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NEW BEDFORD — As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continue to aggressively arrest immigrants nationwide, many are either deciding to apply for citizenship or opting to leave the country instead.
The Immigrants’ Assistance Center is handling three times more citizenship applications than this time last year. On the flip side, according to area advocates, there has been an increase in immigrants seeking help in returning to their countries of origin.
Between July and October 2025, workers at the IAC filled out 250 citizenship applications. That’s compared to 245 in the 12 months from July 2024 to June 2025.
“We’re seeing people that have green cards and have been in the U.S. for such a long time afraid to [temporarily] leave the country,” said Helena DaSilva Hughes, the IAC’s president. “They’re afraid that having a green card is no longer enough to guarantee safety.”
Gail Breslow, the executive director of Project Citizenship, a statewide nonprofit that helps low-income immigrants, said 30% more people have initiated citizenship applications with her organization’s help compared to last year.
Between January and September 2025, Project Citizenship started files for 1,875 people interested and qualified for citizenship. That’s compared to 1,431 in January to September 2024.
“We’re seeing a lot of fear, anxiety, uncertainty,” said Breslow.
“Our people are permanent residents,” she said. “They live and work in the community and their children go to school here.
“Many don’t have the option to just pick up and move, and they don’t want to,” she continued. “This is their home.”
New hurdles
Advantages of citizenship include the ability to work most federal jobs, permanent rights to live and work in the U.S., and the right to vote.
But the Trump administration has made attaining citizenship more difficult. On Oct. 28, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped accepting checks or money orders for citizenship application fees.
According to Breslow, 90% of applicants were using checks and money orders before the change, in part because many immigrants don’t have bank accounts. (She added that many clients qualify for a low-income fee waiver.)
The administration has also made the citizenship exam more difficult, increasing the number of questions candidates must learn from 100 to 128, the number of questions asked from 10 to 20 questions, and the correct responses required from 6 to 12.
Fiscal impact
Massachusetts’ Office for Refugees and Immigrants provides funding for organizations to help immigrants apply for citizenship. But the IAC and Project Citizenship have already spent all the state money for this fiscal year, which began in July.
The Immigrants’ Assistance Center’s contract with the Office for Refugees and Immigrants’ Citizenship for New Americans Program pays $350 per application up to $20,550.
DaSilva Hughes said the IAC maxed out the money by August and has already completed another 190 applications for free.
“We’ve already exhausted the money,” she said. “But we continue, because we want people to become citizens.”
Last year, another state fund, the Low-Income Citizenship Program, gave the Immigrants’ Assistance Center $75,000 of the program’s $1.5 million appropriation to support agencies providing English-language learning, housing support, food aid, and legal services.
The new fiscal year’s budget appropriated another $1.5 million to the program, but none for the IAC. That has led DaSilva Huges to seek out more funding.
“I’m speaking with legislators, because we can already see the need,” she said.
Breslow said Project Citizenship used up its state contract money just as quickly. She added that federal cuts in January removed 5% of Project Citizenship’s budget.
Leaving the country
Even as more green-card holders seek citizenship, other immigrants are deciding to leave the U.S., DaSilva Hughes said.
“[They] don’t want to live under this stressful environment,” she said.
Corinn Williams, director of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts, said she has also noticed this trend.
“In the late afternoon someone will come and say: ‘I’d like help buying a ticket to go back,’” Williams said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a lot, but it is more frequent than before.”
The two advocates said many of those looking to leave are undocumented immigrants with businesses, property, and other assets in the U.S.
Multiple families in the area have chosen to leave after authorities detained the primary breadwinner.
DaSilva Hughes also said at least two local Portuguese families, mostly made up of U.S. citizens, have returned to the Azores after decades of living here without documentation to care for disabled family members.
“They came in as a visitor, they decided to stay, and now they’re afraid,” she said of the disabled immigrants. “There’s no path to legalize their status here.”
Though legal permanent residents have a pathway to citizenship, many are scared to leave the country, for fear they might have trouble returning, DaSilva Hughes said.
