Federal

New Deal for New Americans Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 18,613 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates a new National Office of New Americans within the President's office to help immigrants become citizens and integrate into American life. It establishes grant programs to provide legal services, English classes, and job training for immigrants. The bill also makes it easier and cheaper for eligible immigrants to become U.S. citizens by reducing application fees and waiving certain requirements. ##

Who It Affects

- Immigrants and refugees living in the United States - State, local, and tribal governments - Nonprofit organizations and community groups - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - The Department of Homeland Security - Various federal agencies involved in education, labor, and health services - Taxpayers (through federal funding) ##

Key Provisions

- **Creates a new National Office of New Americans** within the President's office, headed by a Director appointed by the President with Senate approval, to coordinate federal efforts on immigrant integration (Sec. 102) - **Establishes a Legal Services and Immigration Assistance Grant Program** that awards grants to organizations providing legal help to immigrants seeking citizenship or legal status (Sec. 203) - **Creates an English as a Gateway to Integration Grant Program** that funds English language instruction combined with civics, job training, and other integration skills for adult immigrants (Sec. 204) - **Authorizes a Workforce Development and Shared Prosperity Grant Program** providing grants for job training programs that combine English language instruction with occupational skills training (Sec. 205) - **Reduces naturalization fees to a maximum of $50**, with fee waivers for immigrants earning less than 150 percent of the federal poverty line (Sec. 304) - **Waives English language requirements for certain older immigrants**: those 65 and older who have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years after lawful permanent residence, and those 50-60 years old with 10-20 years of residence (Sec. 303) - **Allows high school graduates to satisfy civics requirements for naturalization** by submitting their high school diploma and transcripts showing completion of U.S. history, government, and civics courses (Sec. 305) - **Establishes a United States Citizenship and Integration Foundation** as a nonprofit organization to promote citizenship programs and innovation (Sec. 207) - **Creates a Federal Initiative on New Americans** composed of representatives from major federal agencies to coordinate government response to immigrant integration issues (Sec. 103) - **Establishes a pilot program** awarding grants to state, local, and tribal governments to create immigrant councils and develop comprehensive integration plans (Sec. 208) ##

What Changes

- A new federal office devoted specifically to immigration integration will be created inside the President's office - Federal agencies must coordinate with this new office on immigration-related policies and programs - Eligible immigrants will pay significantly less to apply for citizenship (maximum $50 instead of current rates) - Low-income immigrants will not pay citizenship application fees - Older immigrants and those with disabilities will be excused from English language requirements on citizenship tests - High school graduates will not need to pass a separate civics test to become citizens - New federal grant programs will fund legal services, English classes, and job training specifically for immigrants - States and local communities can apply for grants to create immigrant councils and integration programs - Immigration service fees from Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands will go to those territories instead of the federal government ##

Important Definitions

**Immigrant**: A person who is not a U.S. citizen, is present in the United States, and either has some legal immigration status or intends to permanently reside in the U.S. **Refugee**: Defined by the Immigration and Nationality Act (the bill does not provide a separate definition) **Limited English Proficient (LEP)**: An individual who does not speak English as their primary language and has limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English **Adult English Language Learner**: A person age 16 or older not enrolled in secondary school who is limited English proficient **Integrated Education and Training**: Instruction combining adult education and English language classes at the same time as job training for a specific occupation **Pre-Apprenticeship Program**: A program designed to prepare people to enter and succeed in a registered apprenticeship **Service Area**: The geographic area or jurisdiction where an organization carries out activities funded by grants under this bill ##

Effective Date

**Section 305 (high school graduate naturalization provision)** takes effect on the date the bill is enacted and applies to applicants who apply after that date (Sec. 305(c)) **All other provisions**: Not specified in bill text --- **PLAIN LANGUAGE NOTE**: This bill is very long and detailed. The text provided was cut off before completion, so this summary covers only the sections included above. Additional provisions in the full bill text regarding refugee resettlement, deportation grounds, and data protections were not summarized because the text was truncated.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1643 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 MARCH 17, 2023 Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Ms. BUSH, Ms. CHU, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. TLAIB, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Commit- tees on Education and the Workforce, House Administration, Foreign Af- fairs, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1643 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 2023’’. 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 ocal 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1643 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 10 immigration laws; and 11 (II) intends to reside perma- 12 nently in the 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1643 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 03:31 Apr 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1643.IH H1643 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1643 IH shall be appointed by the President, in con- 1 sultation with the Dir [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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