PHARR - A Rio Grande Valley immigrant rights group said more people are interested in becoming U.S. citizens.

The process also has many people doing all they can to learn the language.

People who want to become U.S. citizens have to take an English test. The test has three parts: reading writing and speaking. A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer will then decide if their English is good enough to pass.

U.S. Permanent Resident Alma Salinas said she is one of about a dozen people taking classes to learn English. She left Reynosa and moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 1989.

“I came here for a better life and to be better and work, and so my children could have a better future,” she said.

Salinas said she knows how important it is to learn the language. She wants better communication between her and others.

“I have a son that’s special. So, I have to go to San Antonio and I have to be able to communicate with the nurses and doctors,” she said. “Sometimes I feel bad, because they need to have a person to introduce me, which is why I have an interest to learn English.”

Salinas decided to turn to La Union Del Pueblo Entero to seek citizenship. She and others fear the uncertainty of what lies ahead under President Trump.

“I feel the way many people that don’t have documents. Even though we are residents, we feel the same with the situation that we’re in because we can be in the same situation as they are,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important for us to get our citizenship, and I would like it if our president of the United States would give us the opportunity to many that don’t have documents.”

There are numerous requirements to become a U.S. citizenship. The USCIS’ website offers more information on those requirements.