Title
Calling on the Committee on Labor and Civil Service of the Council of the City of Philadelphia to hold hearings on increasing access to City services to immigrant and language-minority populations, including the development of hiring guidelines and goals, and to determine progress made toward that end.
Body
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia is a diverse City with immigrants from many parts of the world, who work, own homes, open businesses and contribute to the economic, social, and cultural well-being of our neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, Growth in Philadelphia's population and small businesses over recent decades has been significantly driven by immigrants, with an increasing number of Philadelphians being foreign born; the United States' Census Bureau has recently estimated that 176,373 residents, or 12% of the City's population, are immigrants; and
WHEREAS, Latinos are the largest and one of the fastest growing minority communities in the United States, having grown to 53 million in 2012 and representing 17% of our nation's population, and as of the 2010 Census nearly 200,000 Latinos make up 12.3% of the population of the City of Philadelphia; additionally, Asians make up 6.3% of the City's population; and
WHEREAS, More than one in five Philadelphians speak a language other than English at home according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, including 53,763 Spanish-speakers who speak English less than "very well"; additional predominant languages spoken by persons in Philadelphia who speak English less than "very well" are Chinese (all dialects - 15,984 persons), Vietnamese (9,959 persons), and Russian (7,824 persons), and there are concentrations of Philadelphians who primarily speak Arabic, African languages, and others; and
WHEREAS, Mayor Michael Nutter has recognized the importance of serving the needs of the immigrant and Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities in the City of Philadel...
Click here for full text