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Intergration Learning Exchange

What We Are Watching: Municipal Action For Immigrant Integration (MAII)

The National League of Cities (NLC) is the largest organization in the US focused on promoting cities as centres of opportunity, leadership and governance. With a membership of over 19,000 US cities and towns, the NLC new immigrant integration program has plans to make a big impact. 

In August 2009, just one year after the launch of the Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration (MAII) project, the NLC rolled out new pilot programs in a push to promote civic engagement and naturalization among immigrant communities. Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Littleton, Colorado, are the first two cities in an ambitious national plan.

The MAII program has two components: the NewCITYzen Naturalization Campaign and the CITYzenship Community Initiative.

The NewCITYzen Naturalization Campaign highlights the benefits of naturalization, including voting rights and provides the pilot cities with a campaign toolkit.  This includes outreach material and public service announcement to help launch naturalization campaigns.

The program’s CITYzenship Community Initiative helps cities develop an action plan for managing immigrant integration challenges, as well as define a strategy to increase immigrant outreach in advance of the upcoming 2010 Census.

The City of Fort Wayne has a population of nearly 250,000 residents, nearly six percent of whom are foreign born.  Over the past decade, Fort Wayne has become home to the largest population of Burmese refugees in the US, increasing the need for immigrant services in the city. The MAII pilot will also provide technical assistance and training to Forty Wayne’s new Hispanic and Immigrant Liaison.

In Littleton, nearly nine percent of the city’s 43,000 are foreign born. Littleton will be using NewCITYzen Naturalization Campaign materials to promote the idea of naturalization in the immigrant community, and will also receive technical assistance to prepare for Census 2010.

Cities of Migration will be watching both of these cities and reporting back to you on the success of these initiatives. We will also be profiling some great ideas from the city Indianapolis where a comprehensive immigrant integration campaign is paying big dividends for the city. 

For more information, see the NLC MAII Indianapolis case study and updates here at Cities of Migration.

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