Leer en españolSince 2020, Arizona has gained over 62,000 naturalized citizens, and those who are casting their ballot on Tuesday could make all the difference in key states like Arizona, with economy, inflation and leadership as top-of-mind issues, according to a recent report.Since the last presidential election in November 2020, more than 62,000 voting-age adults in Arizona — more than 3.5 million nationwide — have become naturalized citizens, according to estimates from the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego.On Tuesday afternoon, Mi Familia en Acción, in partnership with Equis Labs, SEIU and the nonpartisan group National Partnership of New Americans, gathered several Spanish-speaking naturalized citizens in Phoenix who will be voting for the first time this election, to get their take on these issues.Moderated by actress and influencer Mishel Prada, the roundtable also featured survey data from NPNA.62,000 new citizens since 2020As of August 2024, more than 186,000 Arizona residents are eligible to naturalize, the majority of whom — about 130,000 — reside in metro Phoenix.Since the last presidential election in November 2020, an estimated 62,179 voting-age adults have become newly naturalized citizens in Arizona — most of them women (56%) and between the ages of 18 and 34 (31%), according to the NPNA report.This group of naturalized citizens included immigrants from:Mexico: 40.4% (25,117)The Phillippines: 5.4% (3,341)Iraq: 4.4% (2,749)India: 3.9% (2,446)Vietnam: 3.5% (2,173)Canada: 2.6% (1,608)Syria: 2.3% (1,460)Cuba: 2.2% (1,396)Democratic Republic of the Congo: 1.8% (1,130)England: 1.5% (910)“Due to this increase in nationalization… currently 10% of the American electorate are naturalized citizens,” Prada said, citing figures from the Pew Research Center.Economy, inflation, leadership: Top issues for new voters in ArizonaAccording to the results of the NPNA survey of naturalized citizens in Arizona, the high cost of living and inflation are the most important issues that respondents face (39%), followed by the general economy (14.2%), the quality of leadership in government (9.2%), unification of the country (8.7%) and immigration (8.7%).The survey was conducted from Aug. 16-28 this year, with a sample size of 2,678 naturalized citizens registered to vote in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Texas.Of the Arizona respondents, 7.8% said they had a very conservative ideology, 14.2% conservative, 9.6% somewhat conservative, 33.9% moderate, 10.1% somewhat liberal, 15.1% liberal and 9.2% very liberal.Asked how likely they are to vote in the 2024 presidential election, 80.7% of Arizona respondents said they would definitely vote, 15.6% said they would probably vote and 3.7% would abstain. And if the election were held today, 56.8% of those who will definitely vote said they would support Harris, while 40.3% would vote for Trump, and 2.8% for another candidate.Lourdes Villarmina Escapita Contreras stressed during Tuesday’s roundtable the importance of lowering the price of houses and rents so that more people can buy. “Rents go up every year and we are paying rent and we are left without money to buy things.”“I think that the economy is affecting us all a lot… right now the salary we are earning is not enough, we eat or pay (for housing). This issue is very important for us and we want the government to know,” said Arturo Santos.In the NPNA study, the majority of Arizona naturalized voters surveyed believe that legalization for undocumented migrants should be prioritized and that access to asylum should be guaranteed for people seeking safety.“I have seen all the injustices that are done to people. I would like our politicians to look out for those people. I know friends who have been here for years and decades and who still have not gotten any document that would authorize them to be here in this nation,” said Santos.Ángeles Rodríguez Deras said that it would be important for people who have been in the country for more than 30 years to receive immigration relief.Once he became a naturalized citizen, he decided to …
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