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 Dear
Friends and Colleagues,
From states and cities to our own households, these days it seems as
though everyone is talking finances. Whether re-writing our own
household budgets or dealing with the fallout of Pennsylvania's
80-day delay, there is much to be done.
And when money and time feel scarce, good information is more
valuable than ever.
So we've chosen the most useful nuggets from the last two
months to share with you. Read on to find out:
- The
most remarkable food wholesaler you've never heard of
- Why
some drivers should be prepared for PennDOT delays
- The
"Unnatural Causes" of death and what you can do to
prevent them
- New
research on the controversial question of immigrants and
native-born Americans' roles in the job market
- How
your organization can host a naturalization ceremony for new
citizens
Plus, a sneak peek at immigration-related laws proposed in other
states, a heads-up about an upcoming event, and a strong argument
against a controversial police program.
But first... what does the Welcoming Center do? We were taken
aback on two recent occasions when longtime supporters called us
asking "Do you know anyone who...?" and it turned out we
were providing both of the services in question.
Of course, in this busy world, it can be hard to keep track of the details
of which organization handles what. To that end, a quick refresher
on just what it is the Welcoming Center offers:
- Free
brief legal consultations via monthly legal clinics
- A
youth academic and social support program open to all students
at South Philadelphia High School
- Small
business assistance for native-born and immigrant entrepreneurs
- Public
forums and educational sessions for community groups and others
- General-interest
publications on immigration-related topics
- Informational
and referral on immigration-related issues
Want to know more? Pick up the phone and give us a call at
215-557-2626. We're always happy to answer your questions.
Anne O'Callaghan
Executive Director
www.welcomingcenter.org
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Jump-Start a Healthy Discussion
in Your Neighborhood
Calling all block
captains, teachers, community leaders, health care providers, public
health workers, and students! The Philadelphia Department of Public
Health wants you to be a community partner for screenings of
the remarkable new film Unnatural Causes.
Unnatural Causes is a 7-part DVD series that helps viewers to
think about health in a different way. Good health is more than
just personal lifestyle choices, genes and access to health care,
although all of these things are important.
There is more: The conditions in which we are born, live and work --
such as our jobs, schools, built space, and transportation -- can get
under our skin and affect the way we act. A lack of access to
resources can lead to long-term stress that can decrease our chances
for good health.
To set up a screening in your neighborhood, contact Mayla
Henderson at 215-686-5263 or mayla.henderson@phila.gov.
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 Expect Delays in Driver Licensing
The law firm of Klasko, Rulon Stock and Seltzer reported recently
that changes at PennDOT are causing significant delays in the issuing
or renewal of driver's licenses.
While in the past, bringing your green card or other legal
immigration document was considered acceptable proof of
immigration status, PennDOT is now requiring all legal immigrants
applying for driver licenses to not only bring their documents in
person, but also have their immigration status confirmed again
electronically.
Unfortunately, PennDOT is relying on the federal Systematic Alien
Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which is not regularly
updated. Klasko estimates that applicants whose status cannot be
immediately electronically verified will have to wait 2-3 weeks
to have their applications processed in Harrisburg.
For more information, see the Klasko update.
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 Spotlight on
Local Business:
East Coast Tropicals Inc. and owner Paola Abruzzese
Editor's Note: Whether you've lived in Philadelphia for one year
or thirty, you may never have heard of this remarkable food
wholesaler. This month, the Welcoming Center's Isabelle Rambo
interviews the owner of East Coast Tropicals, Philadelphia's go-to source
for fufu flour and more.
Isabelle Rambo: Hello Paola, thank you for talking with
us. We like to highlight businesses that are immigrant-owned or
serve the immigrant communities in Philadelphia. Can you tell
me the name of your business and where it is located?
Paola Abruzzese: East Coast Tropicals Inc. is located at 1615
North Hancock Street in Philadelphia.
IR: Tell me a little bit about your business. How long
has it been up and running? What products do you sell? Who are your
customers?
PA: East Coast Tropicals has been in business since
1993. We are a wholesaler of West African, Caribbean, and
Hispanic foods. We import many different & interesting
foods for these communities. Our customers are people who own
restaurants and grocery stores, caterers, people who cook for their
churches, who run community organizations, and sometimes just very
large families who require cases of food!
IR: Did your business start out serving one particular
community?
PA: We started out selling Hispanic food to the Latino
community and Caribbean foods to the Jamaican community. We
have since branched out to other ethnic groups who are looking for
food products from their home countries.
