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. WATSON 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, Foreign Affairs, 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 and refugees into the social, 

cultural, economic and civic life of our shared Nation, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘New Deal for New 

3 Americans Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

5 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

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 director. 

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 Foundation. 

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. 


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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 approved refugee applicants. 

Sec. 403. Update of reception and placement grants. 

Sec. 404. Case management. 

Sec. 405. Increase in cash payments. 

1 TITLE I—NEW AMERICANS AND 

2 INTEGRATION 

3 SEC. 101. NATIONAL OFFICE OF NEW AMERICANS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL OFFICE OF

5 NEW AMERICANS.—There is established in the Executive 

6 Office of the President the ‘‘National Office of New Amer7 icans’’ (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). 

8 (b) OFFICE LEADERSHIP.— 

9 (1) There shall be at the head of the Office a 

10 Director of the National Office of New Americans. 

11 (2) There shall be in the Office a Deputy Direc12 tor for Citizenship and Inclusion and a Deputy Di13 rector for Workforce and Economy. 

14 (c) BUREAU OF STATE AND LOCAL AFFAIRS.—There 

15 is established a Bureau of State and Local Affairs within 

16 the Office which shall be headed by an Associate Director 

17 of State and Local Affairs. 

18 (d) ACCESS BY CONGRESS.—The location of the Of19 fice for New Americans in the Executive Office of the 

20 President shall not be construed as affecting access by the 

21 Congress or Committees of the House or Senate to— 


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1 (1) information, documents and studies in the 

2 possession of, or conducted by or at the direction of 

3 the Director; or 

4 (2) personnel of the National Office of New 

5 Americans. 

6 SEC. 102. APPOINTMENT AND DUTIES OF DIRECTOR, DEP7 UTY DIRECTORS AND ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR. 

8 (a) DIRECTOR.—The Director shall be appointed by 

9 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

10 Senate. 

11 (b) DEPUTY DIRECTORS.—The Deputy Directors 

12 and Associate Director shall be appointed by the President 

13 in consultation with the Director. 

14 (c) LIMITATION.—No person shall serve as Director, 

15 Deputy Director or Associate Director while serving in any 

16 other position in the Federal Government. 

17 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

18 (1) The Director shall— 

19 (A) establish policies, objectives and prior20 ities with regard to immigrant and refugee inte21 gration for the Office; 

22 (B) with the assistance of the Deputy Di23 rectors and Associate Director, carry out the 

24 functions of the Office as described in para25 graph (e); 


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1 (C) serve as the Chair of the Initiative for 

2 New Americans; 

3 (D) make recommendations to the Presi4 dent regarding changes in the organization, 

5 management, programs and budget of the Fed6 eral departments and agencies in order to pro7 mote the integration of immigrants and refu8 gees; 

9 (E) consult, support and coordinate with 

10 State and local governments in their efforts to 

11 promote United States citizenship and integra12 tion of immigrants and refugees; and 

13 (F) serve as a member of the Domestic 

14 Policy Council and the National Economic 

15 Council. 

16 (2) The Deputy Director for Citizenship and 

17 Inclusion shall, among other duties as assigned by 

18 the Director, assist the Director to promote access 

19 to United States citizenship and inclusion of immi20 grants and refugees in the social, economic and civic 

21 life of their communities and the Nation. 

22 (3) The Deputy Director for Workforce and 

23 Economy shall, among other duties as assigned by 

24 the Director, assist the Director to promote the par25 ticipation of immigrants and refugees in the United 


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1 States workforce and increase the contributions of 

2 immigrants and refugees to the United States econ3 omy. 

4 (4) The Associate Director of State and Local 

5 Affairs shall, among other duties as assigned by the 

6 Director, assist the Director in coordinating the ef7 forts of State and local entities to support the eco8 nomic, linguistic and civic integration of immigrants, 

9 refugees and their children. 

10 (e) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office are— 

11 (1) to promote and support immigrant and ref12 ugee integration and inclusion in society; 

13 (2) to ensure the Federal Government and its 

14 agencies and departments promote the pursuit of 

15 United States citizenship among immigrants and 

16 refugees; 

17 (3) to ensure access to quality English language 

18 learning programs that increase for adult English 

19 language learners their— 

20 (A) employment and career prospects and 

21 economic integration; and 

22 (B) social integration in their local commu23 nities and participation in civic life, including 

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1 ments, schools, and private and nonprofit com2 munity institutions; 

3 (4) to provide equal access to workforce devel4 opment programs, including by ensuring that such 

5 programs meet the demand and unique language, 

6 training and educational needs of immigrants and 

7 refugees; 

8 (5) to oversee and coordinate the efforts of 

9 Federal, State, and local entities to ensure the effec10 tive social, economic, linguistic, and civic integration 

11 of immigrants, refugees and their children; 

