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.

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.

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.

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 book compiles the writings of a variety of contributors and introduces contemporary immigration controversies with articles representing the spectrum of political opinion, from progressive to conservative. Academics and policy analysts discuss immigration in historical and contemporary contexts; the immigrant bargain; how assimilation works; economics, politics, and race; and what it means to be American.

Analyzes competing models of how immigrants assimilate and assesses evidence showing that "new" immigrants are achieving upward economic and social mobility despite changing economic structures and persistent racial barriers. This academic synthesis argues that, although assimilation is not a panacea for eliminating racism, the ethnic diversity of new immigrant streams may change the mainstream and help blur racial boundaries.

Explains sources and impact of American nativism which flourished during the great cycle of immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Higham's analysis of the different strains of nativism, from anti-foreign to anti-radical and anti-Catholic, is considered masterful and is relied on by scholars today.

This assessment by a bi-partisan state oversight agency concludes that California has not come to terms with the challenge of the nation’s largest immigrant population and r. ecommends that the state realign public and community efforts to effectively integrate immigrants and urge the federal government to reform failed immigration policies.