May 2, 2025/Midnight

Erie, PA.— The city of Erie, PA is one of several cities around the country that have the title of a “Certified Welcoming city.” A welcoming city is a community that actively embraces and includes immigrants and newcomers through policies and programs designed to ensure their well-being and integration. Other cities with this title are Boise, ID, Chicago, Baltimore, MD, Louisville, KY, New Orleans, San Jose, CA, Philadelphia and many more.

In the United States, immigrants today account for 14.3 percent of the population according to the Pew Research Center. Upon arrival into the states, immigrants will choose their place of residence based on a number of factors, including affordability of housing, tax policies, closeness to family members, educational systems, jobs opportunities and most importantly immigrant-friendly policies. But where can newcomers look to find which areas fit their needs?

That is where Welcoming America comes in. Welcoming America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 2009 by founder and director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and Welcoming Tennessee, David Lubell. The organization partnered with the White House on the Building Welcoming Communities Campaign in 2014 after President Barack Obama’s revival of the White House Task Force on New Americans.

Welcoming America has developed a Welcoming Network, or a map of around 300 nonprofits and local governments that are deemed welcoming and inclusive communities spread all of the country. Immigrants can use this network to assess the tools and resources the included cities have for newcomers. In September of 2014 Dayton, Ohio became the first Certified Welcoming city under the organization.

In 2017 the organization also established the Certified Welcoming program, which formally designates cities and counties that fit under the Welcoming standard, setting them apart from the rest of the country as welcoming places.

In order to become a Welcoming city, the inquiring city must meet the “Welcoming Standard.” This standard is determined through seven framework areas that the cities need to meet in order to qualify. The frameworks include: Civic Engagement, Connected Communities, Economic Development, Education, Equitable Access, Government and Community Leadership, and Safe Communities.

In the City of Erie, immigrants make up about 4.3 percent of the population according to Data USA. Erie has been considered a place of refuge for immigrants for many years and has had other nonprofit affiliates that helped with this mission such as the USCRI Erie field office, formerly known as the International Institute of Erie (IIE), which has been welcoming immigrants to the Erie areas since 1919. But it was not until Nov. 18, 2020, that the city was officially announced as a Certified Welcoming place.

Mayor Joseph Schember states, “If I accomplished nothing else as a mayor, I want to eliminate racism and prejudice in Erie.” Schember continues, “So every member of the Erie community is welcomed and accepted. I believe in the talents and gifts that everyone possesses. If we accomplished that, we cannot even imagine what an incredible city Erie would be.”

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