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Please save the date to attend NIIC 2013 November 17th through 19th in Miami Florida!

NIIC 2013 Hosts

 Florida Immigrant Coalition seeks fair treatment for all Floridians, including immigrants, and their integration into the civic, economic and cultural life of our communities. Read more.

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. Read more. 

 

The National Partnership for New Americans (the Partnership) advances the integration and active citizenship of immigrants to achieve a vibrant, just and welcoming democracy for all. Read more.

 

Connect with NIIC 2013

ISSUES IN ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

Non-profit organizations and other service providers have been at the forefront of assisting legal permanent residents on their path to citizenship, a crucial element of immigrant integration. Creating and implementing successful community naturalization programs enables immigrants in local communities to become civically engaged citizens. But it’s not enough for eligible immigrants to become naturalized citizens: Citizenship programs must be well developed with a holistic approach to create a more welcoming democracy in which new Americans can fully participate. The Active Citizenship track is designed to provide legal and community service providers, researchers, advocates, and policy-makers a space to share best practices, resources, tips for citizenship advocacy and new technologies. Participants will also receive hands-on training on the mechanics of running a workshop, training volunteers and becoming accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals. This track brings together experts in naturalization and citizenship from across the country and aims to educate and train citizenship service providers to better serve and understand their communities.

Issues in Active Citizenship and Citizenship Boot Camp sessions were organized by Joshua Hoyt of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA Coalition).

 

Workshops

 

Why Active Citizenship is Important

Workshop Date:    Sunday, Sept. 23
Workshop Time:    10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Workshop Description: With 8 million legal permanent residents who could become U.S. citizens today, there is a large untapped immigrant power in our communities. This session will explore the continuum of citizenship from immigrants’ perspectives as they make their way from legal permanent resident (LPR) to citizen to voter, and finally, to a civically engaged leader. The panel will also explore what drives an LPR to begin and continue the process into active citizenship and how community organizations can take a role in leadership development in immigrant communities.

Panelists

  • Lawrence Benito, Chief Executive Officer, ICIRR
  • Evan Bacalao, Senior Director of Civic Engagement, NALEO
  • Miriam Hernandez Murill, Community Leader, OneAmerica
  • Cecilia Murach, Interpreter and Translator / former AmeriCorps member, CASA de Maryland

Moderator

  • Horacio Arroyo, Director of Citizenship and Civic Engagement, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)


Other workshops include:

 

Mapping Best Practices for a Naturalization Campaign

Workshop Date:    Sunday, Sept. 23
Workshop Time:    1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Workshop Description: Naturalization can and should be supported at all levels of civil society. This panel will offer specific approaches, tips, checklists, and best practices for running a multi-faceted citizenship campaign. Attendees will design and share action plans to create effective partnerships with local businesses, the private sector, municipal and state governments, and educational institutions.

Panelists

  • Jessica Scruggs, Citizenship Coordinator, OneAmerica
  • Anna Anderson, Immigrant Integration Programs Manager, CASA de Maryland
  • Leah Muse-Orlinoff, Best Practices Manager, New Americans Collaboration
  • Julissa Gutierrez, Northeast Director of Civic Engagement, NALEO
  • Adolfo Hernandez, Director of Office of New Americans, City of Chicago

 

New Technology and Communications Best Practices in Naturalization

Workshop Date:    Monday, Sept. 24
Workshop Time:    10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Workshop Description: Keeping up to date with new technologies and developments in communications is crucial for a successful naturalization campaign. This session will explore innovations in communications and new technologies to be used for campaign management and citizenship instruction, as well as best practices in messaging for outreach.

Panelists

  • Ada Williams Prince, Policy and Advocacy Director, OneAmerica
  • Lizette Escobedo, Director of National Programs and Community Relations, NALEO
  • Wendy Rhein, Director, Advancement, Advancement, Marketing & Communications, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)
  • Rommel Calderwood, New Americans Collaboration Project Coordinator, CLINIC

Moderator

  • Charlie McAteer, Communications Director, OneAmerica and National Partnership for New Americans

 

Reducing Barriers to Citizenship through Advocacy and Policy

Workshop Date:    Monday, Sept. 24
Workshop Time:    1:50 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.

Workshop Description: There are currently 8 million legal permanent residents in the U.S. who could apply for citizenship today but who have not done so. This indicates that there are many serious barriers to naturalization. These barriers range from lack of information to high cost to limited English proficiency. Many stakeholders are actively working to reduce these barriers, from the federal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to advocates to local governments. In this workshop we will discuss the major barriers to citizenship and efforts to reduce these challenges. Then the group will engage in an open conversation with the Naturalization Working Group to strategize about what steps we can take to reduce these barriers via naturalization and integration advocacy.

