Advertisement

Hermandad Blames INS for Confusing Illegal Voters

Share via
TIMES STAFF WRITER

A Latino civil rights group that helped some noncitizens register to vote before the Nov. 5 election blamed at least part of the problem Thursday on confusing statements made by U.S. immigration officers.

Jay Lindsey, a spokesman for Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, said employees, volunteers and some clients of the organization are being interviewed to learn why some who took the organization’s citizenship classes wound up registering and voting before they were to be sworn in as citizens.

“One thing we have found so far,” Lindsey said, “is that there has been confusion on the part of the applicants regarding . . . the letter that is handed over to them at the end of their citizenship interview, often accompanied by a handshake, and, as has been reported to us, the phrase, ‘Congratulations, you are now a citizen.’ ”

Advertisement

For nearly two years, Immigration and Naturalization Service officers have interviewed citizenship applicants at the Hermandad offices in Santa Ana. The interview is one of the final steps in the citizenship process, and those who pass are usually sworn in several months later.

INS District Director Richard Rogers announced this week he has suspended the INS interviews at Hermandad until an investigation by the district attorney’s office into noncitizen voting is completed.

Voting by a noncitizen is a felony that could result in deportation.

Lindsey would not say how many clients reported being confused by statements from the INS officers. He said the internal investigation is ongoing and could continue for several weeks.

Advertisement

Nineteen people interviewed by The Times acknowledged that they voted though they had not completed the naturalization process, finalized with an official swearing-in ceremony.

All but one were taking citizenship classes at Hermandad and registered to vote at the facility after taking a test or passing an interview with an immigration officer. The organization registered at least 1,357 people countywide this year. Nearly 800 of these voted in the November election.

Allegations of voting by noncitizens were first raised by outgoing Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who lost to Democrat Loretta Sanchez by 984 votes in the 46th District race. All 19 noncitizens interviewed by The Times said they registered at Hermandad and voted in that district.

Advertisement

About 10,000 legal residents attended citizenship classes at Hermandad last year, according to director Nativo Lopez, who won a seat on the Santa Ana Unified School District board in the November election.

Rogers, the INS director, said this week he plans to rewrite the letter that INS officers hand to applicants after the interview, clarifying that they are not citizens until being sworn in. The current letter begins, “Congratulations! Your application for naturalization has been approved.”

However, Rogers also said INS officers make it clear during the interview that they are not yet citizens. “As much publicity as citizenship has had in this area, with the swearings-in, it’s hard for me to believe that they would not understand that they are not yet citizens,” Rogers said.

Lindsey said dozens of concerned clients have called Hermandad’s offices daily since news of noncitizen voting first surfaced. Hermandad has offered free legal counsel to any clients who registered to vote there illegally. Lindsey said he didn’t know if anyone had asked for such help.

Also, in recent days, about two dozen Latino community leaders have met to discuss ways to address concerns of new citizens and prospective citizens who may have been alarmed by publicity surrounding the revelations of noncitizen voting.

Among other things, they have discussed establishing a legal defense fund for those who voted improperly, said Art Montez, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Santa Ana.

Advertisement

“These people are going to be subjected to being dragged through the legal system by [Dist. Atty.] Mike Capizzi,” said Montez, who added he has received more calls from concerned residents about the recent revelations “than on any one issue in the last 30 years.”

Hermandad will begin a new round of citizenship classes on Monday under a license with Phoenix-based Educational Testing Services, one of five organizations authorized by the INS to oversee such classes, said Lindsey.

Earlier, the Hermandad classes were given under the auspices of Naturalization Assistance Services Inc. of Lakeland, Fla. The INS this week cut its agreement with NAS because of continuing problems, including students who cheated on tests.

Advertisement