Philly immigrants make recommendations to the new mayor Nov. 25, 2015

“I am from South Philly and you are from South Philly. We need more economic development for small businesses (...) but the most important, as first mentioned the sanctuary, please stay as a sanctuary city. If Ann (O’Callaghan) wouldn’t have given me sanctuary I wouldn’t be here”

Hani White, Women's Opportunities Resource Center

“We have not accomplished an environment where people are really seen as equal. There is discrimination in our city. I hope working closely with our new mayor we will be able to offer services to people in a way that brings all of us together, we all can play a role in providing support to people who need it”

Manuel Portillo, The Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians

“Until I established myself I received absolutely no help from anyone. I just didn’t know there were any resources available. Does every immigrant, especially the newly arrived, know about these resources? We can do a better job about outreach to the community, when immigrants have a chance to thrive we make great contributions to the region.”

Dafan Zhang, attorney

“I would advocate for educational programs for local businesses to help them understand the value of professional immigrants”

Liudmila Hanchar, lawyer

"As an entrepreneur my recommendation for the new mayor is to have a startup incubator program for immigrants to provide training, connections, and mentorship"

Yasmine Mustafa, ROAR For Good

“[Now] I try to counsel a lot of immigrants that are coming to this country. If there is one thing that you need to guard it is your financial health, because that is the key to become a contributing member of this nation”

Festo Okidi, Philadelphia Youth Network

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