In recent weeks, Maria and Francisco have been going regularly to an elementary school near their home on the Southwest Side. The couple are doing so to learn about the U.S. Constitution and American history in preparation for a civics exam, one on the long list of requirements to become U.S. citizens.
The Mexican natives are among the nearly 400,000 legal permanent residents in Illinois eligible to get naturalized. Francisco, 65, and Maria, 57, are part of a growing number of people who, after years of being satisfied with their permanent legal status, are rushing to become citizens because of President Donald Trump’s escalating attacks on immigrants.
“I want to get citizenship to live peacefully here,” Francisco said in Spanish. He’s had a green card for 35 years, but now, he worries that’s not enough.
Some immigrants say they are trying to secure their U.S. citizenship out of fear of what could happen if they remain without full legal protections. They waited at the Instituto del Progreso Latino event for a legal screening and for help filling out their application for citizenship.
Manuel Martinez/WBEZ
Maria agrees. “I trusted that I could renew my green card every 10 years. Now, the new government is scaring us,” she said, also in Spanish. “Any time, it could say, ‘We are not renewing your green card anymore.’ ”
WBEZ is not using the couple’s full names because they fear retaliation from the government.
The Trump administration recently announced proposed changes to citizenship and other applications, including what it calls “social media vetting for anti-Americanism.” It also wants to collect additional information about relatives during the application process, including names, phone numbers and where they live.
Advocates say these changes are pushing more green card holders to move quickly.
“People want to protect themselves in case anything happens,” said Idalia Flores Guzmán, director of programs administration with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights.
Flores Guzmán says their citizenship applications are higher in 2025 after ticking up slightly in the three prior years. Other organizations are also seeing more applicants: Once a month on Saturdays, the lunchroom at Instituto del Progreso Latino on the Southwest Side is packed with green-card holders hoping to start the naturalization process. Since January, that number has grown.
The federal government hasn’t released data on the number of citizenship applications since Trump took office again.
What constitutes a “public safety threat”?
The federal government has been stepping up the pressure on immigrants on social media in recent days. Official accounts have posted messages on X saying permanent residents are only “guests” in the U.S. The X account for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has threatened to revoke green cards if people break the law or are a public safety threat.
What the administration considers safety threats is unclear. It has been targeting green-card and visa holders for acts such as advocating for Palestinian human rights, claiming that counts as supporting terrorism.
Flores Guzmán and other advocates say they are concerned.
“People are worried about freedom of speech,” Flores Guzmán said. “People are worried about what the government is going to be checking if they did share a post supporting Palestine, if they share a post supporting Ukraine.”
Added Lucia Martel-Dow, director of the New Americans Campaign at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center: “We don’t know what kind of surveillance [there is] or how the government is going to interpret the social media information.”
Asking applicants to share information about relatives living in the United States may also put family members without legal status at risk if they apply for citizenship.
“If you live in a mixed-status family, then that obviously has an issue around enforcement,” Martel-Dow said.
Studying for citizenship
Back in the Southwest Side classroom, Francisco and Maria say they’ve long known about the importance of getting naturalized.
Unlike U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents aren’t allowed to vote; they face a limit on how long they can live abroad and their status can be revoked for committing certain crimes. The couple had previously put off the naturalization process because it can be difficult and expensive.
Applying also means submitting to additional background checks and answering questions about recent arrests or other immigration issues. Nancy Sandoval, a Department of Justice accredited representative who also works with ICIRR, said people should seek legal help before applying for U.S. citizenship.
“Immigration checks everything again … from the way you got your green card — if something is not correct, if [there] might have been a discrepancy,” she said.
Older residents in particular can be intimidated by the civics and English exams. Despite these difficulties, Francisco and Maria have submitted their applications. They reached out to the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, an organization that offers citizenship classes, and are studying diligently for the civics exam.
“My memory is not very good, so it’s been hard,” Francisco said.
But Maria is confident he’ll do well: “Every time I leave for work and every time I come home, he is studying.”
Adriana Cardona-Maguigad covers immigration for WBEZ. Follow her on X @AdrianaCardMag.