City of Littleton, Colorado

“I became a US citizen just two days after I started to work for LI3. I also voted for the first time in the last election. It was such a great feeling!” Alejandra Harguth

Against a backdrop of changing demographics common to Colorado and other new destination states, civic and government leaders in Littleton decided to address head-on the changes in their community brought about by immigration. In 2005, these leaders launched a bridge-building initiative to foster closer ties between native-born residents and immigrants, encourage civic engagement and greater cultural understanding, and connect immigrants with services that could bolster their professional, educational, and health outcomes.

The Littleton Immigrant Integration Initiative (LI3) includes a one-on-one citizenship mentoring program believed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services to be unique and through which nearly all students pass their citizenship exam.

Seeking to create a coordinated cross-agency response, the LI3 initiative also operates an innovative One-Stop Information Center housed at a local public library that assists immigrants on topics ranging from jobs, education, health and dental care, transportation, banking, and housing.

For more on Littleton's LI3 program, visit:
www.littletonimmigrants.org

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Exceptional Immigrant
Integration Initiative

Littleton exemplifies a thoughtful, smart approach to engage the community proactively to understand and address the changing demographics in a new destination state, stressing the values of inclusiveness, civic engagement, and two-way education and cultural enrichment. Part of what makes this initiative so special is that it is the result of a dialogue initiated by a range of leaders in the community, from civic life and government, and that its execution relies not just on government but on community volunteers. This unique one-on-one citizenship mentoring program matches community volunteers with immigrants studying for their citizenship exams, resulting in a nearly perfect pass rate and improved mutual cultural understanding. Littleton is an excellent example of a local government initiative that cuts across a wide range of government agencies and community programs, showcasing the important and strategic role that local governments can play in coordinating integration efforts.

About Doug Clark,
Mayor of Littleton

Doug Clark was first elected to the Littleton City Council in 1995 for a four-year term. He was Littleton's representative to the Denver Regional Council of Governments from 1997 to 1999. Clark chose not to seek re-election at the end of his term in order to spend more time with his family. He was re-elected in 2005 to a two-year at-large term and again in 2007 to a four-year at-large term. In November 2007, he was elected by his City Council peers to serve a two-year term as Littleton's mayor. In this capacity, he represents Littleton at the Metro Mayors' Caucus, a cooperative alliance of the mayors of 37 cities and towns in the Denver metropolitan region. A computer consultant, he has lived in Colorado for 23 years.

About Alejandra Harguth,
LI3 Program Coordinator

Alejandra Harguth has been the Immigrant Information Coordinator for the Littleton Immigrant Integration Initiative (LI3) since November 2006. She helps immigrants integrate into the community at the One-Stop Information Center, located at the Bemis Public Library in Littleton.

Prior to working for LI3, she worked for a law firm overseeing the human resource and accounting department.

Her family migrated to the United States from Mexico in the early 1980s; Ms. Harguth became a US citizen in fall 2006, two days after beginning her work at LI3.

Ms. Harguth has been recognized internationally, nationally, and locally for LI3's unique programs. She has received the 2008 "A Hero Makes a Difference" award from the Rotary Club of Littleton and the 2009 Martin Luther King "Distinguished Service Award" from Arapahoe Community College and the City of Littleton.