We have the opportunity to look for politicians who support us and to help our immigrant workers who can't [vote] yet," he said in Spanish during an interview after the event. "We are their vote."
He added, "It is the first time that I've been a part of something like this, and I do feel very happy and have a lot of energy to fight."
