Systemic issues of race, class, social positioning and other identity markers inevitably intersect with the policies and programs we shape. Those in power are often unable to recognize many complex roadblocks that stand in the way of progress for populations that do not enjoy the benefits of generational wealth.

Having worked for many years in various educational support roles, I have borne witness to the ways these layered elements of identity are often overlooked and create extended challenges for newer Americans. Every year – especially during an election cycle – we are treated to renewed calls for expanding access and opportunity to the underserved and underprivileged. It is disheartening to hear rehearsed promises made from politicians about improving peoples’ lives while they ignore vital interconnections between economics, education and other theaters of life that contribute to the holistic picture of how people are doing.

Times are economically challenging across the board, but recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s “Labor Force Characteristics of Foreign-born Workers” report suggests that there has been an increase in unemployment for immigrant populations relative to those who have domestic citizenship – and that the roles most immigrants occupy remain primarily grounded in the noble and essential, but rarely lucrative, world of service-based employment and entry-level trades.

Speaking on behalf of the many English-language learning students I have had the privilege of helping (teens and adult learners alike), this data tracks. Despite the best efforts of very well-meaning and critically progressive organizations providing some foundational services for new Americans, there remain key gaps in the way we stitch together the various elements of life that allow these newer generations of Americans to build up their economic resources and create deep, stable roots. Our government services and local nonprofits do some truly remarkable work to help these populations, but limited resources often make sustainable community buy-in difficult – all the more so when funding sources shift with political winds and fail to take hold in ways that are not merely paying to keep the lights on, but actually contributing to multiyear projects.

Admittedly it is also difficult to sort out issues of immigration and verification of foreign credentials. Workforce development and educational professionals have to sift through voluminous pages of documentation to assess whether domestic and foreign university curricular standards align or whether a professional certification (in law, medicine, etc) can be applied towards a pathway for recertification here in the U.S.

The result often means a significant recommitment of time and money by new Americans to make a lateral movement from origin nation to an adopted American identity. Furthermore, many students I have known have become heartbroken when they realize they need to take on multiple minimum-wage jobs just to meet daily needs because there is no clear pathway to the socioeconomic tools necessary for a higher standard of living. The same has held true for learners at the high-school level, who can sometimes be one of the first in their family to obtain a degree or explore higher education. These students have expressed deep frustrations – with administrators, policymakers, and state and federal providers. They often feel unseen and thus not valued by systems that were never made with them in mind and that rarely “see” the realities of their everyday psychological or material needs. They become highly disaffected with unclear admissions requirements, hidden costs and financial aid issues that surround the pursuit of advanced education.

All of this is to say that it is well past time that our local, state and national communities take a deeper look at our systemic processes and reimagine the way we creatively deploy resources – bringing together tried and true stakeholders with imaginative new grassroots programs.

Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are not enough on their own as policy objectives. We have to work in concert on the everyday level to rebuild bridges across sectors, look and listen closely to the voices of those who have come to our country seeking a better life and invite them fully into the conversations we have around both our dinner and congressional tables. These are the places where lived experiences and legislation intersect.

If we can reenvision the web of interconnections – better tying schooling with workforce training, housing with food access, transferred credentials with investments in new businesses – we might be able to leverage the best of who we have been historically into who we can be, a powerful coalition of the familiar experience of American life with the innovative and creative thinking of those who have chosen our nation as a new home. That, to me, is the “American Dream” at its finest.