Immigration presents New York communities with novel challenges and opportunities. Community leaders and engaged citizens need to make informed decisions. As with previously completed work on this topic, the dissemination of our research findings contributes to more informed decision making about immigrant related issues by public officials and leaders in schools, churches, and other community organizations. Our research has been a part of public policy discussions at the national, state, and local levels. Our findings have played a role in program development by different public and private service providers to help immigrant families living in a new cultural setting to better care for children and to access developmentally appropriate activities for their children. Our research has also been part of major policy documents on the economic impacts of immigrants in New York state.

Communities throughout New York are faced with increasing ethnic diversity, much of which is associated with immigration. New Yorkers most directly experience the effects of immigration in their own communities. But many communities have not had a significant immigrant presence for almost a century, and the influx of growing numbers of immigrants has raised concerns that communities sometimes find difficult to address in a constructive manner. The pressures to deal with issues related to immigration and diversification have intensified in the wake of the failure of national-level immigration policy reform. The Census Bureau estimated that about 4 million foreign born persons were living in New York in 2005 (second only to California), meaning about one in five New Yorkers are foreign born. Although the bulk of immigrants in the state are found in New York City, immigrants are increasingly dispersed across the landscape, like the United States more generally, and New Yorkers statewide are more likely than ever to have some experience with immigrants.

We have continued to build our data base on public opinion about immigration and local policy options. Last year we participated in the Empire State Poll to generate such data. Our research findings from the Empire State poll and previous research were presented at national, state, and local policy forums attended by over 500 individuals. Our research was featured at the largest immigration policy forum on the Cornell campus: “Immigration Policy: Who Belongs?” This forum was sponsored by the Cornell Law School and was attended by more than 200 persons; the Cornell International Law Journal featured our research. At the invitation of New York Assemblyman Phillip Ramos, we presented our research findings at the Somos el Futuro, 20th Annual Legislative Conference. Our presentation focused on policy issues related at a panel discussion on immigration: The Impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sponsored by the New York State Assembly/ Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force. We also presented our research at a national policy forum on immigration reform: Implications for Farmers, Farm Workers, and Communities in Washington, D.C. This forum was sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation and the University of California. In addition, we have presented our work to public and private agency meetings sponsored by the New York State Department of Health and Rural Opportunities, Incorporated.

Our research identifies common challenges and opportunities faced by communities and informs decision making to have positive outcomes for both communities and immigrants. Our research will inform community efforts in support of program priorities for quality of life of individuals and families. Our findings have informed program development in state agencies to help immigrant families living in a new cultural setting to better care for children and to access developmentally appropriate activities for their children. We provide research inputs to the Governors Task Force on Farm Labor. Our research has also informed the efforts of private policy think tanks. We provided estimates of the number of farmworkers, most of whom are immigrants, to the New York Fiscal Policy Institute as it completed a major assessment of the economic impacts of immigrants on New York state.
Our efforts are especially significant given the difficulties the U.S. Congress faces in coming up with a policy to effectively address immigration and stabilize the lives of immigrants. It is important not to limit options to national-level policies. Significant opportunities and challenges exist at the state and local level and our research informs policy making at that level.

Community and Rural Development

Rural Opportunities, Incorporated

Pilar A. Parra