 Panelists

  • Laura Patching, Acting Chief, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services
  • Flavia Jimenez, Special Assistant, U.S. Department of Education
  • Max Sevillia, Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, NALEO

Moderators

  • Joshua Hoyt, Co-Chair, National Partnership for New Americans
  • Maurice Belanger, Director of Public Information, National Immigration Forum

Mobilizing the Immigrant Vote

Workshop Date:    Monday, Sept. 24
Workshop Time:    3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Workshop Description: Our vote is our future – and one of the most basic ways to ensure that immigrant communities’ voices are heard. This session will cover some of the different programs and organizing strategies being implemented across the country and across diverse immigrant communities to educate, register and get out the immigrant vote. 

Panelists

  • Abdelnasser Rashid, New Americans Democracy Project Program Manager, ICIRR
  • HeyKyung Eum, Community Organizer, Korean American Resource and Cultural Center
  • Sayu Bhojwani, Executive Director, New American Leaders Project
  • Evan Bacalao, Senior Director of Civic Engagement, NALEO
  • John Miyasato, Managing Principal, Crossroads Campaigns

Moderator

  • Horacio Arroyo, Director of Citizenship and Civic Engagement, CHIRLA


CITIZENSHIP BOOTCAMP

 

Volunteer Training

Workshop Date:    Sunday, Sept. 23
Workshop Time:    10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Workshop Description: Volunteers are at the heart of every citizenship workshop; without volunteers, community-based organizations would be hard pressed to sustain citizenship programs. This boot camp training session will explore different models to train volunteers. The session will also teach service providers about best practices for recruiting and retaining volunteers in order to build the infrastructure needed for a successful citizenship campaign.

Trainers

  • Adaobi Nebuwa, New Americans Initiative Manager, ICIRR
  • Tamara R. Bloom Esq., Legal Coordinator, The City University of New York (CUNY)
  • Sofia Carreno, Communications Coordinator, CUNY
  •  Patience Lehrman, Director, Project SHINE

 

Mapping Best Practices for a Naturalization Campaign

Workshop Date:    Sunday, Sept. 23
Workshop Time:    1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Workshop Description: Naturalization can and should be supported at all levels of civil society. This panel will offer specific approaches, tips, checklists, and best practices for running a multi-faceted citizenship campaign. Attendees will design and share action plans to create effective partnerships with local businesses, the private sector, municipal and state governments, and educational institutions.

Panelists

  • Jessica Scruggs, Citizenship Coordinator, OneAmerica
  • Anna Anderson, Immigrant Integration Programs Manager, CASA de Maryland
  • Leah Muse-Orlinoff, Best Practices Manager, New Americans Collaboration
  • Julissa Gutierrez, Northeast Director of Civic Engagement, NALEO
  • Adolfo Hernandez, Director of Office of New Americans, City of Chicago


Naturalization Legal Issues

Workshop Date:    Monday, Sept. 24
Workshop Time:    10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Workshop Description: Board of Immigration Appeals accredited institutions and representatives make a program better prepared to serve its clients. It’s also important to keep up-to-date on changes in immigration laws and codes in order to be aware of red flags and to avoid deportation traps. This session, led by BIA accredited Megan Granados of Erie Neighborhood House in Illinois and Michelle Sardone of CLINIC, will cover what to watch out for when leading citizenship workshops.

Trainers

  • Megan Granados, Citizenship Program Coordinator, Erie Neighborhood House
  • Michelle Sardone, Field Support Coordinator, CLINIC

 

How Citizenship Works

Workshop Date:    Monday, Sept. 24
Workshop Time:    1:50 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.

Workshop Description: This session will provide an overview of CitizenshipWorks (www.citizenshipworks.org), an award-winning online portal that provides access to multi-lingual information, resources, and interactive self-help tools on citizenship and naturalization for low and moderate-income immigrants and the nonprofit legal services organizations that serve them. Panelists will provide an overview of CitizenshipWorks, share best practices for incorporating CitizenshipWorks into naturalization programs, and highlight innovative ways that CitizenshipWorks can be used to provide more effective and efficient naturalization application services. We will also share new resources and features and give participants a preview of what's in store for the future.

Trainers

  • Matthew Burnett, Director, Immigration Advocates Network
  • Lizette Escobedo, Director of National Programs, NALEO Educational Fund
  • Tony Lu, CitizenshipWorks Project Coordinator, Immigration Advocates Network

 

Running a Successful Citizenship Workshop

Workshop Date:    Monday, Sept. 24
Workshop Time:    3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Workshop Description: Learn how to bring all the pieces and key partners of a workshop together to run a successful and smooth citizenship workshop, including outreach and marketing to eligible legal permanent residents. Part of this training will include a mock citizenship workshop that participants can engage in.

Trainers

  • Mireya Luna, Citizenship Program Coordinator, Family Focus
  • Krystina Francois, Citizenship Coordinator, Florida Immigrant Coalition
  • Nasim Khansari, Citizenship Network Manager, Asian Pacific American Legal Center
  • Michelle Sardone, Field Support Coordinator, CLINIC