Photo by Flickr user Greg115, Creative Commons

This MPI webinar features US Department of Justice (DOJ) officials discussing the department’s efforts to improve communications with Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities in federal and federally-funded programs and activities. Laureen Laglagaron, an Attorney-Advisor in the department’s Federal Coordination and Compliance Section of the Civil Rights Division and Christine Stoneman, Special Counsel in the Federal Coordination and Compliance Section will an update on the progress of language access compliance at the federal level and discuss how the agency is continuing to provide oversight and technical assistance to states and localities as they too attempt to meet their language access responsibilities. This webinar is moderated by Chhandasi Pandya, a policy analyst at MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.

Download the PowerPoint |  View other webinars on MPI's Language Portal

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MPI Co-Founder and Director of MPI’s Migrants, Migration, and Development, and Refugee Policy Programs Kathleen Newland presents OneVietnam Network Co-Founders Uyen Nguyen and James Huy Bao for their vision and dynamism in engaging the Vietnamese diaspora in action for good through the use of new media, arts, culture, and social entrepreneurship. Their initiative is being examined as a model for other diaspora groups.

Visit www.migrationpolicy.org/celebrate10thevent

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On the 25th anniversary of implementation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, MPI honors Senator Alan Simpson for his leadership and bipartisanship in working to enact a major immigration reform measure with the interests of the country squarely in mind. Their work serves as reminder of a time when Congress was able to set aside its divisions to accomplish big things in the immigration arena. Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director of MPI’s US Immigration Policy Program, discusses with Rep. Mazzoli the implementation of IRCA.

Visit www.migrationpolicy.org/celebrate10thevent

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This Migration Policy Institute briefing discusses the release of a major MPI report, Up for Grabs: The Gains and Prospects of First- and Second-Generation Young Adults, which examines the educational and workforce attainment of immigrant-origin young adults between the ages of 16-26, finding significant gains in particular for second-generation Hispanic women when it comes to college enrollment. Moderating the discussion is Margie McHugh, Co-Director of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. Report co-authors Michael Fix, MPI Senior Vice President and Director of Studies, and Jeanne Batalova, MPI Policy Analyst, discuss the report findings. Providing comments on the report are Andrew P. Kelly, Research Fellow, Education Policy, American Enterprise Institute, and Raul González, Director of Legislative Affairs, National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

Archive of the event video available here.

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During this 30-minute presentation, Migration Policy Institute Senior Vice President Michael Fix and Policy Analyst Jeanne Batalova discuss their report, Up for Grabs: The Gains and Prospects of First- and Second-Generation Young Adults, which profiles the population of first- and second-generation young adults in the United States between the ages of 16 and 26. These young adults from immigrant families, numbering 11.3 million, represent one in four people in the United States between the ages of 16-26 and account for half of the growth of the young adult population between 1995 and 2010. This report, done through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, finds substantial generational progress in terms of high school graduation, college enrollment, and ability to earn family-sustaining wages. Second-generation Hispanic women are faring particularly well, with college enrollment rates equal to those of third-generation non-Hispanic white women. However, they are not graduating from college at the same rate or on the same timeline because of family, work, or economic reasons. The report sketches how postsecondary education, workforce development, and language training programs could better meet the needs of this population, which will assume a greater role as the US workforce ages.

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This webinar from the Migration Policy Institute’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy (NCIIP) and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services (BRYCS) program explores federal requirements for providing interpretation and translation in schools and how select school districts in Minnesota and Colorado have managed these requirements. Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools are required to provide information to parents in a “language they can understand.” In addition to this requirement, Executive Order 13166 makes clear the responsibility of all federally funded programs to uphold Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by ensuring meaningful access to programs and services for individuals regardless of their English proficiency. School districts across the country have implemented these federal requirements in a variety of ways.

This is the latest in NCIIP’s language access webinar series exploring the policy and program implementation imperatives for government and community agencies serving Limited English Proficient (LEP) populations. To access audio of previous webinars, click here. To access a toolkit for teachers and school personnel on translation and interpretation requirements developed by BRYCS, please click here.

Speakers are:

• Lyn Morland, Director, Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services, US Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Laura Gardner, Education Technical Assistance Specialist, Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services, US Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Salvador Carrera, Director, Multicultural Outreach Office, Denver Public Schools
• Alejandra Bosch, Translation Services Coordinator, Office of Communications, Marketing and Development, Saint Paul Public Schools

The call is moderated by Chhandasi Pandya, Policy Analyst/Program Coordinator, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, Migration Policy Institute.

View the PowerPoint presentation here.

Also of interest: LEP Workers & Access to Workforce Services: Barriers & Prospects under WIA Reauthorization, Taking Limited English Proficient Adults into Account in the Federal Adult Education Funding Formula, and Immigrants and Welfare: The Impact of Welfare Reform on America’s Newcomers

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Current negotiations over reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) come at a critical moment for immigrant and Limited English Proficient (LEP) workers. They and their current and future employers have a large stake in these negotiations, given the wide range of labor supply and skill mismatches that employers rely on immigrants to meet across the United States. Further, the predominance of immigrants and their children among new, young, and future US workers and the weak response thus far of the WIA-funded training system to the needs of these increasingly diverse and multilingual workers necessitates a concerted re-examination of the WIA system. The extent to which changes to the WIA system take account of these important demographic and economic trends and address the needs of immigrant-origin and LEP workers in particular will strongly affect the law's ability to support our country's future economic success.

