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Click on the link below (scroll down to the bottom) to see Gov. Patrick's executive order no. 503, "Integrating Immigrants and Refugees Into the Commonwealth."

The following article is from IrishEmigrant.com/boston [2].

Gov. Deval Patrick signed a measure aimed at launching a statewide project focused on how to better integrate the state’s immigrant and refugee populations into the civic and economic life of Massachusetts.

The New Americans Agenda Executive Order was signed Wednesday, July 9, 2008.

On Thursday, July 10, Patrick addressed new Americans at a naturalization ceremony held at Boston’s Fanueil Hall.

Officials with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA) were to conduct a voter registration drive outside the event to promote civic engagement as a vital component of American democracy.

Eva Millona, executive director of the MIRA Coalition, applauded the initiative.

“By signing the executive order, Gov. Patrick has demonstrated his ongoing commitment to increased opportunity and higher civic engagement for all residents of the Commonwealth,” said Millona. "This order is the beginning of a crucial statewide integration project. Under the executive order, the Governor's Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants, in partnership with MIRA and the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants, will hold a series of community meetings across the state to learn from immigrant community members and to assess the challenges of integration for both immigrants and government.”

Millona said the meetings will provide the foundation for a set of policy recommendations to be presented to the Patrick at the end of the project.

"We, in Massachusetts today, are facing a variety of economic and labor challenges,” said Millona. “The talent that already exists, within the newcomers who have chosen to make their homes here, must be nurtured with investment.

Millona said immigrants represent 14 percent of the population of Massachusetts and 17 percent of its workforce, adding that more of these immigrants are becoming citizens.

“It is the interest of Massachusetts' economic and political future to ensure that these individuals flourish and continue to contribute to the Commonwealth's growth and productivity,” said Millona. “We must find opportunities to grow and expand together. By working together, we can help make Massachusetts the best state in the union to live in, to work in, to grow up in, to grow old in, to raise our families in, and to leave to our children."

Source: IrishEmigrant.com/boston [3]

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CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO SEE GOV. PATRICK'S EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 503, "INTEGRATING IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES INTO THE COMMONWEALTH"