New Deal for New Americans Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4928 To establish the National Office of New Americans, to reduce obstacles to United States citizenship, to support the integration of immigrants and refugees into the social, cultural, economic and civic life of our shared Nation, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 30, 2019 Ms. MENG (for herself, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SUOZZI, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WAT- SON COLEMAN, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. TITUS, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, House Administration, For- eign Affairs, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently de- termined 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 and refugees into the social, cultural, economic and civic life of our shared Nation, 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 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4928 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘New Deal for New 2 Americans Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 4 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—NEW AMERICANS AND INTEGRATION Sec. 101. National office of new Americans. Sec. 102. Appointment and duties of director, deputy directors and associate di- rector. Sec. 103. Federal initiative on new Americans. TITLE II—PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE CITIZENSHIP, INTEGRATION, AND PROSPERITY Sec. 200. Sense of Congress regarding access to counsel. Sec. 201. Legal services and immigration assistance grants. Sec. 202. English as a gateway grants. Sec. 203. Workforce development and prosperity grants. Sec. 204. Appropriations authorized for existing citizenship grants. Sec. 205. Consideration of grant recipients. Sec. 206. Establishment of United States Citizenship and Integration Founda- tion. Sec. 207. Gifts to Foundation. Sec. 208. Purposes. Sec. 209. Authorized activities. Sec. 210. Council of directors. Sec. 211. Powers. Sec. 212. Effective date. Sec. 213. Authorization of appropriations for Foundation and pilot program. Sec. 214. Pilot program to promote immigrant integration at State and local levels. TITLE III—REDUCING BARRIERS TO CITIZENSHIP Sec. 301. Immigration service fees. Sec. 302. Reduce financial obstacles to naturalization. Sec. 303. Waiver of English requirement for senior new Americans. Sec. 304. Naturalization for certain United States high school graduates. Sec. 305. Family integration. Sec. 306. Revision of grounds for deportation. Sec. 307. Waiver to ensure access to citizenship. Sec. 308. Naturalization ceremonies. Sec. 309. National citizenship promotion program. Sec. 310. Mission of United States citizenship and immigration services. Sec. 311. Automatic registration of eligible individuals. Sec. 312. Department of Homeland Security assistance in registration. Sec. 313. Voter protection and security in automatic registration. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4928 IH Sec. 314. Effective date. TITLE IV—REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AND INTEGRATION Sec. 401. Minimum number of refugees to be admitted. Sec. 402. Pre-arrival English language and work orientation training for ap- proved refugee applicants. Sec. 403. Update of reception and placement grants. Sec. 404. Case management. Sec. 405. Increase in cash payments. TITLE I—NEW AMERICANS AND 1 INTEGRATION 2 SEC. 101. NATIONAL OFFICE OF NEW AMERICANS. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL OFFICE OF 4 NEW AMERICANS.—There is established in the Executive 5 Office of the President the ‘‘National Office of New Amer- 6 icans’’ (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). 7 (b) OFFICE LEADERSHIP.— 8 (1) There shall be at the head of the Office a 9 Director of the National Office of New Americans. 10 (2) There shall be in the Office a Deputy Direc- 11 tor for Citizenship and Inclusion and a Deputy Di- 12 rector for Workforce and Economy. 13 (c) BUREAU OF STATE AND LOCAL AFFAIRS.—There 14 is established a Bureau of State and Local Affairs within 15 the Office which shall be headed by an Associate Director 16 of State and Local Affairs. 17 (d) ACCESS BY CONGRESS.—The location of the Of- 18 fice for New Americans in the Executive Office of the 19 President shall not be construed as affecting access by the 20 Congress or Committees of the House or Senate to— 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4928 IH (1) information, documents and studies in the 1 possession of, or conducted by or at the direction of 2 the Director; or 3 (2) personnel of the National Office of New 4 Americans. 5 SEC. 102. APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES OF DIRECTOR, DEP- 6 UTY DIRECTORS AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR. 7 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Director shall be appointed by 8 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 9 Senate. 10 (b) DEPUTY DIRECTORS.—The Deputy Directors 11 and Associate Director shall be appointed by the President 12 in consultation with the Director. 13 (c) LIMITATION.—No person shall serve as Director, 14 Deputy Director or Associate Director while serving in any 15 other position in the Federal Government. 16 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 17 (1) The Director shall— 18 (A) establish policies, objectives and prior- 19 ities with regard to immigrant and refugee inte- 20 gration for the Office; 21 (B) with the assistance of the Deputy Di- 22 rectors and Associate Director, carry out the 23 functions of the Office as described in para- 24 graph (e); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4928 IH (C) serve as the Chair of the Initiative for 1 New Americans; 2 (D) make recommendations to the Presi- 3 dent regarding changes in the organization, 4 management, programs and budget of the Fed- 5 eral departments and agencies in order to pro- 6 mote the integration of immigrants and refu- 7 gees; 8 (E) consult, support and coordinate with 9 State and local governments in their efforts to 10 promote United States citizenship and integra- 11 tion of immigrants and refugees; and 12 (F) serve as a member of the Domestic 13 Policy Council and the National Economic 14 Council. 15 (2) The Deputy Director for Citizenship and 16 Inclusion shall, among other duties as assigned by 17 the Director, assist the Director to promote access 18 to United States citizenship and inclusion of immi- 19 grants and refugees in the social, economic and civic 20 life of their communities and the Nation. 