Transcript Meeting the Social Service Needs of Immigrants: Challenge

Meeting the Social Service
Needs of Immigrants: Challenge
and Opportunity
International Bank of Commerce Keynote Speaker Series,
The Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade.
Texas A&M International University,
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Our Personal Journeys
 “Once you have travelled, the voyage never
ends, but is played out over and over again in
the quietest chambers, that the mind can
never break off from the journey”
Pat Conroy, The Prince of Tides
A World in Motion

World migrant population reached 214 million in 2010 (3.1% of the
world’s population).
International Organization for Migration

IDP’s (27.5 million), Refugees (15.4 million), internal migrants (???),
seasonal migrants, international students and visitors

Cultural and linguistic diversity extends into the 2nd and later
generations

The traditional paradigm of one-way migration doesn’t always hold.

Disproportionate flows to specific countries, regions within countries
The Ten Countries with the Highest Numbers of
International Migrants (2005)
Rank 2005
Millions
1 United States of America
38.4
2 Russian Federation
12.1
3 Germany
10.1
4 Ukraine
6.8
5 France
6.5
6 Saudi Arabia
6.4
7 Canada
6.1
8 India
5.7
9 United Kingdom
6.4
10 Spain
4.8
Source: Trends in Total Migrant Stock: The 2005 Revision, United Nations Department of Economic and
Social Affairs, Population Division POP/DB/MIG/Rev.2005/Doc, February 2006.
Division, POP/DB/MIG/Rev.2005/Doc, February 2006.
Foreign-born Population as Percent of Total Population
(Selected OECD Countries)
1995
2000
2005
Australia
23.0
23.0
23.8
Canada
17.8
18.8
19.1
--
10.5
13.5
9.3
11.1
12.5
10.5
11.5
12.4
--
8.7
11.0
Netherlands
9.1
10.1
10.6
UK
6.9
8.2
9.7
Norway
5.4
6.5
7.8
Denmark
4.8
5.8
6.5
Finland
2.1
2.6
3.4
Austria
US
Sweden
Ireland
The Challenges Facing
Migrating People
The rigors of migration
 The aftereffects of trauma
 Language and cultural barriers
 Marginality
 Family stress
 Racism, xenophobia, and discrimination
 Intergroup tensions

Mobility and the
American Experiment
 There is an
emerging historical
scholarship on the
long roots of
multiculturalism in
U.S. and Canadian
history
Our Multicultural Past as
Prelude to the Future
 The settlement house movement and the rise of social
work as a profession
 The many meanings of “Americanization” and the
development of “patriotic pluralism.”
 The Chicago School addresses the “Second Generation
Problem”
 The intercultural education movement, 1924-1941
Four Pioneers
Edith Terry Bremer
1885-1964
Rachel Davis Dubois
1892-1993
Frances Kellor
1873-1952
Louis Adamic
1899-1951
The Impact of the
Civil Rights Movement
 Produced a “scaffolding”
of laws and public
policies designed to
eradicate segregation
and discrimination in
American life
 These reforms helped
blacks but were also
beneficial to the entire
population, including
immigrants.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Banned discrimination in employment and
public accommodations on the basis of race,
religion, sex, and national origin
 Title VI prohibited discrimination by recipients
of federal funds
 Led to the development of the cultural
competency movement
 Established the principle of inclusion in human
services
The Re-emergence of
Immigrant Integration
as a Policy Objective
Post-1965 Surge of Immigration
Communal Tensions and
the Terrorist Threat
Examples:

Korean grocer boycott,
Brooklyn (1990)

Mt. Pleasant Riots,
Washington, DC (1991)

Los Angeles Riots
(1992)