There is broad consensus that LEP workers of varying educational backgrounds and levels of English proficiency and vocational skills are underserved by WIA's training services as a result of the law's structure. While community-based organizations have filled some gaps in services for LEP individuals and immigrant workers, the current reauthorization debate presents an opportunity for analysts, workforce services professionals, and community stakeholders to consider how to redesign the WIA system and its investments in these important segments of the US workforce. On this webinar, experts discuss barriers immigrant and LEP individuals face in accessing the WIA system, how a revitalized WIA could address these barriers, and the extent to which the current Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee's WIA reauthorization proposal addresses these barriers.

View the PowerPoint presentation here.

This webinar is part of Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy (NCIIP) Language Access Webinar Series.

Speakers are:

• Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, Director of Outreach and Program Evaluation, Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians
• Emma Oppenheim, Manager, Workforce Development Policy Initiatives, National Council of La Raza
• Gabriela Lemus, Senior Advisor and Director, Office of Public Engagement, US Department of Labor

Also of interest: Taking Limited English Proficient Adults into Account in the Federal Adult Education Funding Formula, and Immigrants and Welfare: The Impact of Welfare Reform on America’s Newcomers

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Inadequate interpretation services, a lack of relevant translated materials and customer service that is not culturally competent often deter limited English proficient (LEP) individuals from accessing workforce services through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)-funded One Stop system. This interactive language access webinar, one in a series offered by the Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, examines how New York and Illinois have broken down some of these barriers to proactively engage LEP communities to obtain workforce services. The need to ensure meaningful access to WIA-funded employment and training services for the large share of US low- and middle-skilled LEP workers is urgent, particularly in light of the tough job market and gloomy projections for the speed of recovery from the Great Recession. These featured approaches, which have entailed policy and programmatic fixes, can serve as models as states attempt to meet the workforce needs of their LEP populations and comply with federal requirements to provide meaningful language access in their federally funded programs.

Speakers are:

• Julio Rodriguez, Director of Program Services, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
• Haeya Yim, Counsel, Division of Immigrant Policies and Affairs, New York Department of Labor
• Kerry Douglas-Duffy, Workforce Development Program Specialist, Division of Employment and Workforce Solutions, New York Department of Labor
• Chhandasi Pandya, Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute

Download the PowerPoint here.

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This panel examines the federal/state partnerships related to immigration enforcement, including a discussion of 287(g) agreements and Secure Communities, the increasing role played by state and local law enforcement, and the impact of these federal and state immigration measures, including local community perspective. Panelists include Charlie T. Deane, Chief of Police, Prince William County Police Department; Laura G. McHenry, Senior Attorney/Director of Training, Immigration Services, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta; Michele Waslin, Senior Policy Analyst, Immigration Policy Center, American Immigration Council; and Chuck Wexler, Executive Director, Police Executive Research Forum. The panel is moderated by Maria M. Odom, Executive Director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Video for the 8^th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference can be found here.
Related research: Delegation and Divergence: A Study of 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement

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At this event, MPI releases a new report, Executive Action on Immigration: Six Ways to Make the System Work Better, that outlines recommendations for executive actions that the administration can implement to improve the immigration system. Here to discuss their report are the authors: Donald Kerwin, MPI Vice President for Programs; Doris Meissner, Director, US Immigration Policy Program at MPI; and Margie McHugh, Co-Director of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. Joining the discussion are: Eva Millona, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition, and Juan P. Osuna, Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the US Department of Justice.

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This panel discussion in London, supported by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, brought together experts from the worlds of policy and academia to take stock of the impact of the financial crisis on immigration and integration. The event also featured the release of two publications by the Migration Policy Institute’s Transatlantic Council on Migration: The book, Prioritizing Integration, which takes stock of the fallout from the economic slowdown on immigration in Europe and the United States; and the report, Immigrant Integration in a Time of Austerity, which examines the actions some European governments are taking with respect to immigrant integration programs. Details on both publications can be found here. The discussion begins with Barrow Cadbury Trust Chief Executive Sara Llewellin; other participants are MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou; UK Equality and Human Rights Commission Chair Trevor Philips; Nicolas Marugan Zalba, Director of the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, Ministry of Labour and Immigration, Spain; and Transatlantic Council Senior Advisor Elizabeth Collett.

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This event discusses the release of the MPI report, Delegation and Divergence: A Study of 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement. The report, and the discussion, assessed implementation and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) oversight of the nation’s 72 active 287(g) programs, examining whether local enforcement matches up with ICE’s articulated priorities. The study provides ICE data nationally and by jurisdiction on non-citizens referred for removal through 287(g) as well as the criminal offenses for which they were detained, and assesses the impact of enforcement on local communities. The discussion was opened by Muzaffar Chishti, Director, MPI office at NYU School of Law, then followed by report author Randy Capps, MPI Demographer and Senior Policy Analyst. Also commenting was LeRoy Kirkegard, Captain of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO).

