Immigrant Integration: Taking the Conversation on the Road

Last week in Kansas City, and earlier this year in Minneapolis, federal agency staff hosted a roundtable discussion that brought together faith-based, educational, and advocacy organizations, business leaders and local government officials.

At the Kansas City event, representatives from Office of Refugee Resettlement at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Citizenship at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security heard from leaders who helped identify best practices and give their ideas about what the federal government can do to help immigrant populations and the communities where they settle.  

At the Minneapolis event, representatives from the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders led a group of AAPI advocates and community leaders in a frank, constructive discussion about integration successes and challenges and highlighted valuable partnerships they've made across business, law enforcement, and community sectors.

And last month at the White House, the Administration highlighted community leaders – from San Diego, CA to Utica, NY – who are working to connect immigrants with critical services to learn English and assist in the naturalization process, as a part of our Champions of Change initiative. But hearing from two cities and bringing a handful of leaders to Washington, DC is not enough. That’s why the Administration is taking the conversation on the road. We believe that community leaders around the country are doing great work to integrate new immigrants into their communities and we want to know about it.

Over the next three months, federal officials will be traveling around the country to gather feedback that will assist us in developing a federal strategy on immigrant integration. Look for us in a city near you:

• Seattle, Washington on July 7^th
• Atlanta, GA on July 13^th
• Houston, Texas on July 26^th
• New York, NY on July 28^th
• Los Angeles, CA on August 5^th
• Detroit, MI on August 10^th

If we aren’t already headed to your hometown, we invite you to consider hosting a roundtable in your community. With your help on the ground, we will be one step closer to developing an effective federal strategy on immigrant integration and winning the future. Successful integration is part of President Obama’s vision for winning the future.  These efforts benefit immigrants and their families, but also strengthen our communities and nation as a whole.