Yesterday, Upwardly Global was delighted to see the introduction of the U.S. Citizenship Act, an important step in ensuring that our country more fully welcomes immigrant contributions and embraces their vital role in our communities and economy. The bill, introduced by Sen. Bob Mendenez (D-NJ) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA 38), embodies the vision laid out by the Biden-Harris Administration last month.
We are thrilled to note provisions that would meaningfully advance the inclusion of immigrants and refugees into the U.S. workforce, and that we have been working tirelessly with you—our community—to center. These include:
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A call for a federal study on the barriers affecting employment opportunities for immigrant & refugee professionals and best practices to alleviate them; Upwardly Global spearheaded work with partner organizations that helped to shape this concept with Rep. John Katko in a bipartisan bill introduced last fall;
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Funding to improve immigrant access to education institutions, English-language supports, and skilling platforms—services that have been proven to facilitate workforce integration, including at the professional level; and
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A pilot program to more fully support the trailblazing welcoming and inclusion work being done at the state and local levels.
Every day, we see what is possible when we invest in the potential of immigrants: Upwardly Global’s more than 7,500 program alumni make critical contributions to our workforce and economy, serving in essential fields like healthcare and IT, bringing resilience, diversity, and innovation to our workplaces, and adding hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy.
This is all made possible because of a growing commitment to championing their skills and contributions. We are delighted at the potential that this legislation has to bring our work—and the work of so many other trailblazing organizations—to scale.
We are committed to being a resource to the White House and Congress in building a full federal agenda on immigrant inclusion. See our five policy priorities here.