The United States is in the midst of its fourth wave of mass immigration, this one characterized by newcomers from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Even though immigration is a prominent part of the country's DNA, fears about immigrants' ability to integrate have accompanied each new immigration influx, and the current one has been no exception.

Integration is not necessarily a smooth process. It entails uncomfortable adjustments among immigrants, their descendants, and the host society in which they settle.

However, just as previous waves of immigrants eventually found their way into the mainstream of American life (even those who were initially considered "unassimilable"), the recent inflow of immigrants is integrating reasonably well according to five main indicators:

• Language proficiency,
• Socioeconomic attainment,
• Political participation,
• Residential locale, and
• Social interaction with host communities

Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that US immigrants are learning the English language faster now than in the last wave of mass immigration at the beginning of the 20th century.

Read the rest of this May 2011 report (PDF) on how well U.S. immigrants are integrating into society here >>

Many other Migration Policy Institute papers, audios and videos can be found here >>

A cross section of 180 stakeholders attended the second Summit on Interpreting called "Quality Interpreting in a Push-Button World" - How Professional Identity and Technology are Driving the Future of our Field."

The two-day conference included plenary-style presentations, debates and panel discussions focusing on how technology is changing the interpreting profession and how to raise the profile of interpreting. Medical, legal, sign language, education, conference and community interpreters who work in a broad variety of language combinations were amply represented.

In the opening session, the organizers, Katherine Allen and Barry Slaughter Olsen of InterpretAmerica, reiterated their theme of uniting around the similarities in the interpreting field. They stated that there were two concerns coming out of the first Summit - professional identity and the impact of technology on interpreters and the field. The goals of this summit were to provide a forum where stakeholders from across the profession can interact and collaborate to discuss these and other issues.

Nataly Kelly, Chief Research Officer at Common Sense Advisory was the keynote speaker on "Technology Trends and the Interpreting Marketplace." She outlined the past, present and future of technology in the field. She made the point that while there are close to 7,000 languages in the world, only about 2,000 have writing systems. In addition, one in every five individuals has literacy issues, and that means auditory and visual communication is paramount.

Read the rest of this report here >>

Reported by:

Linda Joyce, CMI
Language Access Specialist
Ljoyce6403@yahoo.com

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the resident population of the United States, projected to 07/31/11 at 20:30 UTC (EST+5) is:

Component Settings for July 2011:

• One birth every............... 7 seconds
• One death every............. 13 seconds
• One international migrant (net) every.... 45 seconds*
• Net gain of one person every.... 12 seconds

* For those of us who serve limited-English speakers, it is interesting to note that "One international migrant (net)" enters the U.S. every 45 seconds

Note: The U.S. population clock is consistent with Census 2010 data and the most recent national population estimates. The U.S. Census Bureau produces national population estimates annually using the latest available data on births, deaths, and international migration.

For more information on the methodology for producing national estimates, see http://www.census.gov/popest/topics/methodology/2009-nat-meth.pdf

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total population of the World, projected to 07/31/11 at 20:34 UTC (EST+5) is 6,952,559,524. See http://www.census.gov/population/popclockworld.html

The National League of Cities (NLC's) "Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration (MAII)" program is a unique nationwide effort dedicated to helping cities and city leaders address the issues surrounding immigrant integration.

Part of this outreach involves research to identify existing good integration practices that can be replicated in other cities.

For example, the two previous Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration reports, Indianapolis Model, 2000-2007 and 20 Cities, 20 Good Practices, both profiled innovative city programs working to incorporate immigrants into city life. This third installment continues this effort with a focus on the issue of public safety.

Amidst the national debate surrounding the role of local law enforcement in immigration enforcement, local and federal officials alike need to remember the important role public safety personnel play in immigrant integration and outreach.

Police often provide one of the first lines of response in interacting with and informing new immigrants about the rights and responsibilities associated with living in American cities.

Read the rest of this NLC study by downloading a PDF file here >>

Examples of Best Practices Detailed in the Study:

• Brooklyn Center, Minnesota - Joint Community Police Partnership
• Newport News, Virginia - Hispanic Outreach Initiative
• Norfolk, Virginia - Hispanic Resource Officer
• Las Vegas, Nevada - Hispanic American Resource Team


• Portland Oregon - AMPAC and Newcomer Meet and Greets
• Chelsea, Massachusetts - Community Action Teams and the Newcomer Program
• Saint Paul, Minnesota - A Community Outreach Program
• Fort Wayne, Indiana - Hispanic / Immigrant Liaison Officer


• Washington DC - Special Liaison Branch
• Dallas, Texas - Asian American Unit
• Des Moines, Iowa - HONRA / AORO
• Lowell, Massachusetts - Cambodian Community Liaison
• Storm Lake, Iowa - Community Service Officers


• Garden Grove, California - Bilingual Community Service Officers
• New Haven, Connecticut - Elm City Immigration Project: Public Safety and Police Outreach
• New York, New York - Police Immigrant Outreach
• Winston-Salem, North Carolina - Spanish Emergency Translation Cards
• Indianapolis Model, 2000-2007: A Comprehensive Case Study

Read this NLC news article by Ricardo Gambetta: "NLC Releases New Report: Public Safety Programs in the Immigrant Community" here >>

Download the full report here >>

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages, as well as offering a wide variety of corporate openings.

Over-the-phone, Certified Medical Spanish Interpreters (CMI) to work from home in the U.S. Must have passed the National Medical Interpreter Certification Exam or be CMI certified through Language Line Services.

We are very actively seeking two experienced on-site interpreters in Contra Costa County, California. One in Punjabi, the other in Farsi. Formal training/certification preferred.

As for work-at-home, over-the-phone interpreters, we have openings, especially in Spanish, and in a number of other languages including:

• Cakchiquel
• Chaldean
• Hassaniyya
• Hausa
• Karen
• Karenni
• Mixteco
• Nepali
• Trique
• and several others (see our Web site)

And, finally, top Corporate opportunities include:

• Executive Administrative Assistant
• Solutions Architect - Lingo Systems
• Senior Language Specialist - Vietnamese
• Customer Service Representative
• Payroll Specialist
• Senior Sales Executive - Healthcare Acquisitions
• Sales Executive - Acquisitions Healthcare Southeast
• Sales Associate - Acquisitions
• Sales Executive - Acquisitions Healthcare Northeast
• Account Manager - Healthcare Central
• Account Manager - Healthcare East Coast

For non-interpreter positions, please apply at: www.languageline.com/careers. Click on "Apply Today" under "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions to add your profile.

EEO/AA Employer.

* Some positions may have been filled by the time you apply. However, new positions open up every week.

Visit our Career Center here >>

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