Community Benefits Statement & Principles

At the heart of the National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC) is our belief that immigrant and refugee integration is essential for equity and is part of the broader work for equity, justice and dignity for all who call America home. This means a fully shared American life -- shared access, shared prosperity, shared opportunity, and shared power -- for all communities. This commitment is echoed in these Community Benefits Principles that NIIC upholds and which we believe are essential to uplifting immigrants, refugees, people of color and historically disadvantaged communities across our country:

  • Since our founding, NIIC has always been anchored and co-hosted by local organizations that work everyday in the cities and regions where the conference is situated. These organizations play a leading role in shaping the content and program for the conference, and their leadership is essential to ensuring that NIIC speaks to local and regional needs, concerns and audiences.

  • NIIC uplifts the regional story, leadership, perspectives, concerns and visions of the region and locality in which we are situated each year. This includes ensuring that local leaders and organizations are featured across the NIIC program – from our main stage plenary sessions to issue area track sessions to film screenings, author talks, special trainings and more.

  • NIIC uplifts the solidarity, strength, and transformative power of our movements supporting and led by immigrants and refugees as well as the unique story of the local region and its diverse communities, including [delete: Detroit and Michigan, including the region’s diverse communities of] African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian & Pacific Islander Americans, [delete: African Americans], Native Americans and Latinx Americans.

  • NIIC is committed to accessibility and ensuring that low-income attendees from the host region are particularly prioritized both through the distribution of scholarships and by providing significantly discounted registration fees to local groups with limited resources.

  • NIIC uplifts local artists, featuring them on our main stages in front of the entire NIIC audience.

  • NIIC supports local businesses, entrepreneurs and artists, featuring them in our Expo that particularly showcases products, services, programs, literature and art of interest to and created by immigrants, refugees and people of color.

  • NIIC encourages our more than 1,000 attendees to patronize locally-owned businesses and cultural institutions and attractions during their time at the conference. We particularly elevate entities that are owned by people of color, immigrants and refugees.

  • NIIC believes in the dignity of all work and supports workers and the right to organize. Wherever possible, NIIC is sited in union venues.

  • Wherever possible, NIIC uses local vendors to provide the services, products and materials needed for the conference, prioritizing entities that are owned by people of color, immigrants and refugees.

NIIC is committed to an America that welcomes, celebrates and uplifts all communities.

Please see here for more information about NIIC’s leadership, including our National and Regional Partners, Steering Committee and Endorsing Organizations.