Santa Fe is one of just eight communities in the country getting a grant that aims to boost immigrants’ participation in their local economies.
Santa Fe and Santa Clara County, Calif., were the only communities west of the Mississippi to receive the Gateways for Growth grant from the American Immigration Council and Welcoming America. The other awardees are Baltimore County, Md.; Brockton, Mass.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Pittsburgh, Penn.; Portland and Southern Region, Maine; and South Bend-Elkhart, Ind.
Marcela Díaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, an immigrant-led nonprofit that promotes worker and racial justice, said the grant will be used to conduct research and find out what immigrants need to enter the workforce, start businesses and be a part of the local economy.
“We feel like so many cities and counties and states will create really robust economic development plans without thinking very strategically about specific sets of workers,” Díaz said. “In this case, it’s immigrant workers and other minority workers who are in some of these low-wage essential industries. So we want to find out, what are the talents and the skills that they have to offer? What are the barriers to workforce development?”
About 14% of the city’s population are immigrants, more than half of whom are between 18 and 44 years old, according to the city’s proposal for the grant. Many of them work in the growing tourism sector or in essential services like construction, domestic work, landscaping, child care and home care for the elderly.
Díaz said their roles will become even more important as older employees age out of the workforce.
“We know that Santa Fe has a high median age, and we have a lot of baby boomers who are retiring,” Díaz said. “The people that are best poised to [replace them] are immigrant workers who already are very talented and skilled and have learned these skills within the sector but who have barriers to getting licenses, getting certifications.”
The grant will be for $13,000 with a local match, said Elizabeth Camacho, the city’s economic development and communications administrator. Somos Un Pueblo Unidos plans to contribute $7,500 to the research and the city plans to contribute $5,000 but hopes to increase that, Camacho said.
The research will be done collaboratively between all three organizations, with Gateways for Growth providing technical assistance and helping with number crunching. Camacho said the city also will look into working with organizations across the city to help reach the community.
“If we are deliberate and proactive about maximizing the contributions and the talents and the skills and the potential of this essential part of our community, then we will have a much stronger and a more inclusive economy as we move forward,” Díaz said.
