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Governor Patrick Signs 'New Americans' Executive Order09:31AM / Thursday, July 10, 2008
BOSTON – Governor Deval Patrick signed an Executive Order to launch the New Americans Initiative to identify and build a series of policies designed to integrate immigrants and refugees, and create the educational opportunities that lead to economic success, greater levels of citizenship and civic engagement.
“Massachusetts is and has always been a Commonwealth of immigrants,” said Governor Patrick. “We must work together toward a shared vision of a brighter future for all residents. Although immigration reform and enforcement is a federal issue, today’s reality is that states can and must find creative ways to better integrate immigrant and refugee populations through more coordinated services, including English language classes, job training and citizenship assistance.”
The Governor’s New Americans Initiative is a proactive, multi-year civic engagement process that will tap the vision and expertise of government, faith, business and community leaders to create a coherent policy agenda for the Commonwealth that emphasizes immigrant and refugee integration and recognizes the needs of host communities that receive and accommodate them.
Specifically, the Executive Order No. revitalizes the Governor’s Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants, and the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants (MORI). Comprised of key community, business and academic leaders and representatives from state government, the Council will present the Governor with recommendations for a comprehensive immigrant integration agenda within 10 months.
The Governor has also expanded and strengthened MORI to carry out the Council’s recommendations and actively coordinate the Commonwealth’s policies and programs for refugees and immigrants in partnership with other state agencies and local governments. MORI will also work with the Governor’s Office of Civic Engagement and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition to develop a network of community-based organizations across the state that will coordinate a series of community meetings to foster productive public dialogue between immigrant and refugees and their new host communities.
Once the policy recommendations are approved by the Governor, the New Americans Executive Order will require state agencies and offices to work with MORI to develop New Americans plans that address the strengths and needs for greater access in areas including but not limited to citizenship assistance, employment/workforce training, English language proficiency, education, civil rights, fair housing, healthcare and public safety.
“The Patrick Administration is committed to engaging immigrants and refugees completely in the economic, social and civic fabric of the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, whose Secretariat oversees the Office for Refugees and Immigrants. “By working together across state agencies and with key leaders, we can ensure that all residents of Massachusetts contribute in meaningful ways to their communities.”
MORI Executive Director Richard Chacón added, “Immigrants and refugees play increasingly key roles as consumers, entrepreneurs and workers in Massachusetts. The rapid increase in the Massachusetts immigrant population brings both benefits and challenges to the host communities and to the state, and we need a comprehensive policy agenda for a more coordinated plan to integrate and support our immigrants, refugees and local communities trying to accommodate them.”
Massachusetts’ New Americans Initiative has already attracted the support of national and local foundations: The Carnegie Foundation, Barr Foundation, The Bob Hildreth Charitable Foundation, Partners Health, as well as private donors who believe in the initiative’s grassroots commitment to advancing comprehensive immigrant and refugee integration agenda.
Immigrants make up over 14 percent of the Massachusetts population and 17 percent of its workforce, and are the key to continued growth. According to research commissioned by the Immigrant Learning Center, immigrants and refugees now make up more than a quarter of all key positions in the Massachusetts health care sector, including pharmacists, surgeons, nurses and home care assistants. Immigrants make up a quarter of all owners of biotech firms in Massachusetts. |
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iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary. Comments are closed for this article. If you would like to contribute information on this article, e-mail us at info@iBerkshires.com |
"Of the 907,000 immigrants in Massachusetts, about 175,000 are here illegally..."
I hope the Governor is not mixing LEGAL immigrants with ILLEGAL ALIENS. The Governor should be issuing an Executive Order to free the State of the ILLEGAL ALIENS! Other States are passing laws to get rid of them, why not you? Failure to free your State of the ILLEGAL ALIENS means condone breaking the law. ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE NOT "NEW AMERICANS"! Hope you understand that. | | from: Delaware Bob | on: 07-10-2008 12:00AM
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The mantra , from the pro-illegal immigration groups always use the term 'Immigrant', as though by confusing the words is going to change the demands of the majority of logical thinking citizens and legal residents. Most national newspapers and the media, always categorizes ALL people who enter America as immigrants! There is a stark difference between those people who are inspected for contagious diseases, criminal backgrounds and have been issued a entry visa. People who ignore THE PEOPLE'S laws are illegal immigrants or illegal aliens? In most newspapers the editors have been brain-washed or lobotomize, because they refuse to illustrate the massive difference between legal and illegal.
We should endorse the federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) that would add real, razor sharp teeth to state immigration laws. We need more enforcement to stop the interdiction of trucks bringing in drugs and illegal immigrants into America. Funding is being cut by the Democrats, so they can gut the border fence and stop the enactment of the Federal SAVE ACT. An army of ICE agents, twenty thousand more border patrol along with massive funding, to supply helicopters, spy probes and other equipment for internal enforcement. The e-verify data base the Fed's are using has a 90.5 success rate. It would be a major deterrent against pariah employers, who hire illegal workers. Its pennies of what taxpayers are unknowingly spending now. We need 'no tolerance' enforcement, that will give maximum arrest and detainment of predator employers of illegal immigrants.
A new AMNESTY is in the works from Senator Obama, McCain which will flood America with even more of poor, illiterate foreign labor. Those who steal across our perforated fence, includes the criminal element with a third world country mentality. Each day citizens are slain on the roads of America, by drunk illegal drivers. Then we have the street gangs protected by 'Sanctuary cities' like Los Angeles. The unsuppressed news reports will tell you about the child pedophiles, female assaults, murders, robbers and Social security theft. Our government secretly skims from your payroll checks, 356 billion dollars annually to support the illegal immigration occupation of our nation. Unfortunately this is not all, because this doesn't take into account expenditure on education, health care or our overcrowded prison system. More unsuppressed facts at www.NUMBERSUSA.com Join for free hundreds of thousands of others who have had enough of the invasion.
| | from: Please don't lie to THE PEOPLE...? | on: 07-10-2008 12:00AM
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| The state of Massachusetts is now the San Francisco of the east. You only have 175,000 illegals right now? When you have nearly 5 million like we do in California, you may want to reconsider your position. It's all well and good to feel more evolved and superior than those of us who continue to oppose illegal immigration. But when your state is bankrupt and you start running out of water, your tune is likely to change. Be warned, it will be too late by then. | | from: franks | on: 07-11-2008 12:00AM
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It's a sham and a shame. Why are we fixing things that aren't broken? Just because someone circumvented everything about us and our laws doesn't mean our system is wrong or broken? It means that someone (usually a Mexican), has decided to go about business in a very Mexican way, which usually means it isn’t the American way. And by doing their way and we doing it our way we see the end result ; strong successful American and third world country Mexico.
Now let me ask you. Should we accommodate the ignorant Mexicans so they can live work and grow as a rough population in America or should we stand strong and demand they raise their level of existence?
So we haven't fixed anything we've just accommodated the criminal and anti-American...
| | from: RWRWRW | on: 07-11-2008 12:00AM
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| You can be certain that Cadillac Deval IS including ILLEGAL aliens as well as Legal Immigrants. That is his "thing". Isn't it great to be King and overrule what the populace wants ? Deval will do his best to insure that even more American Citizens leave the state of MA ....he's just continuing the disgusting work of Kennedy and Company who never met a welfare recipient they didn't love!! What will they do when all tax paying responsible citizens high-tail it out of this welafer state.....we'll have to wait and see! | | from: Mary | on: 07-11-2008 12:00AM
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