Carnegie names six AANHPI immigrants among this year's 'Great Immigrants'

The Carnegie Corp.'s 2022 Great Immigrants.

As Immigrant Heritage Month comes to an end and the nation prepares for the July 4th celebration, the Carnegie Corp. of New York announced its annual list of Great Immigrants, six of whom are Asian Americans. 

“Our Great Immigrants Great Americans event each year is a reminder of the proven economic and societal benefits of encouraging immigrants to seek citizenship and become actively involved in our democracy,” said Geri Mannion, managing director of the Corporation’s Strengthening U.S. Democracy program and a naturalized citizen of Irish descent. 

“The pandemic added new challenges to the federal immigration system, including a backlog of applications and the inability to hold naturalization oath ceremonies," Mannion acknowledged. "Through philanthropic collaborations and the work of nonprofit service providers, we aim to make the process easier and more accessible to millions of eligible immigrants.”

This year, 34 naturalized citizens were honored for their contributions and actions that have enriched and strengthened the society and democracy of the United States.

Among the Asian Americans* named this year by the philanthropic foundation come from a wide range professions, from a chef to a journalist to novelist. They include:

• Padma Lakshmi (India) Host and Executive Producer, Top Chef and Taste the Nation
• MJ Lee (South Korea) White House Correspondent, CNN
• Malinda Lo (China) Novelist and National Book Award Winner
• Syukuro Manabe (Japan) Professor, Princeton University, and Nobel Laureate
• Karen Nakamura (Indonesia) Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
• Punit Renjen (India) Global CEO, Deloitte

The 2022 Class of Great Immigrants is comprised of naturalized citizens from 32 countries and a wide range of backgrounds. This year, the Corporation is highlighting the work of immigrants who have been leaders in their local communities through their work in education, the arts, law enforcement, public service, health care, and small business ownership, as well as for their contributions as advocates for education equity, climate change, food security, and the homeless.

Other honorees are national leaders in their fields, including two Nobel Prize laureates, a COVID-19 vaccine developer, a university president, an expert on nuclear threat reduction, a leading researcher on disabilities, the global CEO of the professional services firm Deloitte, the winningest coach in the history of U.S. women’s soccer, a principal dancer for American Ballet Theatre, and celebrities such as tennis star Steffi Graf, director Julie Delpy and rock 'n' roll legend Neil Young.

Also among the honorees is Aquilino Gonell from theDominican Republic. He was awarded  Congressional Gold Medal recipient as U.S. Capitol police officer. He sustained significant injuries during the January 6, 2021, attack and has been a vocal public advocate for accountability in its aftermath.

The Corporation’s Strengthening U.S. Democracy program supports immigrant integration through a portfolio of grantees focused on immigration policy reform. Citizenship is the ultimate goal of integration, and among the Corporation’s long-term priorities is encouraging eligible immigrants to naturalize. 

For more than a decade, the Corporation, in collaboration with other philanthropic partners, has supported the New Americans Campaign, which is led by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. To date, the campaign and its national network of nonprofit partners have helped more than 540,000 lawful permanent residents (LPRs), known as green card holders, apply for citizenship. Services include low-cost application assistance in multiple languages and an online process. 

FYI: More information is available at www.carnegie.org/citizenship.

According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there were 9.2 million LPRs eligible to naturalize in 2021. Their pathway to citizenship is not easy, given the complex nature of the naturalization process and processing delays, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. As a result, the Migration Policy Institute, a Corporation grantee, reports that the number of lawful permanent residents who were naturalized in 2020 marked a low point for the last decade. The Great Immigrants campaign aims to raise awareness among LPRs, the general public, and policymakers.

The complete list of the 2022 class of Great Immigrants:

• Hakki Akdeniz (Turkey) Owner, Champion Pizza, and Advocate for the Homeless
• Michael Amiridis (Greece) President-Elect, University of South Carolina
• Bertine Bahige (Democratic Republic of Congo) Wyoming National Distinguished Principal, 2021
• Maria Elena Bottazzi (Italy) Professor and Associate Dean, Baylor College of Medicine
• Jorge Cavero (Bolivia) Physician and Professor, University of Illinois College of Medicine
• Ibrahim Cissé (Niger) Professor of Physics, MIT, and MacArthur Fellow
• Herman Cornejo (Argentina) Principal, American Ballet Theatre, and UN Messenger of Peace
• Bita Daryabari (Iran) Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, and Computer Scientist
• Julie Delpy (France) Award-Winning Actress, Director, and Screenwriter
• Fabienne Doucet (Spain) Educational Equity Advocate and Professor, New York University
• Jill Ellis (England) Soccer Coach and President, San Diego Wave Fútbol Club
• Daniel Finn (Ireland) Pastor and Chaplain and Cofounder, Irish Pastoral Centre, Boston
• Lorena Garcia (Venezuela) Chef and Founder, Chica Restaurants
• Jesus Garza (Mexico) Mayor, Arcola, Illinois
• Aquilino Gonell (Dominican Republic) U.S. Capitol Police Officer and Congressional Gold Medal Recipient
• Steffi Graf (Germany) Tennis Champion, Olympian, and Grand Slam Winner
• Siegfried Hecker (Poland) Nuclear Scientist and Director Emeritus, Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Nicole Hernandez Hammer (Guatemala) Environmental Scientist and Climate Justice and Labor Organizer, SEIU
• Lina Hidalgo (Colombia) Judge and Chief Executive, Harris County, Texas
• Jorge Labarga (Cuba) Justice, Florida Supreme Court
• Padma Lakshmi (India) Host and Executive Producer, Top Chef and Taste the Nation
• MJ Lee (South Korea) White House Correspondent, CNN
• Polina Lishko (Ukraine) Professor, University of California, Berkeley, and MacArthur Fellow
• Malinda Lo (China) Novelist and National Book Award Winner
• Syukuro Manabe (Japan) Professor, Princeton University, and Nobel Laureate
• Karen Nakamura (Indonesia) Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
• Arrey Obenson (Cameroon) President and CEO, International Institute of St. Louis
• Toyin Ojih Odutola (Nigeria) Visual Artist
• Ardem Patapoutian (Lebanon) Professor, Scripps Research Institute, and Nobel Laureate
• Karl Racine (Haiti) Attorney General, District of Columbia
• Punit Renjen (India) Global CEO, Deloitte
• Tashitaa Tufaa (Ethiopia) Owner, CEO, and President, Metropolitan Transportation Network
• Neil Young (Canada) Musician, Grammy Winner, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee
• Karen Zacarías (Mexico) Award-Winning Playwright and Founder, Young Playwrights’ Theater

The 2022 honorees mark the 17th class, who will be recognized with a full-page public service announcement in the New York Times on the Fourth of July, as well as through tributes on social media. 

The program is a tribute to Andrew Carnegie, who made his fortune in the 19th century in railroads and in the steel industry. His rags-to-riches story provided the inspiration for his philanthropic efforts later in life. Mannion said: "Our annual recognition of outstanding immigrants is a tribute to the legacy of Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who, like these honorees, found success as an American and gave back to his adopted country."  

* An argument could be made to include a Hakki Akdeniz, who immigrated from Turkey, as an Asian American because Turkey is, geographically, on the Asian continent. However, in keeping with this blog's  policy of deferring to a person's own self-identification, homeless advocate Akdeniz won't be identified as Asian American.

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