Con Edison Immigrant Artist Program Newsletter, Issue No. 13

Featured Organization: Immigration Task Force @ the Queens Borough President’s Office

Each of the five boroughs of New York City could easily be its own mid-size city. Indeed, all the boroughs are located in their own separate counties, and each is headed up by a borough president. In Queens, the most multi-ethnic county in the entire United States, Borough President Helen Marshall has dedicated special attention to the topic of immigration, convening an Immigration Task Force as part of the Department of Immigrant Affairs.

Beginning in 2002, the Task Force, led by long-time Jackson Heights resident Susan Tannenbaum, has brought together immigrant service providers and advocates on a regular basis for updates on federal immigration policy, for networking opportunities, and for resources that can help to further improve service delivery – in Tannenbaum’s words, to “build social capital.”

Recognizing that many members of our immigrant artist community reside in Queens, NYFA Immigrant Artist Project has been represented at several Task Force meetings. Most recently, IAP staff attended the June 17th Task Force at Flushing Botanical Gardens. The topic of the meeting was immigration reform, with a presentation by Gabriela Villareal of the New York Immigration Coalition on the repressive new law in Arizona and what we can do as New Yorkers to counter such ill-conceived measures.

In addition to the Task Force, the Queens Department of Immigrant Affairs also offers:

• A Free Translation Program in collaboration with the Asian/American Center at Queens College, where non-profit organizations, government agencies and civic groups can have their documents translated free of charge from English to Spanish, Chinese, Korean, or Hindi.
• The Queens Diversity Calendar, a listing of events and observances of importance to the multi-ethnic residents of Queens
• Important information on how to avoid or report Immigration Fraud 

To learn more, visit the Queens Borough President’s Office website.

Images: Top, Mentors and mentees share their work and achievements with fellow Mentoring Program participants, alumni, and IAP Staff at the 2010 Mentoring Program Final Meeting and Celebration at DUMBO General Store. Photo: Elena Dubas.