Press
Fryzel highlights Second Federal Credit Union’s immigration loan program
ALEXANDRIA, VA (February 21, 2014) — Calling it a unique and responsive idea, National Credit Union Administration Board Member Michael E. Fryzel said that Second Federal Credit Union, a division of Self-Help Federal Credit Union based in Chicago’s Hispanic community, has once again shown how credit unions respond to their members’ specialized needs.
Second Federal Credit Union in partnership with the Resurrection Project, a community group that helps individuals through the citizenship process, is making loans to cover the cost of applying for U.S. citizenship to eligible, legal, permanent residents.
“Hundreds of thousands of individuals who have their green cards and who have lived in this country at least five years are eligible to become citizens, but often times are unable to afford the cost of the application,” Fryzel said. “By making individual loans of approximately $680, Second Federal Credit Union will open the door to the dreams of many people of becoming a citizen of the United States of America.”
This is the second immigration-assistance loan program developed by Second Federal to help the people in the communities they serve move forward and succeed. Last year, the credit union made 465 loans to young people eligible for the President’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The loan funds for the citizenship application are sent directly to the Department of Homeland Security to ensure the funds are used for the intended purpose.
“Second Federal Credit Union president, Rudy Medina, his Board and all of the employees are to be commended for their outstanding program and their repeated efforts to further the philosophy of the credit union movement,” Fryzel said. “What they do truly exemplifies what credit unions are all about.”
NCUA is the independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress to regulate, charter and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of nearly 96 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.
–NCUA–