Welcomed, wearily


Carmen Reynoso, with 2-year-old Johana, at a women's support group at the Illinois Welcoming Center. Many immigrants far from their families find such groups to be a resource for improving their lives. (John Gress/ WPN for The Boston Globe)

By Maria Sacchetti
Globe Staff / August 13, 2008

MELROSE PARK, Ill. - In a yellow-brick building by the railroad tracks, the Illinois Welcoming Center is the crown jewel of a broad state initiative to help immigrants blend into mainstream America.

Audio A welcoming controversy
Yet the center is also an example of the initiative's disappointments.

Illinois's ambitious effort to lend immigrants a hand as they navigate their new homeland is being held up as a model for Massachusetts, but it has fallen far short of its expectations because of lack of state money. Now Illinois's program also stands as a warning as Massachusetts embarks on its own effort this year - with a billion-dollar deficit looming.

Two years ago, Illinois vowed to aggressively aid immigrants by providing welcoming centers across the state, a massive expansion of English language classes, and more help for immigrants applying for US citizenship. But today only one welcoming center is open and no new ones are planned; Illinois has $300,000 to expand English classes, not the recommended $25 million; and a citizenship program has helped less than 10 percent of those who are eligible to apply.

Illinois officials and community leaders said Massachusetts and other states are still right to follow their lead despite the challenges. They say it sets a tone that immigrants are welcome at a time when other states are focused mainly on driving illegal immigrants away.

Illinois had to cut more than $1 billion from its own budget this year.

"Our state government is in really bad shape right now. It affects everything, not just the immigrant initiative," said Ngoan Le, who cochaired a key panel in Illinois that drafted the recommendations. "At least there's a clear agenda that we can rally around."

Last month, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts rolled out a similar integration initiative. At a naturalization ceremony in Faneuil Hall, he told immigrants to applause that the Bay State stands ready to "help your dreams come true." Like Illinois did, Massachusetts officials and community leaders will study immigrants' needs and draft policy initiatives by July 2009.

"It's important for everyone to be upfront that there's not likely to be any funding for these initiatives anytime soon," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Illinois and Massachusetts officials said they were confident that funding for programs would increase when the economy improves. Or, Massachusetts officials said, they could seek private funding.

"Everybody now is hurting for money. That doesn't mean that crafting recommendations and policy isn't productive," said Marcia Hohn, who is on the governor's advisory council that will help oversee the hearings. "I don't see things magically happening, but I think it's laying a good solid foundation for the future."

In Illinois, officials and community advocates said the demand for services is significant.

Since the Illinois Welcoming Center opened a year ago in Melrose Park, 1,700 people have poured through the glass door on an unobtrusive street in this village of 23,000. The turnout is more than state officials had expected - but far less than the state's nearly 1.8 million immigrants - so officials are now hosting "welcoming days" in other cities to spread around the resources. The center is a one-stop shop where immigrants can apply for state services, get help solving problems, and sign up for English and citizenship classes and an array of other services.

A visit to the center one day last month revealed the bewilderment that hits immigrants when they venture outside their enclaves. Immigrants shop easily at nearby stores such as Supermercado Torres and Video Puebla. But at the welcoming center, they needed help applying for health insurance, fighting charges on a telephone bill, or battling depression.

Juana Solis, a 27-year-old immigrant from Mexico, sat on a cushioned sofa in the lobby and applied for state-funded health insurance for her year-old daughter, who needs vaccines Solis cannot afford. She had no idea that state-funded insurance was available and had planned to pay for the vaccines if the girl got sick and had to go to the emergency room.

"It's so complicated," the housewife and harried mother of two said, speaking in Spanish. "There are lots of services you don't know exist and you don't know how to take advantage of them."

Inside, tucked into a conference room, a half-dozen women battling depression gathered for a book club. Each felt alone - far from her extended family in Mexico - and all were struggling to deal with deaths, divorce, or raising their children.

"Sometimes you feel like you're drowning," said Rosario MartÃ*nez, 39, who recently separated from her husband, as she sat around a cozy table at the book club. "You come here and you feel better."

When 36-year-old Adriana Tafolla arrived at the center last year, she was deeply depressed because several relatives had died. A friend had referred her to the center, which sent her to a therapist and invited her to attend book club every week. Now she is the most bubbly person in the room - and is in charge of organizing the group.

"I would never have done it on my own," she said.

Some in Illinois are critical of state funding for the Welcoming Center and other programs because they serve illegal immigrants as well as those here legally. The Illinois All Kids program is open to all children, and the state allows illegal immigrant children to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.

"Why should Americans have to pay for that?" said Rosanna Pulido, the descendant of Mexican immigrants and founder of the Illinois Minuteman Project, which opposes illegal immigration. "If I have tax dollars going anywhere, it's going to be for seniors and veterans who built this country."

But others say this can help the state economically. And advocates and state officials credit foreigners for driving labor force growth, building businesses, and buying houses.

"We are doing what other states are going to have to be doing one day," said José Luis Gutiérrez, director of the state's Office of New Americans. "We are getting ahead."

Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com.
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