The Mexican ambassador to the United States is urging Mexican residents living here to apply for U.S. citizenship before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, The Hill reports.
In an interview with Mexican state news agency Notimex, Ambassador Carlos Sada Solana said applying for U.S. citizenship could guard against deportation and other penalties if Trump carries through on his pledge to tighten immigration policies.
"It's one of the very important protection actions to become citizens because then they're no longer subject to deportation processes and on the other hand, they don't lose Mexican citizenship," he said.
The Hill reports that according to Homeland Security, about 2.6 million Mexican lawful permanent residents in the U.S are eligible for citizenship, but haven't applied.
The Mexican ambassador points the fact that many don't consider it important or necessary. In addition, many plan on eventually leaving the U.S. Other reasons for not applying include inability to speak English and a lack of information about the entire process.
He said Mexican consulates will expand service hours to help provide assistance to Mexicans.
"The best we can do is inform ourselves and be conscious about our situation," he said. And the International Business Times notes Mexican immigrants are some of the least likely permanent residents to apply for citizenship, which is relatively simple.
According to IBT the requirements include a basic understanding of U.S. history, ability to speak English, be permanently living in the U.S. and be over 18 years old.
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