SUCCEED Act would unite our communities

The SUCCEED Act would provide for English literacy instruction on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, naturalization proceedings, civic participation and U.S. history and government. It would also provide critical technical assistance to states and localities and provide states grants to bring together diverse stakeholders, including business, faith, civic, philanthropic leaders, to create immigrant integration programs.

There is a dire need for the kind of English language acquisition resources the SUCCEED Act can provide. The latest Census figures reveal that more than 12% of Americans, over 37 million, are foreign born, and that close to 55 million Americans speak a language other than English at home. Furthermore, 8.6% of the American population that speaks a language other than English at home reports their English speaking skills as “less than very well.”

This bill is particularly important to the Asian American community. One in three Asian Americans are considered limited English proficient, and one in four Asian American households are linguistically isolated, meaning that everyone over the age of 14 speaks English less than very well. Over two-thirds of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is foreign born and more than 4.6 million AAPIs report speaking English “less than very well.” The SUCCEED Act would enable immigrants to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become fully active and engaged members of our society.

In a time of scarce resources, it makes more sense than ever to invest in education and integration of immigrants to maximize their contributions to our country. English language acquisition and integration programs help newcomers raise their wages and work productivity, participate in civic life as citizens and voters and fully use their skills to contribute to their communities. 

Throughout our country’s history, immigrants have built our infrastructure, fueled our economy through entrepreneurship, and made vital social and cultural contributions. Let’s honor those contributions by passing the SUCCEED Act.

Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) is the former chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Karen K. Narasaki is the president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center and a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice.