Vilsack stresses importance of immigrants
By Charlotte Eby Journal Des Moines Bureau| Posted: Friday, August 12, 2005
DES MOINES -- Gov. Tom Vilsack stressed the importance of welcoming newcomers to the state and touted New Iowan Centers that will serve four Iowa communities with growing immigrant and refugee populations.
The centers, which will open in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Council Bluffs, will help new Iowans find jobs and housing, and educate them on their rights and responsibilities as Iowa residents.
"It's another way of encouraging those populations to be part of the Iowa experience, and it helps grow the economy," Vilsack said during a speech at the Principal Financial Group Thursday.
Centers have already opened in Sioux City, Muscatine and Ottumwa, three communities with substantial Hispanic populations.
In the last year and a half, the centers have helped 7,000 people find jobs. New workers can improve their job and language skills and also get translation services.
The New Iowan centers, run by Iowa Workforce Development, also help employers find new workers and provide diversity training.
"These centers have been extraordinarily successful," Vilsack said.
He acknowledged some Iowans had a difficult time with the idea of bringing immigrants to the state when he first championed the idea a few years ago because they felt economically challenged.
But he said Iowa and its economy will be better off and stronger if the state embraces the idea of diversity.
"I think that what we have to do is, we have to remove the fear, which is hard. And the first thing we've got to do is, we've got to tell people we've got a plan to make things better; we've got a plan to grow this economy," Vilsack said.
An $850,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor will help establish the new centers. Vilsack said they will help communities with growing Asian, Hispanic, Bosnian and Sudanese populations.
Vilsack said the federal government is also looking at borrowing Iowa's idea to open up other centers in the country.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
The centers, which will open in Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Council Bluffs, will help new Iowans find jobs and housing, and educate them on their rights and responsibilities as Iowa residents.
"It's another way of encouraging those populations to be part of the Iowa experience, and it helps grow the economy," Vilsack said during a speech at the Principal Financial Group Thursday.
Centers have already opened in Sioux City, Muscatine and Ottumwa, three communities with substantial Hispanic populations.
In the last year and a half, the centers have helped 7,000 people find jobs. New workers can improve their job and language skills and also get translation services.
The New Iowan centers, run by Iowa Workforce Development, also help employers find new workers and provide diversity training.
"These centers have been extraordinarily successful," Vilsack said.
He acknowledged some Iowans had a difficult time with the idea of bringing immigrants to the state when he first championed the idea a few years ago because they felt economically challenged.
But he said Iowa and its economy will be better off and stronger if the state embraces the idea of diversity.
"I think that what we have to do is, we have to remove the fear, which is hard. And the first thing we've got to do is, we've got to tell people we've got a plan to make things better; we've got a plan to grow this economy," Vilsack said.
An $850,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor will help establish the new centers. Vilsack said they will help communities with growing Asian, Hispanic, Bosnian and Sudanese populations.
Vilsack said the federal government is also looking at borrowing Iowa's idea to open up other centers in the country.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.
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