Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

Estimates immigrant participation in the EITC from IRS and Census data in light of research indicating immigrants overall have lower than average participation rates. Finds high immigrant participation rates in densely populated urban zip codes but low rates in "moderate" immigrant zip codes, primarily suburbs, where 27 percent of all immigrants live; immigrants in suburbs are more dispersed and do not have same access to NGO and tax preparer groups as those in urban areas.

Immigrants constitute 14 percent of the workforce and stand to gain from training opportunities to improve their work and English skills, and better their lives economically.  This report examines the low-wage immigrant workforce and how policies and programs can best support their training and development.

During the 1990s, one out of every two new workers was an immigrant. While many immigrants speak English well and enter the United States with strong academic credentials and skills, many others do not. Like other low-skilled workers, few of these immigrants enjoyed the benefits of employer-provided training programs, most of which are geared to managers or highly skilled workers.

The report notes that area Latino business districts are among the most successful in the Chicago region, with Latino-owned businesses posting $7.4 billion in sales in 2002. The report indicates that fully engaging Mexicans in Chicago's economic development will require overcoming language, educational and other skills challenges, and that, to accomplish this, it is necessary to strive for a comprehensive set of policies that promote the economic development, educational advancement, political and civic participation, and the health of the Mexican community in the Chicago region.

This report is an examination of Latino access to and achievement in technical career paths. The researchers identified the obstacles to access and achievement, as well as the exemplary characteristics of post-secondary institutions that lead to increased rates of Latino enrollment and graduation in IT- related programs. The study finds persistent patterns of under-representation by Latinos, African-Americans, and women in the knowledge economy, despite projected data that the future workforce will be heavily comprised of these demographic groups.

The study synthesizes research findings on the role of safety-net programs, which have reduced the number of Americans living in poverty in half, and lifted nearly one of every three otherwise -poor children above the poverty line in 2003. The report examines the role of income support, food and nutrition programs, health care programs, and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Despite the growing numbers of Latino immigrants, an estimated 40 to 60 percent do not have a bank account, limiting their ability to obtain credit to buy a home or finance a business and making them vulnerable to high fees charged by fringe financial services providers. The toolkit educates banks on why and how to reach immigrant communities with practical strategies on how to bank outside the branch, engage the community, cross-sell services, deliver home mortgages, support the Earned Income Tax Credit and financial education, and understand the importance of remittances.

This is an annual report written by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors. It overviews the nation's economic progress using text and extensive data appendices.

Expanding Immigrant Access to Mainstream Financial Services: Positive Practices and Emerging Opportunities from the Latin American Immigrant Experience outlines policies and practices that help immigrants access the banking system and build credit, and describes key avenues for community partnerships, successful approaches to financial education, and alternative banking approaches that attract immigrant customers. Profiles successful immigrant banking initiatives around the country and includes a useful bibliography.

Uses the case of Mexico to make two broad arguments, one related to the importance of extra-economic dimensions of remittances, particularly the social and political meanings of remittances, and the other based on a disaggregation of remittances into family, collective or community-based, and investment remittances.

This paper examines the factors influencing immigrant homeownership rates, which helped minorities account for 40 percent of the increase in homeowners between 1990 and 2000. It describes variations in immigrant ownership rates across metropolitan regions (traditional urban gateways, new immigrant gateways, new fast-growing cities, and slow-growth destinations) and among different foreign-born groups. The authors review initiatives that encourage ownership, including savings programs, underwriting flexibility, and education programs.

The Brookings Institution provides specific information about the Haitian community in Miami-Dade County in order to better describe the challenges they face. After describing Haitian income trends, the report explores some of the reasons behind the low incomes and higher poverty rates of Miami's Haitian population.

Immigrants fuel the state's prosperity by supplying much-needed workers in both low- and high-skilled positions throughout our economy and are responsible for a disproportionately large share of housing market growth. For more information or to download a copy of the report, visit ICIRR's website at www.icirr.org or call Catherine Salgado at 312.332.7360, ext. 35.

This paper reviews data on how immigrants fare under the work-focused, time-limited Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It also discusses policy implications of research showing that many immigrants who remain on welfare rolls have significant barriers to employment, including limited proficiency in English and low skill levels.

Whether immigrants depress wages or displace U.S.-born workers has been a long-standing concern of government officials and the public. This "competition question" has been the focus of research in the immigration field. This study examines the literature, and finds there is no clear answer, and the "competition question" is only one aspect to examine in the highly complex topic of immigrants and their economic impact on the United States.

The author uses a century of Census data and other research to present a comprehensive comparison of contemporary Mexican immigrants with the progress of Italians who came at the beginning of the last century. The book examines wages, schooling, and economic outcomes to show that Mexican second-generation progress, though slowed, is better in several respects than earlier Italian generations. Key recommendations to boosting progress include reversing the growing wage inequality in the United States, legalizing undocumented Mexican immigrants, and improving high school graduation rates.

Immigration is one of the United States’ most distinguishing characteristics, helping to drive economic growth and define national identity since the country’s founding. However, the integration of newcomers has always presented serious challenges for both the newcomers and the communities that receive them. The report offers an in-depth look at the historical context for integration.

Many funders are addressing economic and social injustice by working with community organizations, faith-based groups and unions in the struggle to obtain just wages and full democratic participation in American society for low-wage workers.

Profiles growing national phenomenon of day laborers based on first national study, which surveyed 2,660 day laborers at 264 hiring sites in 20 states. Detailed information on worker characteristics, type of work and wages, and working conditions finds they are regularly denied payment and endure hazardous working conditions. Vast majority are immigrant and Latino, 28 percent are U.S. citizens and 75 percent are undocumented, and almost two-thirds have children.

This compendium contains over 300 tables of data and trends in science and technology. The compendium has been published for nearly three decades, and includes a collection of education, employment, and demographic data.