Juan Ramirez is a construction foreman from Zion and a Mexican immigrant who arrived on a visa and is now a legal resident who has called the United States home for the past 15 years.
Now Ramirez is in the final stages of becoming an American citizen and hopes he will take his oath well before the 2026 midyear election on Nov. 3.
“I want to choose who is the governor and who is the senator,” Ramirez said. “I want the freedom to choose who is going to represent me. There is nothing more important.”
Ramirez was one of 31 immigrants fine-tuning their naturalization process to become U.S. citizens at a workshop held by Hispanic American Community Education and Services (HACES) on Friday in Waukegan.
When it was the participants’ turn for their consultation, they sat at a table with a skilled volunteer with a computer handy to help with any questions the immigrant may have. The workshop was conducted in both English and Spanish.
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Martha Hernandez, HACES’ program manager, oversaw the workshop, answering questions when needed. She said everyone there seeking assistance was a “legal resident who wanted to apply for naturalization.”
“They were all legal residents with a green card,” Hernandez said. “They have already applied. They are preparing for their interview, where they will be tested by an immigration officer.”
Along with becoming a registered voter, Hernandez said there are a variety of other reasons people move from green card status to citizenship. They may want a passport so they are free to travel abroad, join other family members who are already citizens or get a better job.
Laura Morales is a Woodstock resident who arrived in the U.S. from Mexico when she was 3. Now 37 and the mother of three, she said she is a 34-year resident of both the country and the area.
All of Morales’ children — ages 18, 15 and 9 — are native-born American citizens. She wants to join them as a citizen to ensure family stability. She does not want to fear potential separation from her offspring.
“I want no worries that anything will happen to separate us,” she said.
When Morales sits for her interview with an immigration officer, Hernandez said she will be asked 20 questions and must answer 12 correctly. The examiner will choose from a prescribed list of 128 potential questions. Most are about American history or civics. Morales said she is not worried.
“I was educated here,” the Woodstock High School graduate said. “I know American history. I’ve already passed a Constitution test.”
Christian Garcia-Gonzales was also educated in the U.S. He is a Waukegan High School graduate and, at 18, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He said he was discharged after an injury and may reenlist after he becomes a citizen. He arrived in the country at age 2 from Mexico.
Though continuing his career as a Marine is a likely possibility, Garcia-Gonzales said he also wants to be well-positioned if he should choose to join the workforce. It is a primary reason to become a citizen.
“Jobs,” Garcia-Gonzales said about his quest for citizenship. “You can get a better-paying job.”
While some people fear they will not pass the oral exam administered by the immigration officer, either by not answering enough questions correctly or by lacking sufficient English fluency, Hernanez said she is usually able to put candidates at ease by likening it to getting a driver’s license.
Driver’s license applicants learn from a book. They do not have the questions ahead of time as people seeking citizenship do. A score of 60% is required on the citizenship exam.
“I ask them if they have a driver’s license,” Hernandez said. “If they say yes, I ask them if they passed the test. They say yes. I ask if the (road test) instructor spoke English or Spanish. They say English. I tell them they have nothing to worry about.”