Session Two: Friday, March 7, 2008

Grappling with Immigration: Re-envisioning Americans

The subject of immigration is fraught with tension. The debate is hot – you can hear or read about it almost daily.

And the comments are strident: "America is for Americans." "Why don’t they go back where they came from?" "They’re taking our jobs." "Why don’t they speak English?" "They drive down wages." "They are a burden to our cities." "We need to enforce the laws."

"Immigrants are the face of change that people see in their daily lives," says Steve Miller, presenter for this session. "Our world tomorrow isn’t going to look like the world I grew up in, I will live among a mix of people that look differently, sound differently, and may even dress differently than I am accustomed. This kind of change is unsettling, especially if it happens quickly, and it has," he emphasizes.

According to Steve, the United States is in the middle of the third "great wave" of immigration. "The Pacific Northwest is a magnet for new immigrants for a number of reasons," he adds.

Why do people come to the Puget Sound Region? Where do they work? Are they filling jobs that Americans really don’t want or is there a shortage of workers? How does immigration affect your workplace and organization? How does immigration affect you personally?

The purpose of this session is to help employees, managers and leaders understand immigration as it applies to business and the organizational environment – the issues, the challenges, the opportunities

With more than 15 years experience in the intersection of immigration and business, Steve will explain why companies and organizations actively seek and recruit immigrants, how immigration is connected to the larger forces of globalization, how greater enforcement of immigration law may impact your organization, what to do when you discover a valuable employee does not have valid status, and how the New Americans Initiative, soon to be launched by the government of Washington State, will impact both organizations and individuals.

Participants will gain a survey of the immigration landscape, both nationally and for the Puget Sound Region. You’ll learn about today’s immigrants, why they come to the United States and to our Region, who is legal and who is undocumented, and how to approach the complicated subject of "immigration status." You will also have the opportunity to dialogue in small groups about some of the immigration issues presented.

Steve poses thoughtful questions in preparation for our dialogue: "We have to understand the choices and options that we have, as a nation, as a community, and as organizations, and we have to be clear about the consequences of what we decide to do." What kind of climates do we foster in our communities and in our workplaces? Do our climates welcome people of diverse nationalities and backgrounds? Can we accommodate and work with their language differences? Do our climates inspire trust or induce fear? As the new Americans and the international workforce come into our midst, are we prepared to include them?