E.g., 04/17/2024
E.g., 04/17/2024
Language Access

Language Access

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The phrase "language access services" describes services that agencies use to bridge the communication barrier with individuals who cannot speak, understand, read, or write  fluently in the host-country language. In the United States, federal law and executive orders mandate compliance with language access requirements for any agency receiving federal funds. Explore MPI's research in this area and visit the Language Access: Translation and Interpretation Policies and Practices section for national and state-level data on LEP individuals, commentaries by service providers, and more.

Recent Activity

Kindergarten girl raises hand
Multimedia
October 12, 2022
Ensuring Effective Language Access Services and Policies in Early Childhood Programs
Image of an infographic showing key DLL stats
Fact Sheets
October 2022
Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs
By  Ivana Tú Nhi Giang and Maki Park
Cover image for Overlooked but Essential
Policy Briefs
October 2022
Overlooked but Essential: Language Access in Early Childhood Programs
By  Maki Park, Jacob Hofstetter and Ivana Tú Nhi Giang
Image of masked woman with a clipboard speaking with another woman outside her home.
Commentaries
May 2022
Schools Should Engage Diverse Community Stakeholders to Promoting Equitable Allocation of Historic Funding to Reimagine Education
By  Jazmin Flores Peña
Multimedia
October 21, 2021
Translating Into Success: Key Features of U.S. State & Local Language Access Laws and Policies
cover image for A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies
Reports
October 2021
A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies
By  Jacob Hofstetter, Margie McHugh and Anna O’Toole
Two U.S. educators discuss dual-language instruction.
Articles
September 17, 2021
The Changing Concepts around Immigrant Integration
By Corrie Macleod
A family from Syria walks through the town of Wächtersbach, Germany, where they now live.
Articles
January 7, 2021
Faith and Mental Health Help Shape the Integration of Muslim Refugees in Germany
By Diana Rayes

Pages

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Reports
April 2019
Immigrant Families and Child Welfare Systems: Emerging Needs and Promising Policies
By  Mark Greenberg, Randy Capps, Andrew Kalweit, Jennifer Grishkin and Ann Flagg
Coverthumb MPIE IntegrationToolkit
Reports
January 2019
Doing More with Less: A New Toolkit for Integration Policy
By  Meghan Benton and Alexandra Embiricos
coverthumb Into the Mainstream
Reports
June 2015
Into the Mainstream: Rethinking Public Services for Diverse and Mobile Populations
By  Meghan Benton, Helen McCarthy and Elizabeth Collett
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Reports
September 2014
Smart Inclusive Cities: How New Apps, Big Data, and Collaborative Technologies Are Transforming Immigrant Integration
By  Meghan Benton
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Reports
September 2014
Immigrant Civic Integration and Service Access Initiatives: City-Sized Solutions for City-Sized Needs
By  Margie McHugh
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Reports
September 2013
Newcomers to the Aloha State: Challenges and Prospects for Mexicans in Hawai'i
By  Jeanne Batalova, Monisha Das Gupta and Sue Patricia Haglund
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Reports
June 2013
Health Care for Immigrant Families: Current Policies and Issues
By  Leighton Ku and Mariellen Jewers
MPIEurope FreeMovement Intg
Reports
March 2013
The Integration Needs of Mobile EU Citizens: Impediments and Opportunities
By  Elizabeth Collett

Pages

A family from Syria walks through the town of Wächtersbach, Germany, where they now live.
Feature
January 7, 2021
Faith and Mental Health Help Shape the Integration of Muslim Refugees in Germany

Faith plays a significant role in the mental health and social integration of refugees and asylum seekers. Yet in Germany, concerns about Islam and migrants from Muslim-majority countries have complicated social cohesion efforts, particularly in the wake of the 2015-16 refugee and migration crisis.

RedGreg TrainofHopeLinz Flickr
Feature
November 18, 2015
Immigrants in the Smart City: The Potential of City Digital Strategies to Facilitate Immigrant Integration

The digital era offers opportunities for cities to improve access and outreach to residents, including immigrants and minority groups, through online tools and apps. This feature article explores ditigal-inclusion strategies in "smart" cities New York, London, and Barcelona, as well as the creative use of new technologies in response to the European refugee crisis.

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Spotlight
July 8, 2015
The Limited English Proficient Population in the United States in 2013

In 2013, more than 25 million people in the United States reported limited English proficiency (LEP), an 80 percent increase since 1990. The LEP population, the majority of which is immigrant, is generally less educated and more likely to live in poverty than the English-proficient population. This Spotlight explores key indicators of the LEP population, both U.S. and foreign born, including geographic distribution, language diversity, and employment.