IR: Have you noticed an increase in demand in food products from
any particular ethnic group?
PA: We have noticed that recently more Nigerian and
Liberian people are interested in finding food products from their
home countries. As a result, we have increased our supply of
West African products including pounded yams, fufu flour, palm nut
soups, smoked fish, cow skins, etc.
A lot of West Africans cook with food that has been dried and pounded
into flour. This is because in many parts of this region
refrigeration is not as accessible. Even though the refrigeration
issue is not relevant here in the States, many West African
immigrants enjoy being able to cook foods the same way they did at
home.
IR: Tell me a little bit about your location at 1615 North
Hancock Street?
PA: We have a warehouse where we stock all of our products. We
keep it very clean and really focus on customer service. We
work hard to keep our margins as low as possible so that we can
deliver wholesome products at an affordable price.
We also ripen our own plantains at our facility. Our customers
come in and shop several times a week to stock up their stores.
We are easy to get to, just behind 2nd & Girard.
IR: What do you enjoy most about running East Coast Tropicals?
PA: I love interacting with the people that I sell my products
to. I really try to understand the pulse of the regions that I
serve and adjust our stock of products depending on the needs of the
community. Each day I am learning about new food
products. It is great because I learn so much about people and
their cultures, all through the avenue of food!
If you are interested in learning more about East Coast Tropicals,
visit Paola at the warehouse location or email her at:
ectropicals@hotmail.com.
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 A Greater Philadelphia:
Envisioning
our Region's Future
The Center City Proprietors Association and the Economy League of
Greater Philadelphia invite you to join an upcoming breakfast
discussion.
Over the past four years, a group of 100+ business, civic, and
government leaders have met with their peers in other major cities to
learn how they confront challenges similar to those of Greater
Philadelphia.
Now it's your turn: What potential do you see to make
Greater Philadelphia a world-class place to establish a business
and grow a community? Join our esteemed panel for a discussion
of their experiences from Chicago, Atlanta, and with their own
organizations, and share their aspirations for our city and region.
Panelists:
David W. Brown, President, Brown Partners
Paul R. Levy, President and CEO, Center City District
Anne O'Callaghan, Executive Director, Welcoming Center for New
Pennsylvanians
Andrew Toy, Director, Retail Resource Network, The Enterprise
Center
Moderated by Steven Wray, Executive Director, Economy League
of Greater Philadelphia
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Hosted by:
Montgomery McCracken
123 South Broad Street, 28th Floor
Justice Roberts Room
This event is FREE for CCPA members and Economy League Board Members,
$30 for others and includes a light breakfast. Space is
limited. Reservations and pre-payment are required.
RSVP to CCPA: 215-545-7766 or online.
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 Want to Host a Citizenship Ceremony?
Watching immigrants take the oath to become new Americans is
joyous and moving event. We are delighted that the United States
Citizenship and Immigration Service has begun to bring these
ceremonies out into the community, including a ceremony with
Mayor Nutter at City Hall earlier this year.
On Oct. 3, 2009, the Council of Indian Organizations in Greater
Philadelphia will become the next organization to host a
naturalization ceremony. All members of the community are encouraged
to attend. For event details, see the CIO invitation and the USCIS press release.
Immigrants who have pending N-400 applications for citizenship and
may be eligible to participate in this ceremony should contact
Akanksha Kalra at akanksha@kalra.us or 610-275-1110 by Sept. 25.
To find out more about hosting a naturalization ceremony at your
community organization, please contact the USCIS Community
Relations Officer in Philadelphia, Carol Rogoff Hallstrom, at
carol.r.hallstrom@dhs.gov or 215-255-4837.
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 New Police Program Raises Concerns about Safety
City Councilman (and Welcoming Center board member) Jim Kenney joined
Councilmembers Maria Quinones-Sanchez and Curtis Jones Jr. at a
recent press conference raising concerns about Philadelphia Police
Department participation in data-sharing with federal immigration
authorities.
Both elected officials and immigrant advocates such as the Welcoming
Center have spoken out against the data-sharing agreements, which can
make crime victims and witnesses less willing to contact police.
The Philadelphia Daily News quoted Kenney: "If
you're a witness to a crime, if you're a victim of a crime, if you're
in a car accident, you should not fear calling 9-1-1 and having the
police come and take a report from you. This makes people afraid of
our police." Such fears can create a vicious circle, in which
victims who are afraid to come forward then inadvertently hamper
police ability to identify and arrest offenders, thus decreasing
public safety.
