Immigrant Policy Project

Background

May 14, 2002

State and Local Coalition on Immigration
Immigrant Policy Project
Project Contacts
Related Projects:

Building the New American Community
DiversityRx
Multicultural Health Project

The State and Local Coalition on Immigration

The State and Local Coalition on Immigration is a collaborative effort of six national organizations representing state and local government: The National Governors' Association, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, and the American Public Human Services Association. Since the early 1980s, these organizations have worked individually and jointly to advance the state and local perspective on immigration before Congress and the Administration through correspondence, issue briefings, and testimony. With reductions in federal funding for domestic refugee resettlement and the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, members of the Coalition began assessing the impact of immigration on public policy and its implications for state and local policymakers. Federal immigration decisions were recognized to have direct and indirect effects on state and local governments in the form of their budgets; the composition of their citizenry; the utilization and quality of their services; and the general social, political, and economic character of their communities. In 1996, the landmark federal welfare reform law revamped the welfare system, dramatically restricting immigrant eligibility for the nation's main public cash and medical assistance programs and shifting enormous responsibilities to state and local governments.

The Immigrant Policy Project

The Coalition was awarded a grant in 1992 to examine the role of state and local government in the development of "immigrant policy." Although the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over immigration policy (the terms and conditions for entry into the United States), states and localities have become responsible for immigrant policy (the policies that help newcomers assimilate into the country's economic, social, and civic life.)

The Immigrant Policy Project (housed at NCSL) serves state and local policymakers and their staff by providing timely, impartial, and succinct information on immigration activities at the federal, state, and local levels. This unique collaboration among the state and local groups allows the Project to listen to policymakers concerns directly and respond with targeted research that is balanced and useful for the Coalition's constituents. The Project has focused on the federal-state-local partnership in the resettlement of immigrants and refugees, and most recently on federal welfare reform and the implications for states, localities, and the immigrant population.

The Project researches and produces publications on immigrant policy for an audience of approximately 2000 state and local policymakers and staff, immigrant coalitions, community-based organizations, service providers, and immigration specialists. Founded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Project has also received support from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Emma Lazarus Fund, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, and NCSL.

Project Contacts

Ann Morse, Program Manager
David Lawson, Staff Assistant

Members of the State and Local Coalition on Immigration and their representatives on the Project's Governing Board are:

NGA: Nolan Jones (202) 624-5300
NCSL: Sheri Steisel (202-624-5400)
USCM: Crystal Swann (202-293-7330)
NLC: Jennifer McGee (202-626-3000)
NACo: Marilina Sanz (202-393-6226)
APHSA: Elaine Ryan (202-682-0100)

Related Projects:

Funded by the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement and led by the Immigrant Policy Project, this endeavor seeks to support systemic change in the thinking about integration as a two-way process that benefits both newcomers and receiving communities. Through unprecedented analysis, by the Urban Institute and the Migration Policy Institute, and technical assistance to three demonstration sites, by the National Immigration Forum and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, the Project will identify best practices and will help document new frameworks for integration.

Diversity Rx

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care (RCCHC) have created a website devoted to language and cultural competence in health care. The site provides information, resources, technical assistance, and networking opportunities to policymakers, health care providers, consumer representatives, and researchers interested in quality health care services for linguistically and culturally diverse populations.

Initial funding was provided by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation of Menlo Park, California. Please visit Diversity Rx at www.DiversityRx.org and send your thoughts, comments or issue ideas for this site to Julia Puebla Fortier or Ann Morse.

Multicultural Health Project

The Multicultural Health Project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (1995-1997), was created to examine barriers faced by the foreign-born to adequate health care, particularly as they relate to immigration status and cultural and linguistic differences. Publications included "Access to Prenatal Care for Undocumented Women" and analyses of the effect of welfare and Medicaid reform on immigrants. For more information on the Multicultural Health Project and its materials, please contact Ann Morse (202-624-5400).