FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2011
Contact: Susana Flores, CASA de Maryland
(240) 706-2624; sflores@casamd.org
http://www.casademaryland.org
David Roskin, Citi Community Development
(212) 559-4767; david.roskin@citi.com
http://www.citicommunitydevelopment.org
CASA de Maryland and Citi Lead Pilot Initiative to Make Naturalization Costs More Manageable While Building Credit and Seeding Savings Accounts
Langley Park, MD (November 1, 2011) – Today, Citi Community Development and CASA de Maryland (CASA) launched an innovative microloan program for legal permanent residents (LPRs) seeking to become naturalized citizens. CASA will collaborate with two community development financial institutions (CDFI’s) — the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) and the Ethiopian Community Development Council Enterprise Development Group (EDG) — to launch and test the innovative citizenship microloan program that will lower the financial barriers to naturalization while simultaneously building an individual’s credit and financial literacy.
The loan program is the latest addition to a set of naturalization services available through Citizenship Maryland, a wrap-around comprehensive effort led by CASA and participated in by partner AmeriCorps volunteer host organizations that seek to support the hundreds of thousands of eligible legal permanent residents in Maryland become citizens.
“Our state and our nation have a great deal to gain by embracing new Americans and supporting their efforts to contribute to our society and economy,” said Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown, whose parents immigrated to America to start new lives and achieve their dreams. “Decreasing the financial burden for immigrants who wish to become naturalized citizens will help them improve their families’ lives and enrich their communities. It is exciting that this innovative program is being piloted right here in Maryland.”
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