Two members of the Mayor's staff will attend the National Conference on Immigrant Integration in Chicago next week. This conference will explore what local communities can do to ensure that newcomers are well integrated and able to realize their fullest potential for the benefit of their families and newly adopted communities. It will include national speakers, panel discussions and workshop sessions aimed at developing real strategies in such areas as language acquisition, community relations, housing, workforce development, citizenship and the political feasibility of progressive policies.
The conference is hosted in part by the Illinois Office of New Americans Policy and Advocacy and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Illinois is on the cutting edge of developing strategies for integrating new Americans into local economies and communities. Together they form a public/private partnership based on an understanding of the important positive role immigrants play in growing the economy, filling labor gaps at both the high-skill and low-skill ends of the job spectrum and fostering a spirit of innovation that is necessary for continued competition in a global economy.
The Mayor has proposed the establishment of a Mayor's Office for Immigrant Affairs in Kansas City. By sending staffers to this convention, he hopes to glean from other local leaders and experts from across the country effective strategies for immigrant integration in our city.
