by Michelle Burgess 

During the "Immigrant Integration: Listen, Reflect, Act" workshop at NLC's 2010 Congress of Cities and Exposition, participants viewed clips from the documentary "Welcome to Shelbyville." The film depicts events and conversations from Shelbyville, Tenn., as residents try to address the tensions resulting from the influx of new immigrants, primarily Hispanics and Somali refugees. The film will air nationally in May 2011 as part of PBS's Independent Lens Series.

Shelbyville represents the new trend in U.S. demographic changes with immigrants increasingly moving to suburbs or non-traditional gateway cities, including midsize cities like Las Vegas, Atlanta, Nashville, Boston and Detroit. Part of the attraction to these smaller cities originates from a hope for economic prosperity and job opportunities without the pressure of large city labor competition. In Shelbyville, for example, a Tyson's chicken plant provided numerous, low-skill jobs to recent immigrants.  

These new immigrants tend to have limited English and require more support in order to become successfully integrated into the community. Unfortunately, many new gateway cities lack experience dealing with diverse cultures and languages. Local governments often have limited infrastructure and inadequate resources in place to deal with the needs of immigrants.

This lack of an effective integration framework results in miscommunication and cultural clashes, frustrating long-term residents and immigrants alike. "Welcome to Shelbyville" depicts some of these cultural gaps that caused misinterpretation and antagonism towards Shelbyville's immigrants. 

The more important message of "Welcome to Shelbyville," however, highlights the positive potential of integration: the power and changing influence found in community leaders and community dialogue. The Shelbyville experience illustrates how starting discussion can help bridge these cultural divides and begin to identify needs for future municipal policy and programming. 

The 90-minute workshop featured Ellen Schneider, executive director of Active Voice, and former NLC second Vice President Les Heitke.

Schneider spoke about the background and motivations behind the film, while Heitke shared his personal experience working with immigrants and overcoming integration barriers as the mayor of Willmar, Minn. His city's minority population grew from 3 to more than 30 percent during his 16 years of service and immigrants started nearly 40 new businesses in the community.

The approximately 125 workshop participants also engaged in round table, small group discussions prompted by the following questions: "What scenarios, actions, attitudes in the film are happening in your community? What leadership actions can you take in your community to bridge the gap between cultures? How can NLC help you?"

In the lively discussion that followed, participating mayors and local officials shared their own experience with immigration, exploring how the film reflected those experiences and brainstorming new ways to address immigrant integration.

All participants received copies of NLC's discussion guide, Civic Engagement and Recent Immigrant Communities, so they can continue to support and encourage discussions about immigrant integration in their own communities.

Shelbyville's example and the experiences of cities across the United States prove that local leadership and the process of fostering relationships between immigrant communities and local officials are pivotal in starting conversations and integration programs. NLC's Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration program strengthens these efforts by providing cities with the information and assistance required for immigrant integration.

Details: To learn more about NLC's Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration, contact program manager Ricardo Gambetta at gambetta@nlc.org.