That has happened at least once in the New Bedford area. Customs agents detained Rui Murras, a 32-year old legal permanent resident from Portugal, at Logan Airport in March as he and his girlfriend returned from vacation in Mexico. He had been living in the U.S. since he was 2 years old, but never naturalized, due to a dismissed drug possession charge over a decade old.
“People have sacrificed, they’ve invested and they saw a path to a future here, and some people are saying that the American dream is vanishing before their eyes,” Williams said. “People are looking to protect themselves and protect what they’ve done to create a life for themselves and to have a little more security.”
Kevin G. Andrade can be contacted at kandrade@newbedfordlight.org.
There is no “American Dream” for illegal immigrants, they forfeited that option when they chose to ignore U.S. Immigration laws, and instead, they decided to steal “The American Dream” by violating those Federal immigration laws, and legal process created for the opportunity to obtain legal status, and become an American Citizen.
There are no Countries/Nations in the world that allow anyone to violate their immigration laws and enter illegally, then live in their cities, enroll their children in public schools, obtain healthcare, food, clothing, housing, utilities, and have assistance from non-profit organizations paid for with federal, state, and local aid, ALL funded with $Billions of tax payer dollars, it’s absolutely outrageous, and extremely insulting to be used like that!!!
You don’t just have to be a republican to feel that way!
Time to cut those funds!
Seems like a positive development! Apply for citizenship, make sure your green card status has not lapsed, or return to your country of origin. All good.
Illegals. Those who sneaked in, I have no impassion for, get out now.
Those who overstayed thier VISA’s Disregarded our laws and have nothing coming to them.
Come in legal or stay out!!
No benefits for illegals. Period
Well said!
Just why is Andrew O’Leary there? It should have been the mayor or if they attended night school rep, not Andrew O’Leary, trying to claim glory for others work. Then again, he does that on a daily basis on the job and later will say we didn’t need her/him anyway. Well we don’t need him.
Couldn’t agree more!
Is it the Climate of fear or just doing the right thing ? ? ?
Hopefully, doing the right thing!
If you were not born here please leave.
America for the American born.
Albert, where were your parents born? How about your grandparents! My parents were born here. My grandparents, my pepe was born in Canada, but became a citizen and served in the US military.
You are really being ridiculous. Legal immigrants welcome not illegals would be better phrased!
I will be more than happy to congratulate anyone who becomes an American citizen. What I won’t do is allow O’Leary to try to overtake their glory, he has absolutely nothing to do with their success!
It sounds like President Trump’s plan is working. We do, and should continue to welcome immigrants that will strengthen our country and add to the fabric of local communities. Prospective immigrants should abide our current immigration laws (which I believe requires employment) and follow the process. They should also be prepared to assimilate to our culture and our laws.
What part of the city budget is used for migrant learning. Even if it is grant money, we need our own to learn and the are failing horribly. The grant money should be for our own. Many migrants don’t learn English. So what are they teaching these migrants, using our (natural born citizens) funds for them. We pay our own way. They should pay there own way. Let them pay for it when they apply for a visa. Just why is the superintendent there. Why just this person?
Why is the superintendent of schools there? He needs to be in the school department doing his job. This is the problem, he tries to put on a social butterfly performance as his own employees are having serious issues caused by him and the hr director. This is so people look and say what a nice guy! Wrong, it’s all a show. Ms. Aungst needs to be put in charge. Right now it’s good against evil.
The person to represent the school dept should have been the head of adult education, if they went through adult ed to learn or the bilingual department. Not the superintendent, apparently he’s looking for a medal like someone else we know.
Become a citizen or leave. Obtain a green card, visa or citizenship. Do not overstay, if you do it legally or even asylum we will see a change in those who are against them. American born citizens must follow the law. If anything, the immigrants should be models of appreciation. America is not a hand out country,we Americans work for what we have, most of us! Many do attempt to skate by, no wonder immigrants come here. They think everything is for free!