Campaign urges thousands of immigrants to register in time for elections

The National Council of La Raza has launched ya es hora Ciudadanía!, Now is the time--Citizenship!. The campaign is an effort to inform, educate and motivate 200,000 legal residents in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. to register for citizenship in time for the 2008 presidential elections.

According to NCLR, the movement is spreading across the nation and is now active in 23 cities. NCLR said it expects the number of applications submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to reach one million by the end of the year.

Nonprofit organizations and immigration attorneys affiliated with the campaign will address barriers to citizenship including lack of information, lack of exam and language preparation and cost.

Citizenship fees increased 69 percent in July, according to the council.