Adult Education & Workforce Development

Immigrants and refugees make up an increasingly large share of the U.S. workforce yet have limited access to adult education and workforce training services that could propel them into family-wage jobs, career advancement, and full economic integration. Despite political challenges on multiple fronts, there are many opportunities to scale up promising practices and partnerships to improve immigrant and refugee communities’ access to these critical services. The sessions in this track will provide both large-scale context for the barriers immigrants and refugees face and practical examples of innovations on the state and local levels that facilitate their success.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Promoting Adult Education, Workforce Skills, and Civic Engagement through Digital Learning
2. Creating More Responsive State and Local Policies for Adult Learners and Workers
3. Sustainability and Replicability of Programs for High-Skilled Immigrants

Full CITIZENSHIP: Building Immigrants' Political and Community Power

Now, more than ever, immigrants and their allies must be active in our democracy – by naturalizing, registering, voting, and becoming candidates. Merely voting is not enough! The Full Citizenship track will focus on the state of current efforts at naturalization, voter mobilization, and candidacies, the best practices that should be shared, and what to expect during the 2018 elections. Attendees of the sessions will learn how to partner with key stakeholders and utilize technology and field to get to scale, and look ahead to 2020 and beyond to ensure that new Americans, their children, Latinos, Asians, and our communities continue on the civic engagement path to political respect.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. The Naturalization Wave: Citizenship Campaigns in the Current Environment
2. Taking naturalization service delivery to the next level
3. Who is voting, who is not, and getting them to the polls
4. Growing Immigrant, New American Candidates
5. Tech tools for Immigrant Integration

Health

The current political and social climate is affecting the health of immigrant communities. There are heightened barriers to accessing health care on top of negative emotional and mental impacts. However, the work continues to ensure that immigrants can lead healthy lives. This track focuses on the health impact of immigrant enforcement and strategies and resources to overcoming challenges and servicing immigrant communities. It will also include a conversation on defending and expanding healthcare coverage for immigrants.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. The Health Impact of Immigration Enforcement and Strategies for Overcoming Challenges
2. Mental Health Challenges in the Current Landscape: Understanding the Public Health Issues Affecting Immigrant Children and Identifying Practices for Serving this Population
3. Health Coverage For Immigrants

Financial Capability & Inclusion

More than 12 million US households are unbanked and approximately 20 million households are considered underbanked with little contact and productive use of the mainstream financial system. Unbanked and underbanked households rely upon cash and high-cost financial service providers for basic transactions such as accessing paychecks, paying bills, and meeting small credit needs. The concentration of immigrant households outside the banking system is far greater than native-born population resulting in increased incidences of crime and billions of dollars spent each year in non-productive high cost financial services. In this track, we will explore successful strategies and approaches to connecting immigrant communities to productive banking relationships and opportunities to move toward building wealth and assets.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Research into Immigrant Financial Usage and Behavioral Approaches
2. Integrating Financial Capability into Service Delivery in Immigrant Communities
3. Building Wealth through Culturally Competent Approaches

Fighting Hate

Far-right social movements are on the rise in today’s political environment. White nationalist, nativist and anti-Muslim groups are targeting vulnerable communities and influencing each other’s rhetoric and actions. It is no surprise then that our communities are facing greater threats to their bodies, livelihoods and rights. Join us for the Fighting Hate Track which will explore the landscape and impact of organized oppositional movements and how communities are pushing back. This track will have three sessions: one on contemporary white nationalist movements, one on nativism, and one on organized Islamophobia targeting Muslim, Arab, Sikh and South Asian communities.

For each session (1.5 hours each), we will focus on these themes: (1) landscape and definitions of oppositional movements; (2) the impact and conditions created by these movements; (3) a case study of resistance; and (4) tactics/strategies for the audience.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Organized Hate and Contemporary White Nationalism
2. Organized Nativism targeting immigrant communities
3. Organized Hate Targeting Muslim, Refugee, Arab and South Asian Communities

Business & the Economy

In this challenging political climate, the business community has an important role to play in making the economic case for inclusive immigration policies at the federal, state and local levels. The Business & Economy track will explore ways in which employers, chambers of commerce and other stakeholders can adapt to the changing immigration policy landscape and take leadership through driving an immigration narrative that highlights the the economic contributions of immigrants, supporting local immigrant integration efforts, and advocating for much-needed immigration reforms.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Building Partnerships for Local Impact: The Chamber Role in Immigrant Integration
2. Mobilizing Business on State Immigration Policy
3. DREAMers in Business

Criminalization, Deportation & Detention

President Trump, just months after taking office, issued three Executive Orders; Muslim Ban; Increase Interior Enforcement and Border Enforcement. All of these actions are dehumanizing and labeling immigrants "criminals" and "national security threats." This has resulted in 211,06 deportations during the first fiscal year, tripled the arrest of immigrants not convicted of any offense, and 43% more arrests of immigrants. Furthermore, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has declared war on cities and states, "Sanctuary Cities," who are seeking to protect immigrant communities.

