Context
The United States is a nation of immigrants and owes its political, economic and cultural strength to the contributions of people from many different countries. Three laws passed in 1996 – the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act – have limited immigrants’ eligibility for federally funded health and social service programs. Further policies
enacted since September 11, 2001 (from the USA Patriot Act to the Real ID Act) have weakened civil rights protections for both citizens and non-citizens, particularly those who are of Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern or South Asian descent.
Finally, comprehensive immigration reform stalled at the federal level in July 2007, prompting some state and local governments to institute anti-immigrant policies (e.g., not renting apartments to anyone defined as an “illegal alien”
or passing ordinances that restrict the issuance of business permits to only those individuals who can prove they are legal, permanent residents).
Regardless of immigration status, newcomers are woven into the fabric of the United States and many of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants
are becoming part of our society. In addition to staffing our businesses, immigrants go to school, belong to religious congregations and engage in community life, yet their lack of legal status, limited English language skills and misunderstandings and mistrust across cultures in their communities create significant barriers to integration.