World Trade Center
Bombings (1993, 2001)
The Jordan Commission
“Americanization is the process of
integration by which immigrants
become part of our communities and
by which our communities and the
nation learn from and adapt to their
presence.”
The Jordan Commission
(1995)
Foundations Promote Immigrant
Integration: Some Milestones
 Ford Foundation (1986)
 Formation of
Grantmakers Concerned
with Immigrants and
Refugees (GCIR)(1990)
 Establishment of Four
Freedoms Fund (2003)
 Release of Toolkit on
Immigrant Integration
(2006)
 National Immigrant
Integration Conference
(begins in 2008)
States initiate projects to promote
immigrant integration
Executive Order Project Reports
State of Illinois, New Americans Interagency Task Force, Immigrant Integration: Improving
Policy for Education, Health and Human Services for Illinois' Immigrants and Refugees
(December, 2006).
State of Illinois, New Americans Policy Council, For the Benefit of All: Strategic
Recommendations to Enhance the State's Role in the Integration of Immigrants in Illinois, Year
One Report (December, 2006).
State of Illinois, New Americans Policy Council, For the Benefit of All: Strategic
Recommendations to Enhance the State's Role in the Integration of Immigrants in Illinois, Year
Two Report (June, 2008).
State of Maryland, Maryland Council for New Americans, Fresh Start: Renewing Immigrant
Integration for a Stronger Maryland (August, 2009).
State of Massachusetts, Governor's Advisory Council for Refugees and Immigrants,
Massachusetts New Americans Agenda (October 1, 2009).
State of New Jersey, Department of the Public Advocate, Governor’s Blue Ribbon Advisory
Panel on Immigrant Policy, Recommendations for a Comprehensive and Strategic Statewide
Approach to Successfully Integrate the Rapidly Growing Immigrant Population in New Jersey
(March, 2009).
State of Washington, Washington New Americans Policy Council, A Plan for Today, A Plan for
Tomorrow: Building a Stronger Washington through Immigrant Integration, Year One Report
(October, 2009).
The Perils of an Immigrant
Integration Agenda
– Often conflated with the issue of undocumented
migration
– Often perceived as an attempt by politicians to
curry favor within specific ethnic communities
– Lacks appeal to other disadvantaged populations
– Lacks appeal to native-born people
– Methodological shortcomings

The immigrant integration dilemma
Future Directions
 Subsume immigrant integration
into a larger diversity agenda
 Build cross-sector alliances and
social justice movements inclusive
of an integration agenda
 Reform immigration policy to
make it more responsive to U.S.
workforce needs and more
welcoming to global talent
Example: Infusing integration
objectives into cultural competency
 Greater precision in
defining cultural
competency
 Building an evidence
base for culturally
competent
interventions
 Pursuing a systems
approach to cultural
competency
A Systems Approach to
Cultural Competency
Advocacy & Empowerment
Research & Evaluation
Practice & Service Design
Community Collaborations
Language & Communication
Public Policy & Legal Framework
Leadership
Recruitment Policy
Training & Professional Development
Community Outreach
Link
http://www.paddc.org/images/
stories/pdfs/systems_change_f
or_greater_cultural_competenc
e_in_the_pennsylvania_disabili
ty_service_and_support_sector
.pdf
Towards a New Synthesis
Mobility and diversity will be “the new normal.”
We will find new and creative ways to reflect
diversity in the design and delivery of human
services.
 We will have a clearer understanding of
immigration and diversity as keys to economic
development.
 We will build alliances and social justice
movements that span ethnic and racial divides.
 We will celebrate diversity and harness its
energy.


Selected Resources
National Center on Immigrant Integration
Policy (Migration Policy Institute)
http://www.migrationinformation.org/integration/
Welcoming America
http://www.welcomingamerica.org/
Cities of Migration
http://citiesofmigration.ca/
The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)
http://www.mipex.eu/
The American Immigrant Policy Portal
http://www.usdiversitydynamics.com/nj/
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Nicholas V. Montalto
President
Diversity Dynamics, LLC
16 South Avenue, Suite 252
Cranford, NJ 07016
201-320-1669
www.usdiversitydynamics.com