From immigrant to city leader, how Amos Izerimana helps Louisville's foreign-born build better lives

When Amos Izerimana was 12 years old, he had never heard of Kentucky, much less Louisville.

He arrived in 2007, from a refugee camp in Tanzania, into Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport; his mother sitting beside him. Izerimana remembers that midnight in May and seeing the twinkling lights below him as his siblings spoke about how they could be above heaven as they flew in — soon, his thoughts turned to how many unfamiliar faces surrounded him.

He, his parents and his 11 siblings were immigrants from the Republic of Burundi in sub-Saharan Africa. Before he left Tanzania, he saw violence and poverty nearly every day. Resources were scarce for the large family.

But he was in Louisville and didn't speak a word of English. He bore the scars of what he had lived through in his homeland. Thanks to Louisville's religious community, however, he began to heal.

“When you come to this country, you automatically think about ‘how do I start over’ and you don't have an opportunity to heal from anything that you may have experienced before you get here," Izerimana, 28, said. "I was lucky to have that through our interfaith community here and over ways to kind of reflect on my experience, specifically actually getting to understand the traumas that I was carrying.

"It really made me want to sort of like replicate and spread that opportunity with everybody else — both here in Louisville, but also around the world."

Now, as the city's first director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, he's getting his chance.

Bringing experience and knowledge back to Louisville

Izerimana is coming to the end of his first year leading the division, which was created when Mayor Craig Greenberg took office in January to focus on improving the services that immigrants and refugees receive when they come to the city.

Greenberg elevated what used to be the Office of Globalization and chose Izerimana because he was familiar with his work at the office and because people knew him within the immigrant community.

"He is very well respected by members of the immigrant communities throughout Louisville, and really passionate about continuing to elevate this work," Greenberg said. "He is doing a wonderful job strengthening and expanding the services and support that we provide the immigrant community across our city."

Growing up in the woodland neighborhood, Izerimana attended Newcomer Academy and Olmsted Academy North before graduating from Waggener High School and then Berea College. He earned a master's in conflict resolution from Brandeis University outside of Boston before getting a master's degree in international law from United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica.

As one of just two people in his family to graduate from college, attaining those degrees mean a lot to him, he said, but his goal was always to return to Louisville to help others like him.

Izerimana's office is key for the city as Jefferson County's immigrant population continues to expand. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the county's immigrant population grew 49% to 79,042 from 2011-2021. The Kentucky State Data Center estimates the population could grow to more than 151,000 by 2040, with nearly 80,000 of those people potentially living in Louisville.

"It's one thing to have an office for Immigrant Affairs in the mayor's office, but it's another thing when you have all the entire community working together to ensure that ... all sectors working together to ensure that we are being inclusive and welcoming to our newcomers," Izerimana said.

Part of that is hosting events throughout the city that not only expose native residents to the cultures of their neighbors through events like WorldFest and The Big Table at Iroquois Park, but also starting meaningful and deep conversations that lead to those neighbors being included in the day-to-day of city life.

"And that will is significant because for somebody who's new," Izerimana said. "They will get to see themselves as part of the community and for somebody who's been here for a long time, they really get to learn more about the different cultures that we have in move or directly from somebody that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to meet."

With the revamping of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Izerimana said his goal now is to create more inclusive spaces while also creating economic development and employment opportunities for Louisville's foreign-born residents.

"Immigrants are wanting to be part of this community and feeling as part of this community. One of the things that our community can do more of is open our arms," Izerimana said. "The diversity and the diversity of culture and languages and traditions that immigrants bring to our community, because that makes our community more, you know, stronger and vibrant."

'I love it here'

Through working with the city's Global Louisville Leadership Academy, a program that trains leaders in the immigrant community, Izerimana said there are four struggles immigrants face when coming to Louisville: housing, navigating public transportation, getting a job, and language access.

He already knows how hard language barriers can make joining a community and starting a new life. When he first arrived, he started learning English by picking up words and phrases watching cartoons and translating for his family or other Burundi families. But he knows not everyone has that benefit.

With the Language Access ordinance that Metro Council passed in 2022, the Office of Immigrant Affairs is currently working to make Metro Government services accessible for all the residents in Louisville.

"Within our office, we're working with Metro agencies to develop those plans and ensure that language accessibility is included within the ways that we plan program services and the way that the community can access those programs," Izerimana said.

He said the city has changed since he first arrived in 2007 and believes Louisville still has opportunities for growth.

"I think if I were to go back to the refugee camp, I will be very humbled to know that I lived ... in a city the size of Louisville, " Izerimana said. "So yeah, I love it here."

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Amos Izerimana working to help Louisville as Immigrant Affairs leader