New Deal for New Americans Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1308 To establish the National Office of New Americans, to reduce obstacles to United States citizenship, to support the integration of immigrants into the social, cultural, economic, and civic life of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. TITUS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. TORRES of Cali- fornia, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CARSON, Ms. BUSH, Mr. POCAN, Mrs. CARO- LYN B. MALONEY of New York, and Ms. SEWELL) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, House Adminis- tration, Foreign Affairs, and Homeland Security, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the National Office of New Americans, to reduce obstacles to United States citizenship, to support the integration of immigrants into the social, cultural, eco- nomic, and civic life of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1308 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘New Deal for New Americans Act of 2021’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—NEW AMERICANS AND INTEGRATION Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. National Office of New Americans. Sec. 103. Federal Initiative on New Americans. TITLE II—PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE CITIZENSHIP, INTEGRATION, AND PROSPERITY Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Sense of Congress on access to legal counsel. Sec. 203. Legal Services and Immigration Assistance grant program. Sec. 204. English as a Gateway to Integration grant program. Sec. 205. Workforce Development and Shared Prosperity grant program. Sec. 206. Department of Homeland Security grants. Sec. 207. United States Citizenship and Integration Foundation. Sec. 208. Pilot program to promote immigrant integration at State and local levels. Sec. 209. Authorization of appropriations for Foundation and pilot program. TITLE III—REDUCING BARRIERS TO CITIZENSHIP Sec. 301. Sense of Congress. Sec. 302. Immigration service fees. Sec. 303. Waiver of English requirement for senior new Americans. Sec. 304. Reduce financial obstacles to naturalization. Sec. 305. Naturalization for certain United States high school graduates. Sec. 306. Family integration. Sec. 307. Revision of grounds for deportation. Sec. 308. Waiver to ensure access to citizenship. Sec. 309. Naturalization ceremonies. Sec. 310. Proud to Be a United States Citizen Program. Sec. 311. Mission of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Sec. 312. Automatic registration of eligible individuals. Sec. 313. Department of Homeland Security assistance in registration. Sec. 314. Voter protection and security in automatic registration. Sec. 315. Effective date. TITLE IV—REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AND INTEGRATION Sec. 401. Definition of Secretary. Sec. 402. Minimum number of refugees to be admitted. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1308 IH Sec. 403. Pre-arrival English language and work orientation training for ap- proved refugee applicants. Sec. 404. Update of reception and placement grants. Sec. 405. Case management grant program. Sec. 406. Increase in cash payments. TITLE V—PROTECTIONS FOR IMMIGRANTS Sec. 501. Personally identifiable information. Sec. 502. Voluntary participation in integration and inclusion activities. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) IMMIGRANT.—The term ‘‘immigrant’’ 3 means an individual who— 4 (A) is not a citizen or national of the 5 United States; 6 (B) is present in the United States; and 7 (C)(i) is in any status under the immigra- 8 tion laws; or 9 (ii)(I) is not in any status under the immi- 10 gration laws; and 11 (II) intends to resident permanently in the 12 United States. 13 (2) IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘immigra- 14 tion laws’’ has the meaning given the term in section 15 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 16 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 17 (3) REFUGEE.—The term ‘‘refugee’’ has the 18 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Im- 19 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1308 IH TITLE I—NEW AMERICANS AND 1 INTEGRATION 2 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this title: 4 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 5 the Director of the National Office of New Ameri- 6 cans. 7 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 8 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 9 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 10 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 11 National Office of New Americans established by 12 section 102(a). 13 SEC. 102. NATIONAL OFFICE OF NEW AMERICANS. 14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL OFFICE OF 15 NEW AMERICANS.—There is established within the Execu- 16 tive Office of the President an office to be known as the 17 ‘‘National Office of New Americans’’. 18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office are the 19 following: 20 (1) To welcome and support immigrants and 21 refugees in the United States. 22 (2) To promote and support immigrant and ref- 23 ugee integration into, and inclusion in, the social, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1308 IH cultural, economic, and civic life of the United 1 States. 2 (3) To ensure that the Federal Government and 3 Federal agencies promote the pursuit of United 4 States citizenship among immigrants and refugees. 5 (4) To ensure access to quality English lan- 6 guage learning programs that support the successful 7 integration of immigrant adults, including by en- 8 hancing— 9 (A) employment and career prospects and 10 economic integration; and 11 (B) social integration in local communities 12 and participation in civic life, including engage- 13 ment with State and local governments, schools, 14 and private and nonprofit community institu- 15 tions. 16 (5) To improve access to workforce development 17 programs, including by ensuring that such programs 18 meet the demand and the unique language, training, 19 and educational needs of immigrants and refugees. 20 (6) To coordinate the efforts of Federal, State, 21 and local entities to support the effective social, eco- 22 nomic, linguistic, and civic integration of immi- 23 grants, refugees, and the children of immigrants and 24 refugees. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1308 IH (7) To provide advice and leadership to the 1 President, Members of Congress, and other Federal 2 Government officials on the challenges and opportu- 3 nities facing such entities with respect to immigrant 4 and refugee integration. 