New American Voters (NAV) is a left-of-center activist group which pushes for granting citizenship to the 9 million or more non-citizen immigrants in the United States, claiming that they are eligible for naturalization, and for registering new citizens to vote. NAV connects immigrants to legal services and organizes activism campaigns to loosen immigration laws. The organization ties the drive for mass citizenship to the expansion of the left-of-center electorate, identifying citizens of foreign origin as a “voting block (sic).” To achieve this, NAV has committed to helping naturalize two million immigrants in time for the 2022 midterm election cycle, and the organization touts the fact that “a small increase in turnout” can “sway the outcome of national, state, and local elections.” ^{1 2}

NAV is a project of the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), a pressure group which aims to increase the rate at which immigrants to the United States, including those present in the country illegally, are granted citizenship and government benefits. The NPNA states that the goal of NAV is to “activate” immigrants as a political bloc, and claims that the project contributed to record ethnic minority participation during the 2020 election cycle. ³

Initiatives and Impact

New American Voters launched its first major campaign in the lead-up to the 2020 election with the stated goal of accelerating the already-growing rate of immigrants and refugees acquiring citizenship, a trend which the organization says will increase the political power of non-native-born demographics. NAV celebrates the fact that one in ten eligible voters were foreign-born as of 2020 and supports further increasing the proportion of immigrant voters. ⁴

In the aftermath of the 2020 election cycle, NAV launched its “2 Million by 2022” mass naturalization campaign to continue growing the foreign-born voter bloc, which it touts as being both majority female and more racially diverse than the American population as a whole. ⁵ The campaign’s stated goal is to have two million new immigrants able to legally vote by the 2022 midterm elections. NPNA’s Cities for Citizenship initiative is a driver of this initiative; its partners include immigration advocacy groups as well as governmental groups, such as the Nevada Governor’s Office for New Americans. ⁶

Parent Organization

National Partnership for New Americans connects immigrants to legal, educational, and activism resources with the goal of obtaining citizenship and voting eligibility for them. The organization promotes narratives in society which create an idealized image of immigration into the United States. NPNA openly describes itself as an “implementation vehicle” for the political agenda of “leading immigrant advocacy groups.” ⁷ In addition to its push for loosening immigration laws, the NPNA advances a left-of-center environmentalist agenda, claiming that man-made climate change is a major cause of migration. ⁸

The NPNA was launched in 2012. Two years later, it was able to secure the support of authorities in New York City and Los Angeles  on an initiative to use taxpayer funds to help push immigrants in their cities through the citizenship process. In 2015, representatives of the NPNA presented their agenda to Obama Administration officials at the White House. Under the Trump Administration, the NPNA escalated its pressure campaign to accelerate the naturalization process for immigrants. It also launched an attack against efforts to control the flow of refugees and undocumented border crossers into communities across the country. In 2021, the NPNA succeeded in getting a “New Deal for New Americans Act” bill introduced in Congress, which the organization says would require the federal government to commit “significant” taxpayer funds to enabling the inflow of immigrants and refugees into the country. ⁹

Partner Organizations

New American Voters maintains relationships with some of the most influential left-of-center advocacy groups, labor unions, and religious organizations in the United States. These include the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and Catholic Charities USA. The project also enjoys the support of municipal governments in Texas, California, Washington, New York, and Pennsylvania. ¹⁰

1. New American Voters. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://newamericanvoters.org/
2. “2020 Campaign. New American Voters. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://newamericanvoters.org/2020-campaign/
3. “About Us.” National Partnership for New Americans. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://partnershipfornewamericans.org/about-us/
4. 2020 Campaign. New American Voters. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://newamericanvoters.org/2020-campaign/
5. “Naturalize 2 Million by 2022.” National Partnership for New Americans. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://partnershipfornewamericans.org/campaign/naturalize-2-million-by-2022-new-american-voters/
6.  Ana Gutierrez, “Las Vegas to host ‘Naturalize 2 Million by 2022!” campaign,” April 18, 2022. 8 News Now. Accessed August 8, 2022. https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/las-vegas-to-host-naturalize-2-million-by-2022-campaign/
7. ^[1]“About Us.” National Partnership for New Americans. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://partnershipfornewamericans.org/about-us/
8. “Programs.” National Partnership for New Americans. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://partnershipfornewamericans.org/programs-trainings/
9.  ^[1]“About Us.” National Partnership for New Americans. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://partnershipfornewamericans.org/about-us/
10. “Partners.” New American Voters. Accessed August 7, 2022. https://newamericanvoters.org/partners/