Open Society Foundations Along with Collaboration of Funders Highlight Immigrants’ Vital Role in Ohio Communities

Open Society Foundations Along with Collaboration of Funders Highlight Immigrants’ Vital Role in Ohio Communities 

Open Society Foundations, in partnership with a group of other philanthropy organizations, funded a Cleveland State University report, Our Pathway to a Brighter Future: Ohio's New Americans, which highlights the crucial role immigrants play in Ohio's economy. It also argues that further investments in services for immigrants would expand positive outcomes.

'Immigrants and their children represent the majority of projected labor-force growth in the United States over the next four decades,' said Richey Piiparinen, director of the Center for Population Dynamics in CSU's Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and the report's author. 'By making investments in supportive services here in Ohio, particularly for our newest immigrants, we can expedite their ability to positively contribute to Ohio's economy.'

'Ohio's immigrants drive cultural, economic, and social dynamism,' Piiparinen said. 'By improving language, legal, and healthcare services, we can help immigrants contribute to Ohio's economy and our communities more quickly. We must begin to imagine immigrant support services as a launch pad, not a safety net.'…