Foreign-born New Yorkers who want to apply for U.S. citizenship but can't afford it may soon be able to. NY1's Natalie Duddridge reports on a new proposal aimed at helping legal Immigrants cut application costs.

"We can help about 35,000 New Yorkers eligible to become citizens immediately," City Comptroller Scott Stringer said.

Stringer has a proposal that would help legal immigrants pay for their citizenship applications.

"I would like to apply for U.S. citizenship, but the cost is different for me and other people like me to afford," said student Fanila Tahir, who already holds a Green card. "It's my dream to become a U.S. citizen."

To make that dream a reality, Stringer came up with a proposal called the Citizenship Fund.

It would be financed with $20 million in public and private funds to help between 30,000 to 40,000 foreign-born New Yorkers cover the rising application fees, which is currently $725.

"When you have to choose between whether or not you're going to send your kid to school with school lunch, and whether or not you're going to put that extra money into getting your paperwork done, that's a really hard decision," State Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou of Manhattan said.

Local leaders say the Citizenship Fund is one way they're fighting back against President Trump's tough line towards immigrants.

"Every day at the Legal Aid, we get calls from frightened long-term permanent residents who had been putting off studying for the citizenship test, but now are suddenly terrified of losing their status and being deported by the Trump administration," Hasan Shafiqullah of the Legal Aid Society said.

The government already waives the application fees can already be waived for low-income immigrants seeking to become citizens.

But this proposal hopes to expand eligibility for assistance. For example, it would cover application costs for a family of three with a household income of $61,000 or less.

As for the next steps, Stringer says he's begun speaking with city officials and potential private donors to secure funding for the program.