Focusing on People and Partnerships are the Keys to Providing the Benefits of Citizenship to Employees

Wendy Kallergis is being honored as a Promoting Citizenship in the Workplace Champion of Change.

Nearly a century ago, at the height of the U.S. immigration boom, Bethlehem Steel became one of the first U.S. employers to begin providing free English language instruction to its immigrant workers. Today, the National Immigration Forum’s Bethlehem Project continues that mission by facilitating the citizenship of the country’s eligible immigrant workforce.

My family and I have lived in Miami for more than thirty years. Caring about the families who live in our city has always been very important to us, so it was an easy decision to help introduce South Florida to the Bethlehem Project.

With more than 500,000 employees eligible to become citizens, Miami is one of the cities with the most potential for the Bethlehem Project. The project’s goal is simple: Help eligible immigrants become citizens, which not only helps immigrant families but also businesses in South Florida.

My work is in the hospitality industry, and partnerships have always been an integral part of my strategy to build a stronger organization. In South Florida, the Bethlehem Project has worked with Baptist Health South Florida, the Miami Dolphins, and Miami Dade College. Within the hospitality industry, I’ve helped connect the Bethlehem Project with numerous hotels and resorts. As the project expands, we will continue to reach out to colleagues in other cities, like the San Francisco Hotel Council.

What we’re doing is simplifying the citizenship process: cutting back on bureaucracy, creating in-house workshops, and connecting immigrants and new citizens with employers and human resource representatives in the hospitality industry.

The benefits are crystal clear: We’re providing our industry with an expanding workforce, and we’re creating a sense of loyalty among our workers. At the same time, we’re opening doors and generating prosperity for immigrant families and our community.

Our board and our membership embraced this program, as our employees are at the heart of the hospitality industry. Being honored as a Champion of Change for my work on this project is truly an exciting and humbling recognition.

The human resources director of one of our first business partners said it best: “With this partnership, we demonstrate to our employees that we care and support their best interests as much as we care for our community.”

Wendy Kallergis is President and CEO of the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association.

Citizenship: A New Strategy for Financial Inclusion and Inclusive Economic Growth

Bob Annibale is being honored as a Promoting Citizenship in the Workplace Champion of Change.

At Citi, we are focused on innovative and practical solutions to ensure that communities have access to resources and opportunities that enable them to achieve their potential and to climb up the economic ladder. Immigrants are, historically and increasingly, a dynamic part of our neighborhoods, and their financial success is directly tied to our nation’s economic growth. That is why Citi joined the mayors of Chicago, Los Angeles. and New York, as well as The Center for Popular Democracy and The National Partnership for New Americans, as the founding corporate partner of Cities for Citizenship.

Cities for Citizenship is a major national initiative that recognizes the contribution of immigrants and how citizenship can serve as an economic asset. It aims to increase citizenship among eligible U.S. permanent residents, as well as encourage cities across the country to invest in citizenship and financial capability programs.

On behalf of Citi, I am honored to be named as a Champion of Change by the White House. But I must share this recognition with all of my coworkers at Citi and with our partners who have provided critical national leadership, especially Mayor Bill de Blasio, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Our shared goal is to increase access to legal and financial services and contribute to enabling more inclusive cities across the country. Through this program, cities and their community partners will deliver financial counseling, legal support, application guidance, naturalization test preparation, and other assistance to eligible immigrants.

This initiative and partnership will enable immigrants to build a valuable financial identity as they also pursue a national identity. This is critical since the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reports that about 20 percent of foreign-born households have never had a bank account, which has driven immigrants to use alternative financial services that often come with higher costs and risks. Instead, Cities for Citizenship aims to build a stronger foundation for the American Dream.

Moreover, it is a strategy that makes good economic sense.

There are approximately 8.8 million legal permanent residents in America who are eligible for citizenship. These are documented residents who pay taxes and work lawfully. Yet, 52 percent of them remain low-income. Their naturalization would provide access to better-paying jobs, academic scholarships, and other benefits. It would also provide billions of dollars in stimulus to the national economy over the next few years.

This would mean up to $1.6 billion for Chicago’s economy, $2.8 billion for the Los Angeles economy, and a $4.1 billion boost for New York City’s economy, according to the report “Citizenship: A Wise Investment for Cities.”

Cities for Citizenship considers citizenship and immigrant integration as powerful platforms to promote widespread financial inclusion and truly inclusive economic growth. We are excited to work with more municipalities on this project and share the collective efforts of our partners with The White House.

Bob Annibale is the Global Director of Citi Community Development, which leads Citi's initiatives and partnerships supporting inclusive finance.

Using Partnerships to Reach Into Communities

Mark LeBeau is being honored as an Affordable Care Act Champion of Change.

In California, tribal governments, tribal health programs, and the California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB) worked together to develop and share educational materials about the Affordable Care Act prior to its passage. Upon enactment of the ACA, CRIHB partnered with the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Oklahoma City Area Inter-Tribal Health Board, and United South and Eastern Tribes to develop tribal-specific educational materials about the legal rights of tribes and American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIANs) under the ACA. These partners each contributed funds to help make this work a reality.

This program became known as the Tribal Education and Outreach Consortium (TEOC). The people involved in this work became highly knowledgeable about the subject matter and formed a training program called TEOC University, which trained trainers to present the information to tribal communities. This was the first tribal work of this type in the United States, and the TEOC materials have been distributed throughout Indian Country.

Today, a number of federal and state offices provide these materials. Many of these materials have been reviewed and updated by CRIHB and the other members of TEOC. One of the most well-known programs we’ve helped with has been the National Indian Health Outreach and Education Initiative (NIHOE). This is a partnership between the Indian Health Service (HIS), the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Health Board, and representatives from each of the 12 IHS Areas. The partnership develops consumer-oriented materials to assist AIANs in understanding their opportunities under the ACA. Together, the partners provide local trainings, national marketing tools, and e-resources that clearly explain health reform changes and their impact on tribal communities. CRIHB has presented these materials to tribal governments, Indian health programs, and Indian communities and organizations.

To ensure the successful roll-out of the ACA in California, CRIHB policy staff have been meeting with state officials on a regular basis.  In addition, CRIHB has reached out to the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) for input in developing successful implementation strategies and tactics.

These strategies and tactics were incorporated into a proposal developed by CRIHB, which was presented to the state as a necessary and fundable ACA program. Eventually, the state agreed to fund our program. As a result of this work, the Covered California Tribal Community Mobilization program was created and funded at $250,000. The grant designated funds to support implementation of the ACA AIAN provisions and to meet the tribal consultation requirements outlined in federal guidance. While this grant will end in December of 2014, I and the rest of the folks at CRIHB will continue to seek additional financial resources in order to continue to implement this important work for Indian Country.

Mark LeBeau is Executive Director at the California Rural Indian Health Board.