Immigrant Integration Initiative

** On January 28, 2011 before government and community representatives at the Skokie Public Library, the Interfaith Housing Center released Open to All: Different Cultures, Same Communities, a report it commissioned of the Voorhees Center of the University of Illinois at Chicago to document immigrant life in the northern suburbs of Chicago and "best practices" for civic engagement. This project was underwritten by The Chicago Community Trust. 

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Highwood immigrant tenants discuss housing issues.

Recognizing the need to successfully integrate immigrants into the civic and economic fabric of their new homes in the United States, The Chicago Community Trust awarded over $1.5 million in ten grants to local municipalities and agencies around the Chicago region in a three-year initiative that began in 2007.

Locally, the Trust’s grant to the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs to Interfaith, in partnership with the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement (VC) at the University of Illinois-Chicago, aims to:

• Identify the housing patterns and distribution of immigrant populations in Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Niles, Northbrook, and Skokie;
• Suggest affordable housing policies that can better meet the needs of immigrants; and
• Organize immigrant leadership to ensure they play an active role in development decisions that affect immigrants.

As immigrants increasingly bypass the City of Chicago, the suburbs have become the region’s “new Ellis Island.”

Immigrant tenants in Skokie.

Interfaith spent the last seven years tracking the consequences of this phenomenon in Highwood, a community whose Mexican population has grown to more than half the total population, although none hold elected office. About 80% of Latinos in Highwood are renters, and with upscale development pressures, the city administration has instituted ordinances and entertained development proposals explicitly designed to diminish the rental stock. This not only has a major impact on Latinos, but also assumes that homeownership is more essential to the vitality of a community than are rental units.

Evanston immigrants.

“While debate continues about immigration reform on the federal level, locally, governments, not-for-profit organizations and civic groups must act on the day-to-day challenges of integrating immigrants into their communities,” says Ngoan Le, vice president of program for The Chicago Community Trust. “This initiative supports community efforts to meet the needs of and tap into the strengths of these new residents.”

Alicia De La Cruz is the Project Director. For more information or to get involved in this timely project, contact Alicia at (847) 501-5760 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .