Asians Aim for 'Ya Es Hora' - Style Citizenship Push

San Jose Mercury News: Inspired by a highly publicized Latino naturalization drive, Asian Americans are fanning out to help immigrants across California-and eventually the country-become U.S. citizens. Asian American advocates say getting more immigrants to naturalize is crucial to flex the political muscle of the state's fastest-growing ethnic group and give the community a louder voice. And it has become even more pressing since the country ramped up immigration enforcement, making citizenship a requirement to get more government contracts and to avoid deportation if convicted of a crime. The task is daunting. In California-home to a third of the country's Asian population-dozens of languages are spoken, in addition to dozens of dialects, and myriad often-competing Asian-language media outlets reach diverse segments. "Everything we have to do is multiple in terms of the amount of resources and effort," said Karin Wang, vice president of programs at the Los Angeles-based Asian Pacific American Legal Center, which is spearheading the drive. The campaign-which starts next week with a workshop in the San Gabriel Valley's sizable Chinese and Vietnamese communities- is modeled after the "Ya es hora" citizenship campaign launched by a close-knit partnership between community groups, Spanish-language media giant Univision and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.