Portugal officials visit Lincoln to help craft migrant welcoming plans

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - When welcoming new immigrants to Portugal in the future, guidelines will include strategic plans from the City of Lincoln.

On Tuesday, three officials from Portugal visited the Capital City as a part of their goal to learn about the best migrant welcoming plans. They spent the day visiting city officials as well as cultural and community centers across town.

“There are a lot of communities around Lincoln that are also thinking about immigrant inclusion, and they’re made up similarly to the way that a lot of cities in Portugal are,” said Briana Broberg, Welcoming America. “Similar demographics and similar needs and interests.”

“We understood, for example, there was a cultural center that was made of several cultural centers,” said Miguel Graça, project coordinator. “In fact, they wished to work together in the same space, so it’s similar to the one-stop shops we have in Portugal.”

The group will continue their U.S. field trip by visiting Minnesota on Wednesday. The experiences they bring back to Portugal will translate into new guidelines for migrants who come to their country this summer.

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