A new report found Connecticut can do more to support its growing immigrant population.
The Migration Policy Institute report examined various policy areas to see how these areas can better aid immigrants. While the state has programs to help immigrants, the report noted a lack of funds and infrastructure strains upward mobility.
Julia Gelatt, U.S. immigration policy program associate director for the institute, said in some parts of Connecticut, having a sizable immigrant population is a new phenomenon.
“There’s lots of good will and lots of good intentions,” Gelatt explained. “But thinking about immigrants isn’t always baked into the structure of how the school system is working, how business development is done, or how people who think about renters, think about who those renters are.”
Gelatt pointed out education has many areas where there is room for improvement, despite state efforts to better aid immigrant students. The report recommended identifying dual-language learners early on, to better support these students. The state has already enacted bilingual education for K-12 students, though the report stressed there are not enough educators in the state who are trained in multiple languages.
Along with exploring policy, the report also included a data profile of immigrants in the state. They account for 15% of the state’s population and make up all the state’s population and workforce growth during the last 15 years. Another section of the report focused on interviews with people running programs to support immigrants, which Gelatt added can be challenging.
“I think we heard about so many smart efforts,” Gelatt acknowledged. “At the same time, a lot of the services that immigrants are receiving are being provided by nonprofits that don’t have a lot of funding, and are relying heavily on volunteers to do their work, so it’s a very scrappy effort.”
She stressed the conversations occurred as fears of mass deportations under the Trump administration began to rise. Gelatt noted immigration arrests are now occurring regularly, and with ICE agents at courthouses and community locations in Connecticut, many immigrant families are scared to leave home.
Report: CT immigrant families need better support from the state was originally published by the Public News Service and is republished with permission.