The launch of the White House Task Force on New Americans marks a new phase of leadership from the federal government on immigrant and refugee issues. Originally formed under the Obama Administration, the revival of this task force will focus on equitable access to workforce training, language access, education, and financial literacy.
Our Amani staff navigates these barriers to serve our clients each year. Through Welcoming Fort Wayne, we are able to serve as advocates for what can be done on a local level - and we are hopeful to contribute to the national conversation.
In November, Amani Family Services, through its Welcoming Fort Wayne initiative, announced its partnership with Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. and Downtown Fort Wayne Improvement District for the Gateways for Growth Challenge. Read the press release here. This year, our organizations will work together with the support of technical advisors to create a community narrative, backed by data, to highlight the importance of inclusion in civic engagement. Fort Wayne is one of only nine cities selected to participate this year.
Fort Wayne previously participated in the Gateways for Growth Challenge in 2017, receiving funding to create a research brief on “New Americans in Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana.” The groundbreaking report produced in partnership with Welcoming Fort Wayne, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, and Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County, showed that immigrants in Fort Wayne accounted for 24.7 percent of the overall population growth in the region between 2011 and 2016.
The report also shows that immigrants paid $161.3 million in taxes in 2016 including $104.4 million in federal taxes and $56.9 million in state and local taxes.
Receiving updated data this year is an incredible benefit to our city’s government, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. This data not only highlights the current impact of immigrants and refugees, it can be utilized to guage equitable access to education, employment, and entrepreneurship, which ensures the stability and prosperity of the multicultural community.