Organizations across the nation are fighting back from the ground up and at the local and state level. This track seeks to provide an overview of models that are 'resisting' the deportation machine through advocacy, organizing and communications. Experts from across the nation would share their efforts to fight deportations at the state and local level, present best practices to protect immigrant workers in both urban and rural settings, and lastly, would present on the intersectionality between police reform, criminal justice, and immigrant rights. This tracks will bring organizers, policy advocates, media experts to provide a holistic approach in the efforts to protect immigrant families from deportations.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK

1. Local and State Resistance to Deportation Machine in a Trump Era
2. Worker Rights, Retaliation & Workplace Immigration Enforcement
3. The Industry Behind Immigration Enforcement and Over Policing

DREAM, DACA & TPS

Details forthcoming!

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. State of play: DACA & DREAM
2. State of play: TPS
3. Organizing Strategy: DACA & DREAM
4. Organizing Strategy: TPS

Economic Justice

Details forthcoming!

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Threats and Opportunities in the Age of Trump
2. Defending and Expanding the Rights of Immigrant Workers under Increased Immigration Enforcement
3. Innovative Organizing to Win Economic Justice

Education

All kids deserve the opportunity to succeed! The current political climate concurrent with the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act shine a spotlight on the importance of advocating for and protecting the rights of immigrant, refugee, and English learner students across the education spectrum from early childhood through graduation. The education track will focus on practical solutions and steps to better understand and leverage relevant laws, protect the rights of students, and hold schools accountable for serving immigrant students well. Attendees of the sessions will learn about stakeholder engagement strategies, the fundamentals of English Learner education, and policies and practices that can create safe spaces in schools for unauthorized and DACA youth.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Responding to the Current Political Climate: Creating Safe Spaces in Schools and Promoting Opportunity for Unauthorized and DACA Youth
2. English Learner (EL) Policy 101: Promoting EL Success
3. Immigrant Advocates Engaged in Education Policy-Making

Global Migration

Details forthcoming!

SESSIONS IN THS TRACK:

1. From resistance to resilience – Transformative national and global strategies in a time of national backlash
2. Global Cities and the Rise of Nativism: Lessons Across Borders
3. Climate Change Collides with People on the Move

Refugee Resettlement

This year, anti-refugee, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant sentiment reached a fervor that has led to a series of attacks on the refugeeresettlement program, on refugee and immigrant communities, and on policies that welcome them. In response, a diversity of allies, impacted leaders, and advocates mobilized to stop anti-refugee proposals and start advancing a positive agenda. This track examines the latest efforts at the national, state, and local levels that impact refugees in the United States, as well as ways in which we can strengthen policies, practices, and programs to have a positive impact on people’s lives. Panels will include refugee leaders, service providers, and advocates to share their perspectives and identify opportunities for collaboration in 2018.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK (3 of the following; decision-making still in process):

1. Innovative Programming
2. Employment/Private-Sector Engagement
3. Welcoming Communities
4. State & Local Advocacy

State & Municipal Strategies

This past year, state and municipal governments have been standing up to the national threats and actions against immigrants and refugees. Through innovative policies, programs and partnerships, states and municipalities are more active than ever protecting immigrant families and welcoming New Americans. This track features state and municipal leaders discussing the work that's happening to defend immigrant communities, integrate immigrants, and build coalitions to advocate and advance local advocacy.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Defending Immigrant Communities
2. State & Local Innovations in Immigrant Integration Strategy
3. Coalition building & Cities’ coordinated advocacy efforts on immigration

Welcoming Communities

Our country faces deep divisions today, fueled by cultural anxieties and bias related to race, economics and opportunity, and the rapid pace of demographic and technological change. In this increasingly polarized environment, how can we promote immigrant integration and build bridges across these divides without compromising our values, and create real understanding? Is there a place in our communities for a meaningful conversation and listening, rather than stereotyping and fighting? How can we work together to chart a path towards an inclusive and positive vision for our communities?

The Welcoming Communities track will explore the cultural anxieties that are leading to acute polarization around the immigration issue, and how they are manifesting themselves in our communities and in our discourse. Examples of what practices and interventions show promise – based on lessons learned across the immigrant integration field and other movements – will be featured prominently.

SESSIONS IN THIS TRACK:

1. Understanding Cultural Anxieties Today and the Intersections with Immigration
2. What Works in Bridging Divides
3. Diving into Difficult Conversations