Changing Culture
2022 ‘Celebrate America’ Creative Writing Contest Winner: Where I’m From
Where I’m From I am from ships sailed. From my mother’s quilt, finished with orange, green, and white. I see every one of the strong stitches holding it together. From my other house where the walls don’t keep the heat from getting inside them, like how I can’t get that… Read More
Utah Once Again Leads by Example on Immigrant Inclusion
As the politics and partisanship of a mid-term election year ramp up, Utah is proving that bipartisan and public-private collaboration is still possible. On May 3, public and private sector leaders came together to launch a New American Task Force to develop a comprehensive strategy to maximize opportunities for—and… Read More
Local Communities Take the Lead in Welcoming All
Local communities across the country have long experienced the positive effects of growing immigrant and refugee communities. As a result, many local governments, chambers of commerce, and nonprofits have been thinking proactively about how to create an environment that sends a message of inclusion and social cohesion, maximizes the contributions… Read More
U.S. Census: A Closer Look at the Fastest Growing Minority Group in the United States
Data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau show that there are approximately 20.7 million Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States—comprising 6.2 % of the U.S. population—that make up the fastest growing minority group in the United States. In the last decade, the U.S. Asian population grew by… Read More
Moving Past Politics: How States Are Leading on Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion
While much of today’s immigration debate is laser-focused on the U.S.-Mexico border, states across the country are increasingly creating their own policies that affect the day-to-day lives of millions of immigrants and refugees. Some states like Florida are pursuing restrictive measures that sow fear and uncertainty. But many others… Read More
Key Ingredients for a Civil Thanksgiving Dinner? Empathy and Active Listening
This Thanksgiving, it’s fair to say many of us are experiencing a nagging malaise or even an existential crisis. The future feels unpredictable, even precarious, and a cascade of environmental and human crises have left us shaken. At the same time, we are confronting the stark realities of persistent injustice… Read More
Here’s How Americans Can Sponsor Afghan Refugees as They Resettle in US Communities
Since the last evacuation flights left Afghanistan, there have been over 68,000 Afghan allies housed on Department of Defense bases waiting for resettlement. The scope and size of the mission, designated as Operation Allies Welcome, is of historic proportions. It has brought together interagency governmental taskforces, refugee resettlement organizations,… Read More
Why Has Immigration Become Such a Divisive Issue?
Why has immigration become such a heated issue for those on the right and the left? It’s because many Americans have—without realizing it—sacralized their values and beliefs associated with immigration. This explains in part why the debate has become uncompromising and moralized. What can we do about it? Answers can… Read More
No Need to Wait for Congress to Begin Using Humanizing Language in the Immigration Space
The Biden administration’s immigration reform bill will have a provision that seeks to replace the term “alien” with “noncitizen” in immigration law. The term “alien” in the Immigration and Nationality Act refers to any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. It dates back… Read More
New Leadership Strikes a New Tone for America
America turned a corner today. We not only installed new leadership, but these leaders set a distinctively new tone for the next four years. A president is a political and policy leader, but he or she is also our conductor-in-chief, coordinating the timing and performance of government agencies and setting… Read More
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
