NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Among the halls of the relatively quite Global Mall, one former store bustled with activity Saturday. Besides the volunteers, every person inside was an immigrant, all with the same goal to become American citizens.
"Its time for me to become a citizen, so I can go to the polls and make a choice," Cristina Corona said.
A native of Mexico, Corona moved to Nashville to be with her mom and admitted the process to become a citizen has been a daunting one. "I'm actually here now after two years of this process," she said.
However, it will be worth the wait. "I'm actually the first one out of my family to become a citizen," said Corona.
The workshop provided everyone with the guidance, both legal and non legal, to complete the application for citizenship.
"The application is lengthy and confusing, its incredibly expensive to apply and there's a lot of misinformation," Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition Co-Executive Director, Stephanie Teatro said.
Immigration has continued to take the forefront in the race for the oval office with many conservative candidates promising to build borders.
However, it's Corona's hope to help break those borders down. "I think that a lot of people should come together to help each other because if we're not helping each other then we're just being divided."
Argentinian turned U.S. citizen Fabian Bedne now represents District 31 on Metro Council. "I think there is a lot of misinformation, it gets tiresome many times to hear people repeat things that are just untrue and it just poisons the water and it skews the way people perceive this whole immigration situation based on things that are just not true."
The Presidential Election may be far away but at the Global Mall, the race for citizenship and the right to vote may be coming to an end.
Forty cities across the nation held their own workshops Saturday. If people are granted citizenship they will be sworn in in six months.
