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PHOENIX – (Jan. 6, 2022) marks one year since the tragic Jan. 6 attack on the nation’s Capitol and the deadly attempt to overturn the will of the American people.
The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), a multi-ethnic coalition of the nation’s largest state-level immigrant advocacy organizations, which includes Promise Arizona, urges Congress to protect the fundamental right to vote and our multicultural democracy by passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“A year ago, anti-democracy rioters tried to undermine the electoral results achieved by a record-level turnout of voters of color and others, including newly naturalized citizens,” said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director. “These threats to democracy continue, as states across the nation have passed legislation restricting the fundamental right to vote.”
Promise Arizona Executive Director Petra Falcón said her organization joins in the push for congressional action to protect voting rights, especially for naturalized citizens and persons of color.
“In Arizona, we endured a disturbing illegitimate partisan review of our election results in Maricopa County designed to set the stage for future efforts to suppress votes and subvert the will of Arizonans,” she said.
Melaku said Congress cannot stand idle amidst these attacks against current and prospective voters, “including the hundreds of thousands of new naturalized citizens who NPNA helped to naturalize and who now have the right to vote.”
“The Senate must pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, even if that means eliminating the filibuster,” Melaku said. “And the Biden administration should facilitate the voting of new citizens by implementing automatic voter registration at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.”
In 2021, 19 states enacted 34 laws that make mail and early voting more difficult, introduce harsher voter ID requirements, and will likely cause faulty voter purges, among other ways to make it more difficult for people to vote. This came after the historic 2020 turnout of voters and the January 6 assault on the Capitol. These restrictive laws will impact naturalized immigrants, among others, who now comprise 1 in 10 eligible voters in the U.S., including 67% of all AAPI voters and 25% of all Latinx voters.
Despite a doubling of the new American electorate since 2000, there still remains a 10-point gap between voting rates of naturalized citizens and the native-born. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said the Senate will vote to change its filibuster rule if it does not consider voting rights legislation. Last year, the Biden administration took preliminary executive action to promote access to voting.
In addition to Congress passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Biden administration should implement automatic voter registration at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to assist voting and civic participation by newly naturalized citizens.
Promise Arizona, an immigrant rights organization which works with undocumented and other immigrants throughout the state to help them earn legal status, achieve citizenship and improve opportunities for a successful life in the U.S., has taken on many voter registration drives and turnout campaigns as part of its civic engagement strategy.
“Congress has the responsibility to protect the voting rights of newly naturalized citizens, the growing Latino electorate, and Arizona’s native Americans, who are targeted by laws introduced with drummed up false rhetoric around voter fraud,” Falcón said. “Congress can and must act.”
Media seeking to interview Ms. Falcón can reach her at (520) 360-6128.
About Promise Arizona — At Promise Arizona, we believe that building immigrant and Latino political power is key to bringing hope, dignity, and progress to our communities. We were born out of a passion for fairness and unity, and our organization strives to promote and harness the power of the Latino community in Arizona. Promise Arizona aims to unite the millions of Arizonans who reject the divisive politics of immigrant-baiting, millions who believe in treating their neighbors with fairness and dignity. These like-minded individuals share a common interest in good jobs, a robust economy, quality education, and safe communities in which to raise children. We help connect individuals who share similar goals so that they may work toward a better Arizona by investing in statewide infrastructure and training a new generation of leaders. As part of this movement, PAZ connects and helps train leaders to build confidence, promote Latino leadership, and encourage civic involvement in our communities. Promise Arizona is led by Petra Falcon, a fourth-generation Arizonan who is a mother of five children and six grandchildren. Petra has a deep investment in the state’s future. Her leadership builds on the work she has done over 25 years as a nonprofit community and faith leader in the state.
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