New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will give a keynote address at the National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC), the largest immigrant integration gathering in the country, on Monday, December 14th at 9:30am in New York City. The Mayor’s keynote will speak towards why cities like New York will continue to invest in immigrants communities.
The eighth annual conference - "New American Dreams: Advancing Opportunity, Equality & Justice" – runs from December 13-15, 2015, and is co-hosted by the National Partnership for New Americans and the New York Immigration Coalition, along with Executive Committee members Make the Road NY and Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. NIIC will be held at the New York Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge and aims to connect a bold and dynamic immigrant integration movement with a broader group of stakeholders to drive inclusion and impact together.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "It is an honor to have the National Immigrant Integration Conference here in New York City and to be its keynote speaker. New York City is proud to be home to more than three million immigrants and to residents from every background and belief who speak about 200 languages. These cross-cultural exchanges enrich our daily lives, and are the source of our strength and our singularity. It is a privilege to welcome the NIIC and its attendees from across the country who are working to create the same welcoming environments in their communities. I applaud the NIIC Conference co-hosts, the New York Immigration Coalition and the National Partnership for New Americans, Executive Committee members, Make the Road New York and the Massachusetts Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, and all of their tireless community partners for promoting inclusivity and equality and, in so doing, upholding our most significant traditions as a city and a country.”
“As the NIIC 2015 co-host, we're delighted to have New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio address this year’s conference,” said Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. "This is the first year that NIIC will be held in New York City, America's historical port of entry for immigrants and the cultural and financial capital of the nation. Together with our Executive Committee partners, we believe the NIIC in New York will help influence major policy, cultural, political, and business trends across the country, and we look forward to having our city’s leaders’ in the conversation about key integration issues facing America's immigrant communities."
Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans said, “New York City has always been a beacon to the entire world with its shining example of how to build a successful nation of immigrants. Mayor de Blasio’s administration is a continuation of this fine tradition, and we applaud the Mayor for his national leadership on immigration reform and immigrant integration. We are thrilled to host this year’s conference in New York and to feature the Mayor as a keynote speaker.
Eva Millona, NPNA Co-Chair and executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition said, "We welcome NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to address over a thousand attendees at this year's NIIC. We look forward to hearing from New York City's Mayor on how we can successfully shape immigrant integration policy that makes our country greater."
Javier Valdes, executive director of Make the Road New York said, "Under Mayor de Blasio's leadership, New York City has stood at the forefront of immigrant integration efforts by implementing policies such as municipal identification cards for all New Yorkers and universal immigration representation. There is no better place than the NIIC for the Mayor to highlight the progress that our City has made and engage in the important dialogue about how to advance immigrant integration in cities and states across the country."