Foundations Must Work Together to Plan for Immigration-Law Overhaul

To the Editor:

After a lull, the movement toward changing federal immigration laws has recaptured the national spotlight. The debate over immigration reforms also represents an opportunity for philanthropy to kick-start planning for this huge transition.

Many of us are shaped by the immigrant experience. According to the Congressional Budget Office, there are an estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. To put this in perspective, it is a group that exceeds the entire population of Greece by about 725,000.

Federal immigration reform would integrate millions of individuals into the folds of our society. It couldn’t happen at a better time. Rust Belt cities that have struggled to recover from the Great Recession are eagerly recruiting immigrants to buy homes and set up businesses in key Ohio cities, in Chicago, Indianapolis, and beleaguered Detroit, among others, according to The New York Times. These cities’ leaders know that immigrants expand employment and work hard to own their homes.

More concretely, an estimated 270 U.S.-born people are drawn to an area in response to every 1,000 immigrants who precede them in moving there, as a result of increased demand for service-sector businesses and the preservation of manufacturing-sector jobs, according to a study by the nonpartisan Americas Society/Council of the Americas and the Partnership for a New American Economy, which favors immigration reform. The study “Immigration and the Revival of American Cities: From Preserving Manufacturing Jobs to Strengthening the Housing Market,” by Jacob L. Vigdor, was supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

As philanthropic leaders, we see firsthand how second-class status stymies human potential and adversely impacts our communities. Our country can no longer afford to keep a significant segment living in the shadows of our society. Nor, in a global economy, can we close the door to newcomers who contribute to our financial vitality.

Some philanthropies—particularly those in immigrant-destination states like California, Florida, New York, and Texas—have been laying the groundwork. They are helping to put these men, women, and children on track for the responsibilities and freedoms of legal immigration status—free to pay taxes under their own names, pursue higher education, and obtain driver’s licenses. Some groups, including Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, are working tirelessly to prepare communities for such a change.

They recognize the human capital and general economic importance of increasing educational access and attainment as the key to achieving the middle class. They have built the capacity of human-service organizations and supported parent training, English as a second language programs, and advocacy efforts to provide in-state tuition and driver’s licenses so that all motorists can meet their insurance obligations. The need for services and adequate policies to successfully integrate these populations will increase exponentially with the passage of legislation.

Many colleagues have asked how philanthropy can play a greater role in immigration reform and immigrant integration. We want to encourage the sector to see this moment as an opportunity to lead.

As with any monumental policy, implementation will require great collaboration at national, regional, and local levels to ensure we maximize the potential for our newly documented population. There is much precedent for philanthropy to have the vision to inspire action.

We can take a page from our colleagues who led our sector in its response to the historic passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Grantmaking helped advocates, academics, and others push for enlightened policies and provided funding that led to government- and nonprofit-directed programs fostering successful integration.

During that time, George Soros and his Open Society Institute committed $50-million to start the Emma Lazarus Fund, which made grants for agencies to provide citizenship-application assistance, English as a second language classes, and advocacy and legal programs that defended the rights of immigrants. The Rosenberg Foundation was also a major catalyst in bringing diverse sectors together to advocate for fairer and more innovative policies dealing with immigrants at that time.

After the 1986 law, the Carnegie Corporation of New York initiated a grant-making program focused on greater civic participation and integration of immigrants, and the Ford Foundation and others invested in defense of the civil rights of immigrants and other opportunities to ensure their future success. Many community foundations also played a significant role in local integration through educational programs, community building, economic development, and other areas.

The policy currently under consideration will once again require acquisition of English-language skills. Yet those who work locally can attest to a significant shortage today of English as a second language classes. Nonprofit human-service agencies will have to scramble to meet the demand.

But without social-justice advocacy to ensure government funding for such services as ESL, requirements will not be fulfilled, and over a longer period our economy will suffer. Another example where philanthropy can make a difference: Parent leadership programs for immigrant families have demonstrable success. Philanthropy can play a critical role as convener, providing resources to those who will coordinate the rollout of programs, and sharing knowledge and best practices.

If we don’t address the challenges now for successful integration of immigrants, we will be woefully ill-prepared to handle the opportunity that their integration represents for moving our nation ahead.

Our work in philanthropy teaches us that, as a society, we always benefit from the generation of new ideas and that building social cohesion among people from different backgrounds makes us a stronger nation.

Twenty-seven years from now, we may look back at this moment, as we did with the 1986 law. Can we afford to ignore the 11.5 million people living in limbo? Do we have the vision and leadership to address the growing inequality gap in this nation, stand as leaders, and invest in our children’s success?

We come together today to urge policymakers to work toward a solution, so that all families are strengthened and individuals have the legal backing to unleash their potential, most certainly for the benefit of all. We in philanthropy have the tools and are in a unique position in communities to provide leadership for this historic integration.

This letter was signed by the following heads of grant-making organizations:

José Calderón
Hispanic Federation

Diana Campoamor
Hispanics in Philanthropy

Carmen Castellano
Castellano Family Foundation

Nelson Colón
Puerto Rico Community Foundation

Helen Cunningham
Samuel S. Fels Fund

Raquel Donoso
Latino Community Foundation

Ron Gonzales
Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley

Antonia Hernández
California Community Foundation

Luz Vega Marquis
Marguerite Casey Foundation

Frances Padilla
Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut

Leticia Peguero
Andrus Family Fund

Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker
Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo

Cynthia Rivera-Weissblum
Edwin Gould Foundation

Albert Ruesga
Greater New Orleans Foundation

Sandra Vargas
Minneapolis Foundation