Beaverton City Library is offering free citizenship classes twice a week through December, giving residents a chance to prepare for the U.S. naturalization exam with lessons in civics, English and the citizenship interview process.

SOAR Immigration Legal Services and Mission Citizen are each leading a separate series at the library's Mountain View Room on the second floor, at 12375 SW Fifth St., according to the library's citizenship class page.

Both are free and open to the public.

SOAR's classes meet Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Oct. 10 through Dec. 19. The sessions cover U.S. history and civics, English reading and writing practice, naturalization interview preparation and a review of the N-400 citizenship application. Classes are taught in English with resources in Spanish and other languages. No pre-registration is required; residents can sign up in person on the first day they attend.

Mission Citizen leads a separate Wednesday series from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Oct. 7 through Dec. 16, with no class Nov. 11 or Nov. 25. Those sessions focus on the 128 civics questions on the citizenship exam and are taught in English, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

The classes serve a community where immigration enforcement has intensified. Beaverton ranked among the top three Oregon cities for federal immigration arrests per capita since the crackdown began, with 199 arrests equaling about 20 per 10,000 residents, The Oregonian reported in September. Washington County's foreign-born population stands at 19.3%, according to Census Bureau data, nearly double the statewide rate.

SOAR, which operates offices in northeast Portland and Hillsboro, says it has assisted more than 4,000 immigrants from over 80 countries with becoming U.S. citizens since 2010 through its New Americans Initiative. The organization also offers online citizenship classes on Thursdays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 17 and in-person classes at other metro locations, including the Bethany Library Annex in Portland and Brookwood Library in Hillsboro.

Residents with questions about SOAR's classes can contact Jennica Stephenson at [email protected]. For Mission Citizen's Wednesday classes, call 503-765-6867 or email [email protected].

Upcoming at Beaverton City Library:

  • Saturday, Oct. 24: SOAR Citizenship Class, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Mountain View Room
  • Wednesday, Oct. 28: Mission Citizen Citizenship Class, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Mountain View Room