Strengthening Communities through
Education and Integration

Honoring the Contributions of Immigrant Communities

Throughout America's history, immigrants have built our infrastructure, fueled our economy through entrepreneurship, and made social and cultural contributions that enable us to better understand the rest of the world.

I introduced a bill to honor those contributions, by providing immigrant families access to critical assistance such as English language and civics education. The Strengthening Communities through Education and Integration Act will help immigrant communities become a more integral part of the American fabric and maximize their social and economic contributions.

The Need for English Language Acquisition Resources

According to the Census Bureau, over 19% of the population (54.8 million) speaks a language other than English at home. Between 11 and 21 million individuals are estimated to have limited English proficiency. While the English language learner population is often characterized as solely immigrant, the reality is that the native-born English language learner population nearly doubled between 2000 and 2005 and is increasing at a higher rate than the immigrant population. Between 2010 and 2030, these first and second generation immigrants are projected to account for all growth in the U.S. labor force. Better preparing this workforce will unite and strengthen our country.

What the Legislation Does

With the growth of the English language learner population comes the urgent need to devote resources to education and ensuring that we fully embrace them into their communities. The Strengthening Communities through Education and Integration Act would:

Invest in adult education programs for English language learners

• Increases our investment in adult education by codifying English literacy and civics adult education programs and creating a new appropriation for these programs.

Ensure that our nation’s children and schools have adequate funding and resources for vital literacy programs for English language learners

• Increases the authorization for Even Start Family Literacy programs to $350 million.
• Provides resources for expanded learning time programs for English language learners in middle and high school.

Assist schools with teacher recruitment for English language learners

• Creates a $1,500 tax credit for teachers of English language learners and a deduction for their certification.

Provide incentives for employers to offer adult education and ESL programs to their employees

• Creates a 20% tax credit to employers that expend their resources to provide English language instruction and GED training.

Provide technical assistance and support to state and local efforts supporting newcomers

• Re-establishes the Office of Citizenship in USCIS as the Office of Citizenship and Immigrant Integration, which would coordinate federal policies on integration and serve as a liaison to state and local entities
• Makes grant money available to states to establish New American Councils that bring together business, faith, civic, philanthropic, non-profit and education stakeholders to create and implement immigrant integration programs.

Original Cosponsors

• Rep. Mike Honda
• Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
• Rep. Ruben Hinojosa
• Rep. Raul Grijalva
• Rep. Keith Ellison
• Rep. Henry Cuellar
• Rep. Neil Abercrombie
• Rep. Madaleine Bordallo
• Rep. Mazie Hirono
• Rep. Eni Faleomavaega
• Rep. Doris Matsui
• Rep. Xavier Becerra

Endorsements

• Business Groups
• Labor Unions
• Literacy Groups
• Education Groups/ Coalitions
• Latino Groups
• Asian American Organizations
• Faith Organizations
• Civil Rights Organizations
• Immigration Groups

Business Groups

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform
• Marriott International
• National Restaurant Association
• National Roofing Contractors Association
• National Association of Home Builders
• Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors
• Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
• American Nursery & Landscape Association

Labor Unions

• Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
• National Education Association (NEA)
• Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA)
• UNITE HERE
• The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

Literacy Groups

• American Library Association
• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL)

Education Groups/ Coalitions

• National Education Association (NEA)
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
• Hispanic Education Coalition
• American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations
• American Federation of Teachers
• ASPIRA Association, Inc.
• Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans
• Center for Advancement of Hispanics in Science and Engineering Education
• Cuban American National Council
• Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
• Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools
• Intercultural Development Research Association
• League of United Latin American Citizens
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
• Migrant Legal Action Program
• Multicultural Education Training and Advocacy, Inc.
• National Association for Bilingual Education
• National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education
• National Council of La Raza
• National Council for Community and Education Partnerships
• National Education Association
• National HEP/CAMP Association
• National Latino Children’s Institute
• National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association
• National Puerto Rican Coalition
• New York Immigration Coalition
• Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

Latino Groups

• National Hispanic Leadership Agenda:
• Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF)
• National Council of La Raza
• United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)
• MANA, A National Latina Organization
• ASPIRA Association, Inc.
• Dominican American National Roundtable
• National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc.
• National Hispanic Council on Aging
• Cuban American National Council
• Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
• National Association for Bilingual Education
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
• Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project
• Alianza Dominicana
• Hispanic National Bar Association
• National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc.
• National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators
• American GI Forum
• Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans
• National Hispanic Media Coalition
• National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives
• National Puerto Rican Forum
• Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund
• National Hispanic Medical Association
• National Hispanic Environmental Council
• Interamerican College of Physicians & Surgeons
• Hispanic Federation
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
• National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts
• National Association of Hispanic Publications
• National Hispanic Corporate Council
• National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
• U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce

Asian American Organizations

• Asian American Justice Center
• Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
• Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
• Hmong National Development, Inc.
• Japanese American Citizens League
• National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
• Organization of Chinese Americans
• Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
• South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow
• Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
• Korean Resource Center
• Korean American Resource and Cultural Center
• YKASEC – Empowering the Korean American Community

Faith Organizations

• American Islamic Congress
• American Jewish Committee
• Anti-Defamation League
• Casa de Esperanza
• Church World Service, Immigration and Refugee Program
• Christian Reformed Church in North American, Office of Social Justice
• The Episcopal Church
• Friends Committee on National Legislation
• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
• Hindu American Foundation
• Hispanic Coalition for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA)
• Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
• National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
• National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
• NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
• Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
• Standing For Truth Foundation
• Union for Reform Judaism
• United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
• United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society
• Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

Civil Rights Organizations

• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)

Immigration Groups

• National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
• National Immigration Forum (NIF)
• Immigration Policy Center (IPC)
• American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF)
• Rights Working Group
• Fair Immigration Reform Movement Steering Committee & Membership:
• African Resource Center (DC)
• CASA de Maryland
• CAUSA (OR)
• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CO)
• Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition
• Florida Immigrant Coalition
• Gamaliel Foundation
• National Hate Free Zone, WA
• Idaho Community Action Network
• Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
• Maine People’s Alliance
• Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
• Michigan Organizing Project
• MOSES – Gamaliel Foundation, MI
• National Capital Immigrant Coalition
• National Korean American Service and Education Consortium
• National Training and Information Center
• Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest
• New Jersey Immigration and Policy Network
• New York Immigrant Coalition
• Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (WA, OR, ID)
• Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (OR)
• Somos Un Pueblo Unido (NM)
• Sunflower Community Action (KS)
• Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TN)
• Voces de la Frontera (WI)
• YouthCAN