---
"title": "V. Citizenship"
"description": "Citizenship is a marker of attachment to society, and registering to vote even more so. Of foreign-born Hispanics, those who have become naturalized citizens are more likely to speak English very well or pretty well than those who are not citizens (52% versus 25%). At the other extreme, nearly three-quarters (73%) of non-citizens say they […]"
"date": "2007-11-29"
"authors":
  -
    "name": "Shirin Hakimzadeh"
    "job_title": "Guest Contributor"
  -
    "name": "D’Vera Cohn"
    "job_title": "Former Senior Writer/Editor"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/dvera-cohn/"
"url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/race-and-ethnicity/2007/11/29/v-citizenship/"
---

# V. Citizenship

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2007/11/2007-english-14.png){.align}

Citizenship is a marker of attachment to society, and registering to vote even more so. Of foreign-born Hispanics, those who have become naturalized citizens are more likely to speak English very well or pretty well than those who are not citizens (52% versus 25%). At the other extreme, nearly three-quarters (73%) of non-citizens say they speak just a little or no English compared with 46% of naturalized citizens. (Figure 13)

Among Latino registered voters born in other countries, 57% say they speak English very well (42%) or pretty well (15%). They rate their reading ability only slightly lower.

---

**Next:** [VI. Bilingual Adults](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/race-and-ethnicity/2007/11/29/vi-bilingual-adults/markdown)