New Deal for New Americans Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3470 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 12, 2020 Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘New Deal for New Americans Act of 2020’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3470 IS 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 grants. Sec. 204. English as a Gateway grants. Sec. 205. Workforce Development and Prosperity grants. 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. Immigration service fees. Sec. 302. Waiver of English requirement for senior new Americans. Sec. 303. Reduce financial obstacles to naturalization. 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. Proud To Be a United States Citizen Program. Sec. 310. Mission of U.S. 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. Sec. 314. Effective date. TITLE IV—REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AND INTEGRATION Sec. 401. Definition of Secretary. Sec. 402. Minimum number of refugees to be admitted. 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. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:29 Mar 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3470 IS 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 TITLE I—NEW AMERICANS AND 21 INTEGRATION 22 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this title: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3470 IS (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 1 the Director of the National Office of New Ameri- 2 cans. 3 (2) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 4 agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘agency’’ 5 in section 551 of title 5, United States Code. 6 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the 7 National Office of New Americans established by 8 section 102(a). 9 SEC. 102. NATIONAL OFFICE OF NEW AMERICANS. 10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL OFFICE OF 11 NEW AMERICANS.—There is established within the Execu- 12 tive Office of the President an office to be known as the 13 ‘‘National Office of New Americans’’. 14 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Office are the 15 following: 16 (1) To welcome and support immigrants and 17 refugees in the United States. 18 (2) To promote and support immigrant and ref- 19 ugee integration into, and inclusion in, the social, 20 cultural, economic, and civic life of the United 21 States. 22 (3) To ensure that the Federal Government and 23 Federal agencies promote the pursuit of United 24 States citizenship among immigrants and refugees. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3470 IS (4) To ensure access to quality English lan- 1 guage learning programs that support the successful 2 integration of immigrant adults, including by en- 3 hancing— 4 (A) employment and career prospects and 5 economic integration; and 6 (B) social integration in local communities 7 and participation in civic life, including engage- 8 ment with State and local governments, schools, 9 and private and nonprofit community institu- 10 tions. 11 (5) To improve access to workforce development 12 programs, including by ensuring that such programs 13 meet the demand and the unique language, training, 14 and educational needs of immigrants and refugees. 15 (6) To coordinate the efforts of Federal, State, 16 and local entities to support the effective social, eco- 17 nomic, linguistic, and civic integration of immi- 18 grants, refugees, and the children of immigrants and 19 refugees. 20 (7) To provide advice and leadership to the 21 President, Members of Congress, and other Federal 22 Government officials on the challenges and opportu- 23 nities facing such entities with respect to immigrant 24 and refugee integration. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3470 IS (8) To evaluate the scale, quality, and effective- 1 ness of Federal Government efforts with respect to 2 immigrant and refugee social and economic integra- 3 tion, including access to United States citizenship, 4 English language learning, education, and workforce 5 development programs. 6 (9) To identify the anticipated effects of new 7 Federal policies on existing integration efforts and 8 advise the President on how to address potential in- 9 tegration needs and the effects of such policies. 10 (10) With respect to immigrant and refugee in- 11 tegration efforts, to consult on a biannual basis with 12 State and local government officials on challenges 13 and opportunities presented by such efforts. 14 (11) With respect to the activities described in 15 paragraphs (8) through (11), to ensure the inclusion 16 of the perspectives of immigrants and refugees. 17 (12) With respect to the administration of the 18 grant programs under title II, to consult with the 19 applicable heads of Federal agencies. 20 (13) To submit to the President and the appro- 21 priate committees of Congress a biannual report 22 that describes the activities of the Office and the re- 23 sults of the consultation processes described in para- 24 graphs (10) through (12). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3470 IS (c) DIRECTOR.