Download the report here. Watch event audio here.

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This Migration Policy Institute event discusses the release of the MPI report, Immigration Policy and Less-skilled Workers in the United States: Reflections on Future Directions for Reform. The report, and the discussion, examine economists’ views on the costs and benefits of low-skilled immigration, and some policy options to reform the U.S. immigration system to make it more economically beneficial. Among the options discussed: Providing legal pathways for low-skilled workers, allowing less-skilled workers on employment-based visas to switch employers more easily and gain a path to citizenship, and setting employer visa fees at a level sufficient to offset some of the costs that low-skilled immigration imposes. The discussion is opened by MPI Senior Vice President, Michael Fix, followed by the report author, Harry Holzer, a professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. Commenting on the report findings are Demetrios G. Papademetriou, President, MPI; Darrell M. West, Vice President and Director of Governance Studies, Brookings Institution; and Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow and Director of MPI’s US Immigration Policy Program.

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During this presentation, Assistant U.S. Secretary for Postsecondary Education Eduardo Martín Ochoa and Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce Director Anthony P. Carnevale join Michael Fix and Margie McHugh, Co-Directors of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Immigration Policy, to discuss findings from the MPI report, Still an Hourglass? Immigrant Workers in Middle-Skilled Jobs. The moderator is MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou. The report, which examines immigrant employment in the US workforce overall and four key sectors (IT, health care, construction, and hospitality), finds that the fastest growth in immigrant employment since 2000 has occurred in middle-skilled jobs. To read the report, visit: www.migrationpolicy.org/​pubs/​sectoralbrief-Sept2010.pdf.

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Slightly more than 2.1 million unauthorized immigrant youth and young adults could be eligible to apply for legal status under the DREAM Act legislation pending in Congress, though perhaps fewer than 40 percent would obtain legal status because of barriers limiting their ability to take advantage of the legislation’s educational and military service routes to legalization. This MPI analysis offers the most recent and detailed estimates of potential DREAM Act beneficiaries by age, education levels, gender, state of residence, and likelihood of gaining legalization.

Download Report | Press Release

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This briefing was organized by MPI, the Migration and Health Research Center at the University of California, Davis; the Health Initiative of the Americas at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health; and the UC Global Health Institute. The briefing, which focuses on migrants’ higher rates of on-the-job injuries, was moderated by MPI Senior Vice President Michael Fix. Panelists include John Howard, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Deborah Berkowitz, Chief of Staff, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, US Department of Labor; Marc Schenker, Director, Migration and Health Research Center, University of California, Davis; Bruce Goldstein, Executive Director, Farmworker Justice; and Xochitl Castañeda, Director, Health Initiative of the Americas, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.

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This panel discussion, held in conjunction with the awards ceremony for the 2010 E Pluribus Unum Prizes for exceptional immigrant integration initiatives, examines the federal role in immigrant integration policy more broadly, focusing on areas where greater coordination and funding appear to be needed. The panel’s moderator was Michael Fix, MPI Senior Vice President and Co-Director, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, and panelists included Felicia Escobar of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary John Trasviña.

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During this awards ceremony held in Washington, D.C. on May 18, 2010, the Migration Policy Institute awarded its 2010 E Pluribus Unum Prizes to four of the most exceptional immigrant integration initiatives in the country, honoring each with the award and a $50,000 check. The Prizes program  seeks to inspire and provide models to others who are working to help immigrants and their children join the mainstream of U.S. society and build stronger ties between immigrant and native-born communities. The 2010 winners are:

• Illinois New Americans Integration Initiative, a joint partnership of the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
• Latino Community Credit Union
• Tacoma Community House
• Upwardly Global
• Receiving an honorable mention: McDonald’s Corporation, for its “English Under the Arches” program.

The ceremony was opened by MPI President Demetrios Papademetriou, and Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez, who oversees the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, provided remarks. The award presenters: Michael Fix and Margie McHugh, Co-Directors of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, which administers the prizes program. Congressman Mike Honda also spoke, and the ceremony was closed by Brad Davidson, a trustee of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, which provides generous support for the E Pluribus Unum Prizes.

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During this panel discussion held in conjunction with the 2010 E Pluribus Unum Prizes, which the Migration Policy Institute bestows annually to four exceptional immigrant integration initiatives, several of the prize winners and other experts examine the adult literacy/ESL instruction, workforce preparation, and community financial services fields. Among the questions discussed: Whether federal policy and funding appropriately support immigrant integration goals in these fields. The discussion was moderated by Margie McHugh, Co-Director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.

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In this briefing at the Migration Policy Institute, Public Policy Institute of California researchers Magnus Lofstrom and Laura Hill discuss their research examining the potential labor market outcomes and other possible economic effects of a legalization program. The discussion was moderated by Doris Meissner, MPI Senior Fellow and Director of the US Immigration Policy Program, with comments from MPI Senior Policy Analyst Randy Capps.

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