THE White House Task Force on New Americans took an important step in immigration reform on April 15 with a new report that outlines the federal government’s goals to strengthen its integration efforts nationwide and to continue building welcoming communities for people.
The full 58-page report, published online, is titled “Strengthening Communities by Welcoming All Residents: A Federal Strategic Action Plan on Immigrant & Refugee Integration,” and is expected to usher in some changes in the immigration landscape. In December, the White House Task Force on New Americans will submit a progress report to President Barack Obama.
The Task Force was recently created by the President as a formal interagency body represented by 16 different federal departments, agencies, and offices. The Task Force efforts are led by Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Leon Rodriguez, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The report includes inspirational stories of new Americans, comprehensive ideas about informing immigrants of the rights to become a US citizen, and expanding outreach to community organizations, philanthropic groups, and the private sector.
Currently, 41.3 million foreign-born residents live in the US and are thriving, working and attending school, and overall contributing to the diversity and vitality of American society. That number includes over 3 million refugees and immigrants who have resettled since 1975 from countries worldwide, and are contributing to the economic, social and cultural fabric of the US.
“While 13 percent of the overall population is foreign-born, foreign-born workers represent close to 17 percent of the current US labor force,” a news release from the Office of the Press Secretary stated. “Over the next 20 years, immigrants and their children will account for 85 percent of the net growth in the US labor force. Immigrants are entrepreneurial, starting 28 percent of all new businesses.”
A study by the Partnership for a New American Economy found that immigrants or their children have helped found more than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies, which collectively employ over 10 million people worldwide and generate annual revenues of $4.2 trillion.
“Our success as a nation of immigrants is rooted in our historic success in integrating newcomers into the fabric of our country,” the release read.
The White House supports integration as a dynamic, two-way process that brings together both foreigners and long-time local residents of communities. Immigrants settle into these communities in order to “foster greater understanding, promote inclusiveness, speed economic success, and build secure, vibrant, and other cohesive communities.”
The Obama administration has taken efforts to study immigrant refugee integration efforts, maintained dialogue with businesses and stakeholders, and applied key concepts inspired by the “welcoming communities” movement. Welcoming communities create a positive environment for all, be it a large metropolitan city or a small town.
The White House also identified three integration pillars—civic, economic, and linguistic integration—that have been its focus for nearly six years. Working with various agencies, the federal administration aims to enhance opportunities for immigrants across each of these pillars, through engaging local programs that provide people with access to proper training around language needs, career development, and support services.
The Task Force aims to strengthen the government’s integration efforts for immigrants, making them more strategic, efficient and deliberate. Its key goals include bridging the gap between communities, reaching out to state and government leaders, strengthening existing pathways to naturalization, promoting accessible civic engagement, supporting small businesses, and implementing workforce training and opportunities to give new Americans the tools to succeed.
“This represents a major step forward in creating the ‘brain circuitry’ [the Migration Policy Institute has] long argued is necessary to allow the federal government to understand and better address integration needs and opportunities,” a blog post from the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, a branch of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), read.
MPI also offers resources, including contacts to various federal offices and national organizations, to help immigrants better assimilate into American life, and to be informed of their rights.
The Task Force held a national call in January, with three national listening sessions that included at least 1,000 participants. According to Rodriguez, the first major idea that came out of these sessions was the importance of maximizing traditional and social media outlets—especially media that caters to immigrant communities, in order to better reach these groups.
Creative ways into covering the cost of naturalization was another idea being considered. Although the federal government does not plan to reduce the $680 fee, Rodriguez said they plan to work with the private sector on other ways to cover the costs, including grants and microloans.
In addition to the citizenship awareness campaign, the Task Force has agreements with Los Angeles, Chicago and Nashville, and plans to partner with other cities that are part of the Welcoming America movement in the near future.
“The federal government has a lot of tools at its disposal,” said Muñoz. The goal of the Task Force, she said, is “to make sure we’re using those tools.”
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend April 18-21, 2015 Sec. A pg.1)
