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Sept. 11 Sets Off Stampede for Citizenship
Monday, February 4, 2002
By Dan Horn
The Cincinnati Enquirer

“We are citizens,” Mr. Dabdoub said. “We came to this country to raise our children, to live in peace, to enjoy our freedoms.”

Motivated by fear, patriotism, or both, thousands of immigrants have rushed to become U.S. citizens since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

More than 145,000 people nationwide applied for citizenship in October and November, a 61 percent jump from the same months in 2000.

Some immigrants say they applied because they fear the Sept. 11 attacks will spawn tougher immigration rules, making it difficult to stay in this country without citizenship.

Others say the attacks inspired them to strengthen their bond to America. For them, one immigration official says, citizenship is a “patriotic gesture.”

Abdul Rauf, a 34-year-old native of Pakistan, filled out his application in Cincinnati just two weeks after the attacks.

“A lot of people I know didn't want to give up their own nationality,” Mr. Rauf said. “But believe me, it's different now. I want to feel like an American citizen.”

* The fear factor
* Patriotic gesture
* Citizens by choice
(More: Enquirer.com News Source)
2002 © The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Dan