Immigrant Integration

Silicon Valley is made up of diverse individuals, many of whom are recent immigrants who seek to make meaningful contributions to our community.  PACT is committed to providing opportunities for all to become engaged shaping the public debate on issues that impact their lives.

PACT promotes and fosters immigrant integration - a two-way process in which newcomers and long-time residents work together to build a secure, vibrant, and cohesive community for everyone. 

PACT is one of the only places in our community that bring people together from all walks of life - immigrants and non-immigrants, poor and middle class from diverse ethnic backgrounds - through their shared concern about the well-being of their children, families and communities.  We work to build bridges of understanding, respect and support between diverse immigrants and non-immigrants to develop understanding, breakdown stereotypes, build common ground and develop new relationships and alliances.

PACT brings together people across diverse backgrounds to work on issues of common concern - improving education, expanding access to health care, addressing the foreclosure crisis, for example - as well as issues specific to immigrant communities.  Such issues include improved relations between city and county agencies and immigrant communities, creating pathways for citizenship and engaging new citizens as active community members. 

In 2008, PACT initiated the County Task Force on Law Enforcement and Immigrant Community Relations co-chaired by PACT, San Jose City Councilmember Sam Liccardo and District Attorney Dolores Carr.  The San Jose Police Chief, Santa Clara County Sheriff are also member.  The Task Force is focused on improving communication between local law enforcement and immigrant residents by informing the community that local officials have committed that their departments and agencies will not participate in unmandated federal immigration activities and deportation efforts.  PACT's grassroots leaders educate the officials about the concerns of the community and hold the officials accountable for their commitments.

PACT is conducting surveys in the community about people's experiences with and trust in law enforcement.  The results will inform and guide our work, in partnership with the Task Force and the City of San Jose, to improve relations between the San Jose Police Department and the Latino and immigrant communities.

PACT is also working for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level with our colleagues in the PICO National Network.  PACT is a member of the Silicon Vally Alliance for Immigration Reform (SVAIR) and Reform Immigration for America (RIFA).