On November 21, 2014 President Obama released a presidential memorandum outlining efforts to be undertaken across federal agencies and in collaboration with state and local entities to better support the linguistic, economic, and civic integration of immigrants and refugees. Most importantly, the memo established a White House Task Force on New Americans charged with developing “a coordinated federal strategy to better integrate new Americans into communities and support state and local efforts to do the same.” That strategy is detailed in a National Integration Plan released on April 14, 2015.
The Task Force is broadly charged with reviewing “policies and programs of all relevant executive departments and agencies to ensure they are responsive to the needs of new Americans and the receiving communities in which they reside,” and reaching out to state and local government agencies, elected officials, and other stakeholders.
This represents a major step forward in creating the “brain circuitry” MPI has long argued is necessary to allow the federal government to understand and better address integration needs and opportunities.
This webpage allows stakeholders to follow developments in implementation of the presidential memo and learn about some of the many proposals made to better support the linguistic, economic, and civic integration of immigrants and refugees. Read input addressing a range of integration issues submitted to the Task Force by leading organizations.
Resources & Links
MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy submitted a wide-ranging set of recommendations to the White House Task Force on efforts the federal government could take to improve integration outcomes for immigrants and their young children. (Read it at right.) And below is input submitted by other leading organizations with recommendations to the Task Force on New Americans on a range of integration issues and actions they similarly have asked the Task Force to address:
• Boston Mayor's Office of New Bostonians
• Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
• Center for Law and Social Policy
• Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education
• Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
• National Council of La Raza
• National Partnership for New Americans
• National Skills Coalition
• Naturalization Working Group
• New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
• Refugee Council USA
• Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
• State Coordinators of Refugee Resettlement
• Welcoming America
• Welcoming Economies Global Network
• YMCA of the USA
A Solvable Challenge: Improving Asylee Access to Health and Other Benefits