Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

Provides insightful discussion of why migration occurs and assesses major theories of how immigrants incorporate into receiving society. Analyzes detailed evidence on successful economic, linguistic, and social incorporation among contemporary immigrant groups; discusses how increased racial and ethnic diversity created by immigration may blur the racial divide, transforming the United States into a multi-ethnic, multi-racial society.

From the infamous "melting pot" to segmented assimilation to an identity-based model, explore the various ways academics conceptualize assimilation.

How can societies that welcome immigrants from around the world create civic cohesion and political community out of ethnic and racial diversity?

This book describes the growth and population characteristics of immigrants in new settlement states and examines the implications for the integration of immigrants moving into areas that lack a tradition of receiving newcomers. It Pprovides case studies of new immigrant settlements in North Carolina, Atlanta, Minnesota, Virginia, Utah, and Arkansas. The book aims to improve communication between immigrants and the institutions they interact with, and enhance the flow of information between communities facing similar challenges in different regions.

This publication offers a glimpse of the learning journey that took place for a group of GCYF members over an eight-month period. In this publication, we synthesized the collective learning that emerged and relayed some of the most important strategies for success that we uncovered. In an attempt to make the information presented in this publication as accessible as possible for funders, GCYF also developed a companion learning kit, which includes power point presentations on the subject, a planning guide, discussion guide and resource guide.

Trends in the U.S. economy and labor force over the past 30 years have implications for the workforce and for low-wage workers and their families in particular.  This article discusses the increased diversity in the workforce, the growing need for low-skilled workers, the skills gap between high- and low-skilled workers, and the number of working poor in the United States.

Recognized for its superb portrayal of immigration and immigrant lives in the United States, this book probes the dynamics of immigrant politics, examining questions of identity and loyalty among newcomers, and explores the psychological consequences of varying modes of migration and acculturation. The authors look at patterns of settlement in urban America, discuss the problems of English-language acquisition and bilingual education, explain how immigrants incorporate themselves into the American economy, and examine the trajectories of their children from adolescence to early adulthood.

The school system provides numerous opportunities and challenges for immigrant integration, and as a place where many immigrants interact the most with their communities, it can play an important role in integration. This guide, intended for school administrators, district administrators, and teachers provides specific recommendations for promoting immigrant integration in schools.

Reports on immigrant experiences and ability to resettle in United States, based on in-depth interviews with 230 immigrants in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, representing 19 countries. Combination of data and extensive quotes portrays danger of border crossing, difficulty of obtaining legal status, workplace discrimination, and lack of access to services. Recommends states and federal government work together to create paths to citizenship, strengthen worker protections, broaden opportunities for immigrants to become part of community life, and protect immigrants from discrimination.

Behind the contentious politics of immigration lies the question of how well new immigrants are becoming part of American society.  To address this question, this book draws on the results of a ground-breaking study of young adults of immigrant parents in metropolitan New York to provide a comprehensive look at their social, economic, cultural, and political lives.  The authors conclude, "We began this study worried about downward mobility of some of the children of immigrants.  We now feel that, in some ways, it is the opposite problem that is actually a greater cause for concern.  I

This study assesses demographic trends indicating how well immigrant families are faring and explores conceptual and policy design issues that should inform an immigrant integration agenda. It also reviews federal spending on immigrants in areas key to integration, such as education, and outlines policy issues affecting future directions in safety net, education, employment, and housing programs.

The task force commissioned by the Nebraska legislature evaluates the potential for integrating new Latino workers, whose numbers grew by 155 percent between 1990 and 2000 in response to new beef- and poultry-processing jobs. It paints a portrait of newcomers’ economic, education, English language, and citizenship status. Through surveys of schools, churches, law enforcement, and local NGOs, the Task Force identified seven challenges to integration: language, lack of understanding of U.S.

GCIR's Investing in Our Communities: Strategies for Immigrant Integration is a succinct, easy-to-understand guide that describes how grantmakers at all levels can play an important leadership role on this issue. This publication was developed through extensive research and interviews with hundreds of foundations, community, business, and government leaders. It incorporates academic research as well as policy and community-based concerns into a resource that can inform the work of practitioners in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.

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.

The study reports the results of a roundtable discussion on opportunities and risks to immigrant integration in three policy domains: pre-kindergarten to 12 education; work and work supports; and naturalization and the redesign of the citizenship test. It suggests areas for future research and program development.

Landmark analysis of rising immigrant second generation examines their patterns of acculturation, family and school life, language, identity, experiences of discrimination, self-esteem, ambition, and achievement. Findings from longitudinal study of more than 5,000 immigrant children and parents of multiple nationalities in Miami/Ft.

The new management manual seeks to provide information for the decision-making process for creating or expanding an immigration legal services program.  It contains knowledgeable insights on the structure of high-quality and financially stable programs from staffing to outreach and advocacy work.

This study by the Applied Research Center addresses the question, "How can established community-based and philanthropic organizations more effectively work with emerging mutual assistance and immigrant rights organizations to address the concerns of immigrant and refugee families?" It Eexamines models of immigrant and refugee organizations by evaluating data from interviews with over more than 120 key leaders, and explores case studies of six local organizations,; and assesses the effect of the post-September 11 political environment on immigrant and refugee communities.

This guidebook is Ddesigned to help local policy makers, program managers, and advocates use U.S. Census and other data sources to identify characteristics, contributions, and needs of immigrant populations in their local communities. It Iidentifies national trends that provide a context for understanding immigration to local communities; provides detailed information on relevant data sources, what information they contain, and how to use them; presents a sample immigrant profile (for Rhode Island) to show how data can inform policy options.

This report examines the challenge of immigrant integration in a comprehensive manner. Although the report deals with state and local, but not federal, issues that matter to immigrants, such as learning English, adapting to a new society, accessing health care and other services, finding jobs and feeling secure and confident in a future are covered in some detail.