Governor Blagojevich announces landmark immigrant policy

CHICAGO - Building on his commitment to integrate newcomers into the American mainstream, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed the "New Americans Executive Order," a landmark initiative that will move Illinois towards better helping immigrants and their host communities by creating an office to coordinate policies and programs to help newcomers fully assimilate to the state, provide more and better services to the growing number of immigrants living in Illinois, and to study the impact of immigration policy on the state. The office will work with an advisory group comprised of national and state experts to analyze changes in federal immigration law and make specific recommendations on issues of citizenship, human services, healthcare and education, among others.

 

"Like so many people across Illinois, I am a first generation American.  I will always be proud that my parents worked hard and sacrificed to give us a chance at the American Dream," said Gov. Blagojevich. "Today, with the New Americans Executive Order, we can make the State of Illinois an active partner with immigrant families to help them achieve the American Dream."

 

The new state policy, the first of its kind in the nation, will bring together key policymakers, state and local advocates for newcomers, funders, and many others to address how Illinois can better assist new Americans and the communities that receive them. The Executive Order will create four entities:

 

 

 

 

 

·        A National Advisory Council that will help guide the work of the New Americans Executive Order Policy Project. The Council will consist of prominent national academics, business leaders, advocates and governmental practitioners who will lend their vision to the project and share the project's recommendations through their national networks. Confirmed members of the National Advisory Council include Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum; Doris Meissner, former Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and currently a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute; Marcelo Gaete, senior director of programs at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO); and Randy Johnson, vice president for labor, immigration, and employee benefits at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

 

The state's new policy has won major support from leading foundations and national organizations focused on immigrant issues. In Chicago, a two-year, $250,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing major support for this work. Earlier this week, the Carnegie Corporation of New York also announced that it will be supporting this effort.

 

At a time when one in five people in Illinois are either immigrants or the children of immigrants, the Governor's announcement is a culmination of policies supported and developed by the Governor in cooperation with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), a broad-based organization dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in our diverse society.

 

Gov. Blagojevich signed the state's new initiative at "Our Families, America's Future," an immigrant justice convention held by ICIRR in Chicago's Navy Pier. The Governor was joined at the convention by a range of other elected officials focusing on immigration reform, including State Senator Miguel del Valle (D-Chicago) and State Representative Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago).

 

Newcomers are flourishing more than ever in Illinois, a trend confirmed earlier this month in The State of Latino Chicago: This is Home Now, a report released by the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies that demonstrates the growing economic power of Latinos in the region as well as the challenges they face. What the Governor's new policy aims to do is help immigrants enter the mainstream more quickly - whether that means learning English, buying a home, encouraging their children to succeed in schools, or supporting their communities in other ways.

 

"This convention, and the Governor's new policy recognize that immigrants are vital to America's future.  There is growing immigrant strength in Illinois and around the country," said Juan Salgado, President of ICIRR.  "Today's immigrants, like immigrants throughout our history, are claiming their place at America's table and becoming full participants in our society. Our work helps immigrants contribute even more to their communities in very practical ways."

 

ICIRR has been instrumental in advocating for a permanent immigration services line item in the state budget and has also registered more than 20,000 voters through nonpartisan voter registration mobilization efforts as well as 35,000 new American voters through its New Americans Democracy Project, launched by the Governor in 2004.

 

"Illinois is a national leader in developing practical solutions and creative models for immigration policy," said Jonathan Fanton, President of the MacArthur Foundation. "The state's executive order strengthens an already strong public-private partnership to build the best future for our newcomers and our communities." 

 

Ricardo Millet, executive director of the Woods Fund of Chicago, and Ngoan Le, Senior Program Officer of the Chicago Community Trust, will co-chair the Policy Council created by the Governor's Executive Order.

 

"It is best for all of us - immigrants, their host communities, the state, and the nation - that newcomers to this country are integrated into the economic and political life of their new homes in Illinois as quickly as possible," said Millet. "We welcome the opportunity to take important steps forward as Illinois continues to be a national leader in immigrant policy and programs."

 

"We believe society benefits when immigrants see themselves as an integral part of their new community," Le added. "The Governor's Executive Order recognizes that the success of immigrants is important to the future of Illinois and that state government has an important role in contributing to this success."

 

In addition to the co-chairs, other confirmed members of the Policy Council include Dr. Esmail Koushanpour, immediate past vice president of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago; Suzanne Franklin, administrator of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Chicago; Michael Kincade, police chief of Kankakee; and Sylvia Puente, director of the Metropolitan Chicago Initiative, Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame.

 

National immigration organizations have also voiced strong support for the state's new effort.

 

"Much like 100 years ago, immigrants are transforming communities across Illinois and across America. The challenge for our generation is to succeed as our ancestors did before us so that immigration benefits immigrant families and the communities and country that welcome them," said Frank Sharry, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum. "With this Executive Order, Governor Blagojevich is making sure Illinois rises to the challenge.  I suspect this initiative will propel other states to follow his lead.  After all, forging unity out of the diversity that accompanies immigration has been, and will continue to be, the key to our success as a nation of immigrants."

 

Michael Fix, Vice President of the Washington, DC-based Migration Policy Institute, said that "the integration of newcomers" in our society is becoming an increasingly significant issue.

 

"At a time when one in five children is the child of an immigrant and one in two new workers in foreign born, the continued integration of newcomers into our communities represents one of the most important -- and overlooked -- governance issues facing the nation," Fix said.

 

Both the National Immigration Forum and Migration Policy Institute will assist in the creation of a National Advisory Council to the Illinois New Americans Executive Order and Policy Council.

 

Since 2003, Governor Blagojevich has taken several executive and legislative steps to protect immigrants and help them be successful, including: