Nearly two-thirds of the 5.4 million legal immigrants from Mexico who are eligible to become citizens of the United States have not yet taken that step. Their naturalization rate—36%—is only half that of legal immigrants from all other countries combined, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of federal government data. A nationwide survey of Hispanic immigrants by the Center finds that nearly all (93%) who have not yet naturalized say they would if they could. But barriers such as a lack of English proficiency and the financial cost of naturalization are identified as reasons why many legal immigrants have not yet done so.

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