Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

"New York City owes its greatness to the generations of people who have come here from around the world in pursuit of their dreams," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The events of this week showcase the work and contributions of immigrants that make our City such a dynamic place to live and work and remind us that our city will continue to be a gateway for people seeking a better life."

Mayor Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Carol Robles-Román joined Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Guillermo Linares in kicking off the citywide celebration, which also featured exciting and diverse multi-cultural events throughout the five boroughs.

To celebrate the immigrant community’s contributions to New York’s economy, Upwardly Global, a nonprofit organization that serves immigrant professionals, partnered with La Guardia Community College to come up with a panel discussion.

"More than 800,000 immigrants enter the United States annually and most of them are increasingly educated, ready and capable to work," Nikki Cicerani, managing director of Upwardly Global said. She added that in New York City alone, there was a 24 percent growth in immigrant arrivals between 2000 to 2006.

One of the panelists, Tara Colton, deputy director of the Center for an Urban Future, agreed.

"Philosophically, this country is a nation of immigrants," Colton said, "Unfortunately, brain under-utilization is a reality because immigrants are often relegated to do menial jobs. A lot of immigrants are skilled and educated but are under-utilized."

This is where organizations such as Upwardly Global come in. They equip immigrant professionals with necessary skills and resources to rebuild their careers in the United States. By doing this, they are also helping US employers benefit from the hidden talent pool of immigrant professionals.

"We call it "economic downgrading," remarked Cicerani, "because talented immigrant job seekers face obstacles such as a lack of networking resources and they end up getting jobs as nannies, security guards or cab drivers just to get by, even if back in their home countries, they were professionals like engineers, teachers or accountants."

According to Upwardly Global, there are over one million skilled immigrant workers in the US today who have earned a Bachelor’s or even Masters degree in their home country, possess an average of seven years of work experience and have the legal right to work and live permanently in the US

There is an estimated 36 million immigrants all over the United States, representing 12.4% of the population. In New York State, there are four million immigrants, or 21.6% of the entire state’s population. In New York City, 37% of the population is composed of immigrants.

"Immigrants fit right into the racial and ethnic mix of New York City, and they represent a significant portion of workers in virtually every occupation in the city, up and down the spectrum," David Kallick, senior fellow at the Fiscal Policy Institute said.

New York City is third among cities with the highest concentration of immigrants, after Los Angeles (40%) and San Jose (38%) and ahead of San Francisco (36%) and Houston (29%).

"Despite, or maybe because of these numbers, the country in general has not been good in integrating immigrants completely to the society," lamented Dr. Suma Kurien, director of LaGuardia Community College’s Immigrant Education and Training.

"There is a need for a clearly articulated pathway for the immigrants either through re-training or re-credentialing. They should be given the opportunity to transition to a comparable career," Dr. Kurien said.

"Immigrant Heritage Week started with a handful of community events and now with 180 events citywide, its success is a testament to the incredible strength of our diverse immigrant population," said Mayor Bloomberg in a statement. "We are going to make sure that we continue to serve all immigrant communities in our city. Our Language Access Executive Order is just one more way to make New York even more accessible to the communities that contribute to our wonderful diversity."

"Immigrant Heritage Week celebrates our shared immigrant histories, diverse cultures and religions, and the role these play in enriching our City," said Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs Robles-Román.

"It is my great honor to be a part of the 6th Annual Immigrant Heritage Week celebration," said Immigrant Affairs Commissioner Linares. "I am grateful for the numerous event partners from across New York City whose contributions make this community-building celebration possible. Working with our numerous City agencies on Executive Order 120, we are making it easier for all immigrant communities to receive City services."

In July 2008, Mayor Bloomberg signed Executive Order 120 creating a centralized language access policy for New York City. Executive Order 120 mandates that all City agencies that provide direct public services create a language access implementation plan to provide language assistance to limited-English proficient New Yorkers.

Each agency has now designated a Language Access Coordinator who has developed a Language Access policy and implementation plan, which are now posted on www.nyc.gov. Plans include strategies and implementation timelines for interpretation, translation and multi-lingual signage, as well as training of front-line staff and quality assurance measurements.

Immigrant Heritage Week explores that diversity though a rich collection of community events and cultural activities created to highlight the immigrant experience in New York.

Established by Mayor Bloomberg in 2004 as a citywide celebration, Immigrant Heritage Week is celebrated around April 17th, the day in 1907 when more immigrants entered through Ellis Island than any other date in the City’s history.

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published on May 1, 2005 in Asian Journal New York p. A1 )