Here are some of the 20 recommendations the Patrick administration has committed to completing over the next year as part of the New Americans Agenda, a statewide effort to better integrate immigrants into Massachusetts.
■ Strengthen efforts to pass legislation giving in-state tuition rates to all immigrant students who have lived in the state for three years, graduated from a Massachusetts high school, and are on a path toward citizenship.
■ Create a statewide task force, led by education and labor officials, to eliminate the waiting list for English classes statewide. Report due January 2011.
■ Track the result of efforts to reduce dropout rates among Latino students and students who are not fluent in English and have some of the highest dropout rates in the state.
■ Find ways for immigrants, especially medical professionals, to transfer the licenses or professional skills gained in their homeland to Massachusetts, so that they can reestablish their careers here.
■ Aid immigrant-owned businesses by providing technical assistance and development services. Report on progress due January 2011.
■ Buy translation equipment for use at state public meetings by September 2010 and make it available to all state agencies.
■ Continue to fund citizenship programs and restore health care funding for legal immigrants whose coverage was reduced in the 2010 budget.
■ Continue working to increase the number of loans granted to minority home buyers by MassHousing, the state’s affordable housing bank.
