Funded by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the Department of Homeland Security, Proyecto Ollin (Project Movement) focuses on assisting Lawful Permanent Residents who are Mexican Nationals to find resources to attain their naturalization and ultimately their citizenship. This groundbreaking program addresses the unique barriers to naturalization and the fear and apathy it creates for the expansive population of Mexican residents in Southern Arizona’s Pima, Cochise, and Santa Cruz Counties. This initiative, in partnership with the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Academia America, is strategically named Ollin in reference to the Aztec word for movement. It is the day in the Aztec calendar associated with Xolotl, the god of shifting shapes. This will activate impactful images for Southern Arizona Mexicans whose heritage is Mestizo (indigenous Aztec and European).
Latinos, Racial Equity, Social Justice, Cultural Preservation, Health Equity, Intergenerational Education, Narrative Change, Substance Abuse Prevention