New Civitan Club plans to teach immigrants English

This new civic group is helping immigrants assimilate into life here, learn English and become citizens. DP

New chapter devotes program to immigrants

JEFF HANSEN, News staff writer

al.com: A fresh civic effort began in Birmingham this week - a new Civitan chapter devoted to helping immigrants learn English and become citizens.

Hernan Prado is president of the International Civitan Club of Metro Birmingham, which met for the first time Tuesday night at The Club. Prado, a native of Ecuador, said that "for all of us, becoming a citizen is a tough process."

"Immigrants are pretty much lost between two worlds," he said. "They come from different social and cultural backgrounds. Making the adjustment is really difficult."

The new Civitan group hopes to serve the area's large Spanish-speaking group as well as other immigrants, Prado said.

As membership grows from the present 29 to an anticipated 50, the club will try to mirror the broad diversity of people who live in the metro area - both foreign-born and U.S.-born.

The club has launched conversations with various groups that serve other immigrant communities, especially Asian immigrants.

Alfonso Aguilar, chief of the federal Office of Citizenship, came to Birmingham for the inauguration of the new civic club. His office, which is part of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within the Department of Homeland Security, hopes it will serve as a model for other metro areas throughout the United States.

In fiscal 2008, 1.1 million immigrants living in the U.S. became naturalized citizens, he said. The portion of foreign-born U.S. residents is expected to grow to 14 percent of the population by 2025 and 19 percent by 2050.
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