5 (8) To evaluate the scale, quality, and effective- 6 ness of Federal Government efforts with respect to 7 immigrant and refugee social and economic integra- 8 tion, including access to United States citizenship, 9 English language learning, education, and workforce 10 development programs. 11 (9) To identify the anticipated effects of new 12 Federal policies on existing integration efforts and 13 advise the President on how to address potential in- 14 tegration needs and the effects of such policies. 15 (10) With respect to immigrant and refugee in- 16 tegration efforts, to consult on a biannual basis with 17 State and local government officials on challenges 18 and opportunities presented by such efforts. 19 (11) With respect to the activities described in 20 paragraphs (8) through (10), to ensure the inclusion 21 of the perspectives of immigrants and refugees. 22 (12) With respect to the administration of the 23 grant programs under title II, to consult with the 24 applicable heads of Federal agencies. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1308 IH (13) To submit to the President and the appro- 1 priate committees of Congress a biannual report 2 that describes the activities of the Office and the re- 3 sults of the consultation processes described in para- 4 graphs (10) through (12). 5 (c) DIRECTOR.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 7 by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Presi- 8 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 9 ate. 10 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director shall— 11 (A) establish policies, objectives, and prior- 12 ities for the Office with respect to immigrant 13 and refugee integration; 14 (B) with the assistance of the Deputy Di- 15 rector for Citizenship and Inclusion, the Deputy 16 Director for Workforce and the Economy, the 17 Deputy Director for Children’s Integration Suc- 18 cess, and the Associate Director of State and 19 Local Affairs, carry out the purposes of the Of- 20 fice, as described in subsection (b); 21 (C) serve as the Chair of the Federal Ini- 22 tiative for New Americans established under 23 section 103; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1308 IH (D) make recommendations to the Presi- 1 dent on changes in the organization, manage- 2 ment, programs, and budget of the Federal 3 agencies to promote the integration of immi- 4 grants and refugees; 5 (E) with respect to efforts to promote 6 United States citizenship and the integration of 7 immigrants and refugees, consult, support, and 8 coordinate with State and local governments; 9 and 10 (F) serve as a member of the Domestic 11 Policy Council and the National Economic 12 Council. 13 (3) POWERS OF THE DIRECTOR.—In carrying 14 out the responsibilities under paragraph (2) and the 15 purposes under subsection (b), the Director may— 16 (A) select, appoint, employ, and fix com- 17 pensation of such officers and employees as 18 may be necessary to carry out such responsibil- 19 ities and purposes; 20 (B) with the concurrence of the head of 21 the applicable Federal agency, direct the tem- 22 porary reassignment within the Federal Govern- 23 ment of personnel employed by such Federal 24 agency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1308 IH (C) use for administrative purposes, on a 1 reimbursable basis, the available services, equip- 2 ment, personnel, and facilities of Federal, State, 3 and local agencies; 4 (D) procure the services of experts and 5 consultants, in accordance with section 3109 of 6 title 5, United States Code (relating to appoint- 7 ments in the Federal service) at rates of com- 8 pensation for individuals not to exceed the daily 9 equivalent of the rate of pay payable for level 10 GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 11 5332 of title 5, United States Code; 12 (E) accept and use donations of property 13 from Federal, State, and local government 14 agencies; 15 (F) use the mail in the same manner as 16 other Federal agencies; and 17 (G) monitor the implementation of immi- 18 grant and refugee integration-related activities 19 of the Federal Government, including by— 20 (i) conducting program and perform- 21 ance audits and evaluations of each Fed- 22 eral agency; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1308 IH (ii) requesting assistance from the In- 1 spector General of the applicable Federal 2 agency in such audits and evaluations. 3 (d) DEPUTY DIRECTORS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Office 5 a Deputy Director for Citizenship and Inclusion, a 6 Deputy Director for Workforce and the Economy, 7 and a Deputy Director for Children’s Integration 8 and Success, each of whom shall be appointed by the 9 President, in consultation with the Director. 10 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 11 (A) DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR CITIZENSHIP 12 AND INCLUSION.—The Deputy Director for 13 Citizenship and Inclusion shall, among other 14 duties as assigned by the Director, assist the 15 Director in promoting— 16 (i) inclusion of immigrants and refu- 17 gees in the social, economic, and civic life 18 of their communities and the United 19 States; and 20 (ii) access to United States citizen- 21 ship. 22 (B) DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR WORKFORCE 23 AND THE ECONOMY.—The Deputy Director for 24 Workforce and the Economy shall, among other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1308.IH H1308 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1308 IH duties as assigned by the Director, assist the 1 Director in— 2 (i) promoting participation of immi- 3 grants and refugees in the United States 4 workforce; and 5 (ii) increasing the contributions of im- 6 migrants and refugees to the United States 7 economy. 8 (C) DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR CHILDREN’S 9 INTEGRATION SUCCESS.—The Deputy Director 10 for Children’s Integration Success shall, among 11 other duties as assigned by the Director, assist 12 the Director in ensuring that Federal policies 13 and programs intended to support the healthy 14 development and educational success of children 15 are effective in reaching and serving the chil- 16 dren of immigrant families. 17 (e) BUREAU OF STATE AND LOCAL AFFAIRS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 19 the Office a Bureau of State and Local Affairs. 20 (2) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of State 22 and Local Affairs shall be headed by an Asso- 23 ciate Director of State and Local Affairs, who 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:17 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\B [Text truncated for display. 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