Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

This funders' guide provides a road map for building and strengthening immigrant civic integration infrastructure in local communities to assist the more than 8.5 million lawful permanent residents presently eligible to become citizens, the 2.8 million who will soon gain eligibility, and the estimated 12 million undocumented newcomers who may be able to apply for legal status and citizenship should Congress adopt federal immigration reform in the future. The guide delineates steps to identify community needs, resources, and opportunities; describes high-quality, ESL programs and strategies for improving instruction; offers an overview of the citizenship application process and recommends strategies for supporting naturalization-related efforts; and demonstrates how collaboration among funders can increase the availability of quality ESL instruction, legal services, and naturalization assistance.

Responding to changing demographics, the public and private sectors are developing new ways of communicating with limited English-speaking individuals. In 2007, nearly one in five Americans lived in a household that spoke a language other than English at home, yet meeting the needs for language services and English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction remains a challenge. Language assistance programs can benefit immigrant families and the broader community by improving public safety, health, education, and other important government functions. A growing number of state and local agencies have adopted language access policies over the past decade, but many struggled to implement them. The Annie E. Casey Foundation established the Language Access Practitioners Network in 2006, connecting otherwise isolated government practitioners that work in child and family serving agencies, as well as staff from mayors’ and governors’ offices who oversee immigrant-serving programs. This report builds on participants’ conversations on how public agencies can communicate more effectively with limited English-speaking residents and lessons learned from language access programs across the country. The report concludes with a check list for developing effective language access practices and further resources.

This report examines the patterns, trends, and gaps in the philanthropic support of immigrants and refugees among Minnesota foundations. Recent demographic trends make immigration a front-burner issue for the state. During the 1990s alone, Minnesota's foreign-born population doubled. The resettlement of thousands of refugees from Southeast Asia, Africa, and the former Soviet Union -- combined with increased migration from Latin America -- have made the state a major player in the immigration landscape and compelled regional foundations to consider how they could best serve new populations in both urban and rural communities. The report provides a history of giving, outlines current and emerging funding trends, and provides recommendations for foundations as well as immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations.

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Our researchers interviewed a broad cross-section of immigrant leaders, advocates, and policymakers and have produced this report summarizing their findings. The report briefly describes the circumstances that produced the large immigrant marches and offers concrete funding recommendations for supporting immigrant communities under different scenarios. A key theme that runs throughout this report is the need for funders to provide increased support at this pivotal moment, while coordinating their efforts to maximize impact and avoid duplication.

The New Americans Executive Order was created to outline immigrant integration strategies that are helpful to communities in the state of Illinois and beyond.  Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the son of immigrant parents, hopes the initiative will make the American dream accessible for more families and create an example to help build stronger communities around the country.

This chapter from GCIR's Investing in Our Communities: Strategies for Immigrant Integration provides a historical perspective from which to view the issue of immigration in the United States.