The number of foreign-born U.S. citizens currently eligible for naturalization surpasses the 2020 presidential victory margin in five swing states.
A report released by the American Immigration Council (AIC) on Thursday concluded that if some or all of the country’s 7.4 million unnaturalized but eligible residents obtained their citizenship before November, they could nullify the elections. 2024.
This is unlikely to happen, as the naturalization process for eligible foreign citizens takes approximately eight months from application to receipt of citizenship certificate.
But the report highlights the disconnect between the size of immigrant communities, their economic impact and their political power.
It says immigrants make up 13.8% of the U.S. population but only 10% of eligible voters.
And potential citizens could, in theory, influence both swing states and some major red states.
Researchers found that 574,800 immigrants in Florida are likely eligible for naturalization, while former President Trump’s margin of victory was 371,686 votes.
In Texas, the population eligible for naturalization is estimated at 789,500, and the presidential victory margin in 2020 was 631,221.
The margin of victory in some swing states pales in comparison to the number of potential new voters.
In Arizona, 164,000 people can apply for citizenship, and the vote difference was 10,457, a ratio of about 16 to 1; in Georgia, the ratio is about 13 to 1.
Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin appear on the list, with victory margin ratios of residents eligible for naturalization in 2020 of about 8 to 1, 3 to 1, 2 to 1 and 5 to -2, respectively.
The report also found that immigrants paid 16.2% of all taxes paid by US households in 2022, despite having less political representation.
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