On September 17, 2017, the United States will celebrate the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. The U.S. Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services celebrates that entire week and encourages Americans " to reflect on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and what it means to be a U.S. citizen."
Since 1965, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. has more than quadrupled, accounting for more than 13.4 percent of the population and reaching its peak in 2015 at 43.2 million. Twenty-seven percent of immigrants are permanent residents. In 2016, 750,000 plus people became naturalized American citizens.
Assistant Commissioner Kavita Pawria-Sanchez oversees interagency initiatives to advance immigrant inclusion across New York City government. She also served for five years as Executive Director of the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Affairs at NYC’s social service agency where she spearheaded policies and programmatic strategies to meet civil rights mandates for over one million immigrant New Yorkers.
Kavita Pawria-Sanchez, Assistant Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York, speaks for the City Club's 2017 Constitution Day forum.
