"Trump is dividing us as a
country," said Ospina, owner of a small flooring and kitchen remodeling
company. "He's so negative about immigrants. We've got to speak up."
Nationwide, immigrants like
Ospina are among tens of thousands applying for naturalization in a year when
immigration has taken centre stage in the presidential campaign, especially in
the race for the Republican nomination.
Trump, the GOP front-runner, has pledged to deport the estimated 11 million people living in the US illegally. He's also vowed to bar Muslims from entering the country and threatened to cut off remittances that Mexican immigrants in the US send back home. And he's called for building a border wall - among other proposals to deal with unlawful immigration, saying the federal government has failed to protect the border from people and drugs illegally entering the country.
That rhetoric, immigrant advocates and lawmakers say, is driving many foreign-born residents to seek citizenship.
Trump, the GOP front-runner, has pledged to deport the estimated 11 million people living in the US illegally. He's also vowed to bar Muslims from entering the country and threatened to cut off remittances that Mexican immigrants in the US send back home. And he's called for building a border wall - among other proposals to deal with unlawful immigration, saying the federal government has failed to protect the border from people and drugs illegally entering the country.
That rhetoric, immigrant advocates and lawmakers say, is driving many foreign-born residents to seek citizenship.