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Feature
June 10, 2015
Integration Key to Combating Radicalization: A Q&A with Solveig Horne, Norwegian Minister of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion
With rising inflows of humanitarian and economic migrants, Norway faces a series of integration challenges. In conversation with the Migration Information Source, Solveig Horne, Norway's Minister of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion discusses her work on integration policy, from the importance of language training and a feeling of belonging, to the protection of immigrant women and resettlement of asylum seekers.
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Spotlight
April 28, 2014
Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States

The U.S. immigrant population—estimated at 40.8 million in 2012 — is the nation’s historical numerical high, and it is also the largest foreign-born population in the world. About 20 percent of all international migrants reside in the United States, even as the country accounts for less than 5 percent of global population. This article presents the latest, most sought-after data on immigrants in the United States—by origin, residence, legal status, deportations, languages spoken, and more—in one easy-to-use resource.

Pages

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EVENTPH 2014.10.21 11th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conf. USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez
Video, Audio
October 21, 2014

11th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference

This conference, keynoted by USCIS Director León Rodríguez, featured panels on local immigrant integration policies; expected executive action on immigration; the treatment of unaccompanied children from Central America; and innovations in government-funded legal counsel and accelerated court cases.

IMG_2543
Video, Audio
December 4, 2013

2013 E Pluribus Unum Prizes

The winners of the Migration Policy Institute's 2013 E Pluribus Unum Prizes, honoring exceptional immigrant integration initiatives in the United States, discuss their work at an award ceremony on December 4, 2013 in Washington, DC.

2013.9.24 Mexicans in Hawaii Batalova
Video
September 24, 2013

Mexicans in Hawaiʻi: Challenges and Prospects

This briefing at the State Capitol in Honolulu, organized in conjunction with the University of Hawaii at Manoa, marked the formal release of a Migration Policy Institute report that presents key demographic and socioeconomic information about the Mexican-origin population in Hawai’i.

multimedia EPUP2012
Video, Audio
September 24, 2012

2012 E Pluribus Unum Prizes

The winners of the Migration Policy Institute's 2012 E Pluribus Unum Prizes, honoring exceptional immigrant integration initiatives in the United States, discussed their work during a plenary luncheon on September 24, 2012 at the National Immigrant Integration Conference held in Baltimore, MD.

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Audio
September 19, 2012

Making It Work: Lessons in Collaboration on Language Access Contracting

A webinar on language access contracting for federal, state, and local officials, agency administrators, and community stakeholders concerned with the oversight and implementation of language access provision.

Pages

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 12, 2022

Ensuring Effective Language Access Services and Policies in Early Childhood Programs

Language access policies and services are critical to promoting the equitable participation of Dual Language Learners and their families in early childhood programs, yet there are persisting participation gaps. This webinar outlines federal and state efforts to implement language access policies in the early childhood field, along with opportunities to improve language services.

Fact Sheets
October 2022

Dual Language Learners: Key Characteristics and Considerations for Early Childhood Programs

How many Dual Language Learner (DLL) children live in your state, and what share do they comprise of all children under age 5? What languages are most commonly spoken in their households? Answers to these and other questions that are critical to the design and implementation of early childhood programs that reach all children equitably are presented in a series of state-level data fact sheets.

Policy Briefs
October 2022

Overlooked but Essential: Language Access in Early Childhood Programs

Dual Language Learners (DLLs)—young children with a parent who speaks a language other than English at home—benefit greatly from early childhood programs, but they also enroll at lower rates than their peers. This policy brief looks at federal and state language access policies that aim to make such programs more accessible to DLLs’ families. It also examines persistent gaps in participation and ways to address them.

Commentaries
May 2022

Schools Should Engage Diverse Community Stakeholders to Promoting Equitable Allocation of Historic Funding to Reimagine Education

As school districts across the United States move to allocate their federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, it is essential that they engage with multilingual and diverse community stakeholders, in part given English Learners have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The track record suggests many districts are struggling to effectively engage these communities.

Video, Audio, Webinars
October 21, 2021

Translating Into Success: Key Features of U.S. State & Local Language Access Laws and Policies

On this webinar, MPI researchers examine common features and notable areas of innovation they found in a scan of state and local language access laws and policies in more than 40 states, along with practical insights that local governments can employ as they face growing linguistic diversity in their communities. 

Reports
October 2021

A Framework for Language Access: Key Features of U.S. State and Local Language Access Laws and Policies

Many states and localities have language access laws and policies to ensure people who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) have effective access to essential public services and institutions. This report explores a wide range of common and unique features of these language access laws, highlighting how different jurisdictions have approached issues such as translation, interpretation, agency oversight, technical assistance, and community involvement.

Articles
September 17, 2021

The Changing Concepts around Immigrant Integration

Immigrant integration is a complicated process that cannot fully be measured by any single metric. Understandings of immigrant integration have changed over time, and this article explores how the methods of measuring integration outcomes have evolved alongside these changing frameworks.

Articles
January 7, 2021

Faith and Mental Health Help Shape the Integration of Muslim Refugees in Germany

Faith plays a significant role in the mental health and social integration of refugees and asylum seekers. Yet in Germany, concerns about Islam and migrants from Muslim-majority countries have complicated social cohesion efforts, particularly in the wake of the 2015-16 refugee and migration crisis.

Pages