Immigrants made up a quarter of the workers who kept the country afloat during the COVID-19 lockdown in France. Now, France is thanking 12,000 of them by granting them citizenship and lowering the residency requirements from 5 years to 2 years. They showed up for their country and in turn, their country rewarded them for their work and the huge risks it entailed.
The United State and the United Kingdom should also create special programs to grant front line immigrant workers citizenship! Sign the petition if you agree!
The beneficiaries of the French program for citizenship had a range of jobs, from doctors and nurses, to garbage disposal workers and cashiers. The thing they had in common? They risked their lives to do their jobs and keep the country going amidst a deadly pandemic, saving countless lives.
Many immigrant workers in the United States and United Kingdom did the same thing. In the United States, immigrant workers actually make up a disproportionate percentage of healthcare workers. 28% of doctors in the U.S. are immigrants and about 18% of healthcare workers in general were immigrants in 2018. While some of them may be naturalized citizens or have other paths to citizenship, many do not!
The least we can do is say thanks, and to tell them that they belong in the countries they sacrificed so much to help! We need to create special programs to grant citizenship to the people who worked -- and may still be working -- in dangerous situations during this global pandemic.
Sign the petition to tell the United States and the United Kingdom to follow France's lead!