21 (3) The Deputy Director for Workforce and 22 Economy shall, among other duties as assigned by 23 the Director, assist the Director to promote the par- 24 ticipation of immigrants and refugees in the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4928 IH States workforce and increase the contributions of 1 immigrants and refugees to the United States econ- 2 omy. 3 (4) The Associate Director of State and Local 4 Affairs shall, among other duties as assigned by the 5 Director, assist the Director in coordinating the ef- 6 forts of State and local entities to support the eco- 7 nomic, linguistic and civic integration of immigrants, 8 refugees and their children. 9 (e) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office are— 10 (1) to promote and support immigrant and ref- 11 ugee integration and inclusion in society; 12 (2) to ensure the Federal Government and its 13 agencies and departments promote the pursuit of 14 United States citizenship among immigrants and 15 refugees; 16 (3) to ensure access to quality English language 17 learning programs that increase for adult English 18 language learners their— 19 (A) employment and career prospects and 20 economic integration; and 21 (B) social integration in their local commu- 22 nities and participation in civic life, including 23 their engagement with State and local govern- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4928 IH ments, schools, and private and nonprofit com- 1 munity institutions; 2 (4) to provide equal access to workforce devel- 3 opment programs, including by ensuring that such 4 programs meet the demand and unique language, 5 training and educational needs of immigrants and 6 refugees; 7 (5) to oversee and coordinate the efforts of 8 Federal, State, and local entities to ensure the effec- 9 tive social, economic, linguistic, and civic integration 10 of immigrants, refugees and their children; 11 (6) to provide advice and leadership to the 12 President, Congress, and other Federal Government 13 officials on the challenges and opportunities facing 14 such entities with regards to immigrant and refugee 15 integration; 16 (7) to cooperate closely with the Office of Man- 17 agement and Budget and other relevant executive 18 agencies and departments to analyze the impact of 19 immigration policies of immigrant and refugee inte- 20 gration on the Federal budget; 21 (8) to evaluate the scale, quality, and effective- 22 ness of Federal Government efforts concerning im- 23 migrant and refugee social and economic integration, 24 including access to United States citizenship, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4928 IH English language learning and workforce develop- 1 ment programs; 2 (9) to identify the anticipated effects of new 3 Federal policies on existing integration efforts and 4 advise the President on how to address any potential 5 integration needs or impacts resulting from such 6 policies; 7 (10) to consult on a biannual basis with State 8 and local government officials on the immigrant and 9 refugee integration challenges and opportunities fac- 10 ing States and units of local government; 11 (11) to consult with the Secretaries and Direc- 12 tors identified in title II on the administration of the 13 grant programs established by such title; and 14 (12) to submit to the President and the appro- 15 priate congressional committees a biannual report 16 that describes the activities of the Office and the re- 17 sults of the consultation process provided in para- 18 graphs (10) and (11). 19 (f) POWERS OF THE DIRECTOR.—In carrying out the 20 responsibilities in subsection (d) and the functions of the 21 office in subsection (e), the Director may— 22 (1) select, appoint, employ, and fix compensa- 23 tion of such officers and employees as may be nec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4928 IH essary to carry out the functions of the Office under 1 this title; 2 (2) direct, with the concurrence of the Sec- 3 retary of a department or head of an agency, the 4 temporary reassignment within the Federal Govern- 5 ment of personnel employed by such department or 6 agency; 7 (3) use for administrative purposes, on a reim- 8 bursable basis, the available service, equipment, per- 9 sonnel, and facilities of Federal, State, and local 10 agencies; 11 (4) procure the services of experts and consult- 12 ants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, 13 United States Code, relating to appointments in the 14 Federal service, at rates of compensation for individ- 15 uals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate of 16 pay payable for GS–18 of the General Schedule 17 under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code; 18 (5) accept and use donations of property from 19 Federal, State and local government agencies; 20 (6) use the mail in the same manner as other 21 departments and agencies of the executive branch; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 4928 IH (7) monitor the implementation of the Federal 1 Government’s integration-related activities, includ- 2 ing— 3 (A) conducting program and performance 4 audits and evaluations; and 5 (B) requesting assistance from the Inspec- 6 tor General of the relevant agency in such au- 7 dits and evaluations. 8 SEC. 103. FEDERAL INITIATIVE ON NEW AMERICANS. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 11 within the National Office of New Americans a Fed- 12 eral Initiative on New Americans (in this title re- 13 ferred to as the ‘‘Initiative’’). 14 (2) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The Ini- 15 tiative shall be fully operational not later than 6 16 months after the confirmation of the Director of the 17 Office. 18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the Initiative are— 19 (1) to establish a coordinated Federal program 20 to respond effectively to immigrant and refugee inte- 21 gration issues; and 22 (2) to advise and assist the Director in identi- 23 fying and implementing the necessary policies to 24 carry out such program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 4928 IH (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Initiative shall be composed 1 of— 2 (1) the Director, who shall serve as Chair of the 3 Initiative; 4 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury; 5 (3) the Attorney General; 6 (4) the Secretary of Commerce; 7 (5) the Secretary of Labor; 8 (6) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv- 9 ices; 10 (7) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel- 11 opment; 12 (8) the Secretary of Education; 13 (9) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 14 (10) the Secretary of State; 15 (11) the Director of the Office of Refugee Re- 16 settlement; 17 (12) the Director of the Small Busine [Text truncated for display. 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