Many immigrants come to America with a dream: the opportunity to one day call themselves United States citizens.
No matter where you are in the U.S, earning citizenship is often a long and difficult process requiring years of commitment, perseverance and faith. From securing legal assistance and gathering documentation to studying for the civics exam, paying application fees and waiting for approval, the path to citizenship can test a person’s resolve at every step.
On this special episode of “Horizonte,” we watch the new documentary “Tested: Becoming a U.S. Citizen,” which explores the history of the naturalization process and the frustrations behind it. We’ll also meet the filmmaker, Cassidy Motahari, and two experts who work in the immigration field.
The film follows Karime Rodriguez, a woman who is currently going through the naturalization process and waiting for an appointment to take her citizenship test.
“Being able to be the first person to naturalize is showing me that my parents came here for a reason,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also works as Services Manager for the Arizona Center for Empowerment (ACE), which provides support for those going through the naturalization process, including English literacy support and preparation for the citizenship test.
We’re also joined by Grace Vaughn, Legal Services Director for The Literacy Center in Flagstaff. Vaughn shares ways immigrants can start their journey to citizenship despite a difficult legal system.
We examine what citizenship means today, why it matters and the realities many Arizona immigrants face on the road to becoming Americans.
“Tested: Becoming a U.S. Citizen” was created through the PBS Ignite program, which supports and fosters emerging filmmakers as they develop original documentary projects.
As a PBS Ignite filmmaker fellow, Cassidy Motahari was challenged to develop a film proposal exploring the history of a U.S. person, place or thing.
The assignment became personal when Motahari began exploring the history behind U.S. naturalization requirements. Both of her parents are immigrants, and she grew up watching them navigate the naturalization process.
Her personal connection to their journey sparked a deeper curiosity about how the process came to be and ultimately led to the creation of “Tested: Becoming a U.S. Citizen.”
