Report: Naturalization Backlog In Colorado Blocks Residents From Voting, Accessing Benefits
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - A report says Colorado has one of the nation's worst backlogs of unprocessed U.S. naturalization applications, which one of the report authors says is blocking voting rights. The Daily Camera reported Sunday that the Colorado State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released the report saying there are 9,325 applications waiting to be processed.
The report says the backlog has resulted in wait times averaging 10 months and stretching up to three years, far longer than the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services mandate to process applications within 120 days.
A University of Colorado Boulder law professor who supervised the report says the government is illegally blocking legal permanent residents from accessing benefits and employment opportunities. She says the delay also prevents applicants from exercising voting rights.
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