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 2 by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Presi- 3 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 4 ate. 5 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director shall— 6 (A) establish policies, objectives, and prior- 7 ities for the Office with respect to immigrant 8 and refugee integration; 9 (B) with the assistance of the Deputy Di- 10 rector for Citizenship and Inclusion, the Deputy 11 Director for Workforce and the Economy, the 12 Deputy Director for Children’s Integration Suc- 13 cess, and the Associate Director of State and 14 Local Affairs, carry out the purposes of the Of- 15 fice, as described in subsection (b); 16 (C) serve as the Chair of the Federal Ini- 17 tiative for New Americans established under 18 section 103; 19 (D) make recommendations to the Presi- 20 dent on changes in the organization, manage- 21 ment, programs, and budget of the Federal 22 agencies to promote the integration of immi- 23 grants and refugees; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3470 IS (E) with respect to efforts to promote 1 United States citizenship and the integration of 2 immigrants and refugees, consult, support, and 3 coordinate with State and local governments; 4 and 5 (F) serve as a member of the Domestic 6 Policy Council and the National Economic 7 Council. 8 (3) POWERS OF THE DIRECTOR.—In carrying 9 out the responsibilities under paragraph (2) and the 10 purposes under subsection (b), the Director may— 11 (A) select, appoint, employ, and fix com- 12 pensation of such officers and employees as 13 may be necessary to carry out such responsibil- 14 ities and purposes; 15 (B) with the concurrence of the head of 16 the applicable Federal agency, direct the tem- 17 porary reassignment within the Federal Govern- 18 ment of personnel employed by such Federal 19 agency; 20 (C) use for administrative purposes, on a 21 reimbursable basis, the available services, equip- 22 ment, personnel, and facilities of Federal, State, 23 and local agencies; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3470 IS (D) procure the services of experts and 1 consultants, in accordance with section 3109 of 2 title 5, United States Code (relating to appoint- 3 ments in the Federal service) at rates of com- 4 pensation for individuals not to exceed the daily 5 equivalent of the rate of pay payable for level 6 GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 7 5332 of title 5, United States Code; 8 (E) accept and use donations of property 9 from Federal, State, and local government 10 agencies; 11 (F) use the mail in the same manner as 12 other Federal agencies; and 13 (G) monitor the implementation of immi- 14 grant and refugee integration-related activities 15 of the Federal Government, including by— 16 (i) conducting program and perform- 17 ance audits and evaluations of each Fed- 18 eral agency; and 19 (ii) requesting assistance from the In- 20 spector General of the applicable Federal 21 agency in such audits and evaluations. 22 (d) DEPUTY DIRECTORS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Office 24 a Deputy Director for Citizenship and Inclusion, a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3470 IS Deputy Director for Workforce and the Economy, 1 and a Deputy Director for Children’s Integration 2 and Success, each of whom shall be appointed by the 3 President, in consultation with the Director. 4 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 5 (A) DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR CITIZENSHIP 6 AND INCLUSION.—The Deputy Director for 7 Citizenship and Inclusion shall, among other 8 duties as assigned by the Director, assist the 9 Director in promoting— 10 (i) inclusion of immigrants and refu- 11 gees in the social, economic, and civic life 12 of their communities and the United 13 States; and 14 (ii) access to United States citizen- 15 ship. 16 (B) DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR WORKFORCE 17 AND THE ECONOMY.—The Deputy Director for 18 Workforce and the Economy shall, among other 19 duties as assigned by the Director, assist the 20 Director in— 21 (i) promoting participation of immi- 22 grants and refugees in the United States 23 workforce; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3470 IS (ii) increasing the contributions of im- 1 migrants and refugees to the United States 2 economy. 3 (C) DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR CHILDREN’S 4 INTEGRATION SUCCESS.—The Deputy Director 5 for Children’s Integration Success shall, among 6 other duties as assigned by the Director, assist 7 the Director in ensuring that Federal policies 8 and programs intended to support the healthy 9 development and educational success of children 10 are effective in reaching and serving the chil- 11 dren of immigrant families. 12 (e) BUREAU OF STATE AND LOCAL AFFAIRS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 14 the Office a Bureau of State and Local Affairs. 15 (2) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of State 17 and Local Affairs shall be headed by an Asso- 18 ciate Director of State and Local Affairs, who 19 shall be appointed by the President, in con- 20 sultation with the Director. 21 (B) DUTIES.—The Associate Director of 22 State and Local Affairs shall, among other du- 23 ties as assigned by the Director, assist the Di- 24 rector in coordinating the efforts of State and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:12 Mar 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3470.IS S3470 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3470 IS local entities to support the economic, linguistic, 1 and civic integration of immigrants, refugees, 2 and the children of immigrants and refugees. 3 (f) LIMITATION.—An individual may not serve as Di- 4 rector, Deputy Director for Citizenship and Inclusion, 5 Deputy Director for Workforce and the Economy, Deputy 6 Director for Children’s Integration Success, or Associate 7 Director of State and Local Affairs while serving in any 8 other position in the Federal G [Text truncated for display. 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