In addition, reports from other jurisdictions around the country add
credence to concerns that data-sharing agreements such as Philadelphia's
result in increased racial profiling, and raise the risk of detention
even for U.S. citizens and immigrants who have legal status.
Contrary to claims that the programs target serious felons, new
research from the University of California also suggests that the
overwhelming majority (98%) of detentions are for
misdemeanors such as minor traffic violations.
In light of these findings, the Welcoming Center has signed on to a
public letter to Police Commissioner Ramsey, urging him to opt out of
the program, which is not mandatory.
Especially in a time of budgetary crisis, spending scarce money and
local police hours on federal responsibilities is a poor use of
resources. We are hopeful that Commissioner Ramsey will instead
refocus his department's efforts on issues such as crime prevention,
including merchant safety.
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 Out and About
in Delaware County
Where
there is an opportunity to inform and educate public about
immigration issues and services, the Welcoming Center likes to be
there. Most recently, we attended two events in Delaware
County. Representatives from the Welcoming Center attended both
Rep. Joe Sestak's Working Families Resource Summit, and the
Southeastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Essential Services
Rally.
The Working Families Summit was organized by the Rep. Sestak's office
to provide constituents with information about resources to compete
in the workforce and care for themselves and their families.
Held at Interboro High School, more than 300 residents from across the
area gathered to learn about the government agencies and nonprofit
organizations that are available to help residents with housing,
student loans, employment, health care, disability aid and other
existing support.
Rep. Sestak (pictured above with Welcoming Center staff member
Frances Heron and a volunteer) was there to greet the service
providers and residents who attended.
The Welcoming
Center also joined the Southeastern PA Coalition for Essential
Services at
a rally in Media on August 26 to urge PA lawmakers to pass a good and
fair budget for all Pennsylvanians. This year's 80-day state
budget impasse affected tens of thousands of individuals, as well as
hundreds of nonprofit organizations.
No budget means no contracts and no payment, which means that the
cash flow that nonprofits depend on dried up. Nonprofits that
provide everything from job assistance to food for families were
forced to consider how long we can survive without getting paid.
The Welcoming Center joined dozens of other nonprofit organizations
in the rally to emphasize the importance of passing an equitable
budget.
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Research
Corner
A new report argues that -- contrary to popular belief -- immigrant
and US-born workers are generally not competing for the same
jobs.
The Immigration Policy Center report draws on data showing that these
two segments of the population -- unemployed US natives and
recently-arrived immigrants -- tend to have different levels of
education, to live in different parts of the country, to have
experience in different occupations, and to have different amounts of
work experience. As a result, the two groups cannot be easily
substituted for one another.
Researchers concluded that immigrants, including recent arrivals, and
native-born Americans actually complement each other in the labor
market.
For more, see the full report, The Disparity Between
Immigrant Workers and Unemployed Natives: Untying the Knot,
produced by Rob Paral & Associates for the Immigration Policy
Center.
State Laws Related to Immigrants and Immigration
The National Conference of State
Legislatures recently released an analysis of new
immigration-related laws at the state level.
In just the first six months of 2009, states have enacted a
record-breaking level of immigrant-related legislation. More
than 1400 bills have been reviewed in the first half of 2009 alone,
doubling last year's figure. A total of 144 laws and 115
resolutions have already been enacted in 44 states, and legislatures
have passed 285 bills.
While requirements for documentation and legal status remain the most
popular issue, state officials are beginning to see eligibility for
health care services as a top priority. In addition, Missouri
has increased funding for naturalization assistance. West Virginia's
state-sponsored scholarships are no longer limited to U.S. citizens,
and North Dakota is acting on legislation regarding career
development for new immigrants.
The level of state legislation related to immigrants has continued to
increase rapidly since 2005. For more details, please see the the
NCSL mid-year 2009 update, State Laws Regarding
Immigrants and Immigration.
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Support Our Work!
 As mentioned above, your personal support is vital to
the Welcoming Center, particularly in tight economic times. We
appreciate donations of any amount.
You can make a donation via credit
card through our website, or send a check to the Welcoming Center at
P.O. Box 58188, Philadelphia, PA 19102.
We are a 501(c)3 organization and a member of the United Way. Our
United Way donor option number is 14726.
The official registration and financial information of
the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians may be obtained from the
Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within
Pennsylvania, 1 (800) 732-0999. Registration does not imply
endorsement.
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