WASHINGTON — The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) on Thursday announced the winners of its 2012 E Pluribus Unum Prizes for exceptional immigrant integration initiatives, honoring a Michigan Arab American organization that strengthens ties between immigrant and native-born communities, a California labor-business alliance that provides on-the-job English language and other classes for janitors and a California education coalition that has achieved significant instructional reform for English language learners. Each was given a $50,000 award. The Prizes’ Corporate Leadership Award was given to a major banking institution that supports citizenship promotion and economic empowerment for immigrants.
The E Pluribus Unum winners reflect the diversity of actors in the public and private sectors that are involved in immigrant integration efforts at the state and local levels. The winners will be honored Monday during a plenary luncheon at the National Immigrant Integration Conference, which will draw to Baltimore hundreds of community, advocacy, business and government leaders who work daily to advance immigrant integration in their communities. The prizes program, established by MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy with generous support from the J.M. Kaplan Fund, seeks to encourage the adoption of effective integration practices and to inspire others to take on the important work of integrating immigrants and their children so they can become full participants in U.S. society.
The E Pluribus Unum winners (click on links for more detail about each initiative) are:
“The E Pluribus Unum Prizes highlight some of the most exceptional work being done across the United States to help immigrants build their new lives. As newcomers succeed in the classroom, the workplace and the community, they enrich and strengthen this country they have come to call home,” said Margie McHugh, co-director of MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy.
“We are honored to be able to recognize their work, knowing fully well that across America — in classrooms, community halls, government agencies, businesses and religious organizations — people are working tirelessly and often with little credit or attention to bring immigrant and native-born communities together. We salute their work and hope these awards draw attention to the importance of immigrant integration at local, state and national levels.” “Ultimately, immigration succeeds or fails based on how well immigrants become full participants in the economic and civic life of the United States,” said MPI Senior Vice President Michael Fix, who is co-director of the National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. “Whether by tutoring immigrant janitors on the job or advocating for improved instruction for English language learners, our award winners demonstrate through their proven and replicable programs that there are many effective ways to promote the success of newcomers and their families — success that in turn benefits the broader U.S. community.” Profiles, videos and more information about the honorees can be found here.
For more information or to set up interviews with award winners, please contact Michelle Mittelstadt at 202-266-1910 or [email protected]; or Burke Speaker at 202-266-1920 or [email protected].
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The Migration Policy Institute is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in Washington, DC dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. MPI provides analysis, development and evaluation of migration and refugee policies at the local, national and international levels. Its National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy is a crossroads for policymakers, state and local agency managers, local service providers and others seeking to respond to the challenges and opportunities today’s high rates of immigration create in local communities. For more on MPI, please visit www.migrationpolicy.org.