Nice But Not Easy
From Gotham Gazette
By Bryan Pu-Folkes
I was
in the middle of moving to Jackson Heights in 1999, drawn by the diversity
of the neighborhood, when I heard of the anti-immigrant billboard that
a group called Project U.S.A. had just put up nearby. It said: "Tired
of sitting in traffic? Every day Congress lets in another 6,000 immigrants.
Every day!"
I was deeply offended. The bigotry was blatant, and the implication was
simply inaccurate. Immigration has a net benefit. Immigrants strengthen
our country, invigorate our economy and contribute culturally. And they
do this while navigating a new system, learning a new language and juggling
several jobs.
I know this first-hand, because I am a son of immigrants. My mother came
from Burma, my father from Jamaica. They came to the Unites States in
1959 and had to overcome many forms of discrimination. One issue was their
interracial marriage, which at the time was not common.
I grew up in a household where racism was not tolerated, and where I
was taught that people of diverse backgrounds were more alike than different,
and that it is entirely possible that groups work together - and it's
important that they do so.
NICE
So when Craig Nelson, the founder of Project USA, put up the anti-immigrant
billboard, I wanted the immigrant community to denounce the message, to
respond intelligently, collectively and publicly. That is when I started
a campaign to mobilize immigrant business-owners, community leaders, activists
and volunteers. To my delight, everyone responded positively. We contracted
to put up posters on the subway platform in the stations along the No.7
line to send a public message that we are not going to stay quiet.
Our posters were factual and to the point. One read: "You should know
the immigrant community pays $90 billion in annual taxes - yet many are
not entitled to several of the critical services those taxes pay for!"
Encouraged by the success of the poster campaign, I believed there was
a need for a grass roots immigrant-based movement to provide a vehicle
for immigrant communities to speak out against anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Hence, New Immigrant Community Empowerment, NICE, was born.
NICE strives to be an advocacy group that gives new immigrants a voice.
Our philosophy is that if you are here as a resident, then you need and
deserve access to critical services, such as housing, health care, education
and business opportunities.
However, it is not a one-way street. We also explain to new immigrants
that they have a responsibility to be involved in the civic process, to
understand the way the government structure works and how they can become
engaged in the political process in a meaningful way.
In order to help bridge the gap between elected officials and immigrants,
we conducted a series of surveys in 2000. The result clearly showed a
disconnection between politicians and their constituents, especially in
immigrant communities.
Of the 257 residents surveyed, both immigrants and non-immigrants, only
seven percent of them could name their City Council member. In addition,
we found that immigrants showed a fear and distrust of the American political
system.
THE GOVERNMENT ACCESS AND ACCOUNTIBILITY CAMPAIGN
In my years of working with government (I was on the staff of a state
legislator), I have heard a number of elected officials say that they
are going to ignore constituencies that are unorganized (typically immigrant
communities, communities of color, poor communities) until they get their
act together. I found this remark disheartening.
NICE wants to make sure that our representatives are not taking their
immigrant constituency for granted. As a result, The Government Access
and Accountability Campaign was formed. The campaign asks new City Council
representatives to increase accessibility, and the equitable allocation
of services and resources to their constituents, bycomplying with three
suggestions.
- City Council members must hold town hall meetings twice a year and
provide interpreters when a significant portion of the district is made
up of English language learners. This will not only keep people up-to-date
on issues in their district but lessen the distrust of government among
immigrants.
- Council members are asked to do a survey on the needs of their district
and to make it available in the dominant languages of sizable communities
within their district. Comprehensive data must come directly from the
community, not information extracted from federal, state and local agencies.
- The last request is that council members make an Annual Constituent
Service Report available, upon request, to the community. Accountability
reports are required of public and private companies, non-profits, and
others, and yet, there is no similar measure in the City Council. This
report will help us to gauge what our representatives are doing for
the year.
As of today, 26 City Council members have already joined this campaign,
including those who hold influential leadership posts, including Speaker
Gifford Miller, the chair of the Finance Committee David Weprin, and of
the Land Use Committee, Melinda Katz. We expect the model provided by
the Government Access & Accountability Campaign to be a successful
formula of political participation.
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