12 (6) to provide advice and leadership to the 

13 President, Congress, and other Federal Government 

14 officials on the challenges and opportunities facing 

15 such entities with regards to immigrant and refugee 

16 integration; 

17 (7) to cooperate closely with the Office of Man18 agement and Budget and other relevant executive 

19 agencies and departments to analyze the impact of 

20 immigration policies of immigrant and refugee inte21 gration on the Federal budget; 

22 (8) to evaluate the scale, quality, and effective23 ness of Federal Government efforts concerning im24 migrant and refugee social and economic integration, 

25 including access to United States citizenship, 


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1 English language learning and workforce develop2 ment programs; 

3 (9) to identify the anticipated effects of new 

4 Federal policies on existing integration efforts and 

5 advise the President on how to address any potential 

6 integration needs or impacts resulting from such 

7 policies; 

8 (10) to consult on a biannual basis with State 

9 and local government officials on the immigrant and 

10 refugee integration challenges and opportunities fac11 ing States and units of local government; 

12 (11) to consult with the Secretaries and Direc13 tors identified in title II on the administration of the 

14 grant programs established by such title; and 

15 (12) to submit to the President and the appro16 priate congressional committees a biannual report 

17 that describes the activities of the Office and the re18 sults of the consultation process provided in para19 graphs (10) and (11). 

20 (f) POWERS OF THE DIRECTOR.—In carrying out the 

21 responsibilities in subsection (d) and the functions of the 

22 office in subsection (e), the Director may— 

23 (1) select, appoint, employ, and fix compensa24 tion of such officers and employees as may be necVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928

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1 essary to carry out the functions of the Office under 

2 this title; 

3 (2) direct, with the concurrence of the Sec4 retary of a department or head of an agency, the 

5 temporary reassignment within the Federal Govern6 ment of personnel employed by such department or 

7 agency; 

8 (3) use for administrative purposes, on a reim9 bursable basis, the available service, equipment, per10 sonnel, and facilities of Federal, State, and local 

11 agencies; 

12 (4) procure the services of experts and consult13 ants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, 

14 United States Code, relating to appointments in the 

15 Federal service, at rates of compensation for individ16 uals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the rate of 

17 pay payable for GS–18 of the General Schedule 

18 under section 5332 of title 5, United States Code; 

19 (5) accept and use donations of property from 

20 Federal, State and local government agencies; 

21 (6) use the mail in the same manner as other 

22 departments and agencies of the executive branch; 

23 and 


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1 (7) monitor the implementation of the Federal 

2 Government’s integration-related activities, includ3 ing— 

4 (A) conducting program and performance 

5 audits and evaluations; and 

6 (B) requesting assistance from the Inspec7 tor General of the relevant agency in such au8 dits and evaluations. 

9 SEC. 103. FEDERAL INITIATIVE ON NEW AMERICANS. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

12 within the National Office of New Americans a Fed13 eral Initiative on New Americans (in this title re14 ferred to as the ‘‘Initiative’’). 

15 (2) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The Ini16 tiative shall be fully operational not later than 6 

17 months after the confirmation of the Director of the 

18 Office. 

19 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of the Initiative are— 

20 (1) to establish a coordinated Federal program 

21 to respond effectively to immigrant and refugee inte22 gration issues; and 

23 (2) to advise and assist the Director in identi24 fying and implementing the necessary policies to 

25 carry out such program. 


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1 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Initiative shall be composed 

2 of— 

3 (1) the Director, who shall serve as Chair of the 

4 Initiative; 

5 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury; 

6 (3) the Attorney General; 

7 (4) the Secretary of Commerce; 

8 (5) the Secretary of Labor; 

9 (6) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv10 ices; 

11 (7) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel12 opment; 

13 (8) the Secretary of Education; 

14 (9) the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

15 (10) the Secretary of State; 

16 (11) the Director of the Office of Refugee Re17 settlement; 

18 (12) the Director of the Small Business Admin19 istration; 

20 (13) the Director of the Office of Management 

21 and Budget; 

22 (14) the Director of the Bureau of Consumer 

23 Financial Protection; and 

24 (15) any other individual the Director of the 

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1 pate who occupies a position listed under level I or 

2 II of the Executive Schedule, as provided in sections 

3 5312 and 5313 of title 5, United States Code. 

4 (d) DUTIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Initiative shall meet at 

6 the call of the Chair and perform such duties as the 

7 Chair reasonably requires. 

8 (2) COORDINATED RESPONSE TO IMMIGRANT

9 AND REFUGEE ISSUES.—The Initiative shall work 

10 with executive agencies and departments to provide 

11 a coordinated Federal response to adequately ad12 dress issues that affect the lives of new immigrants 

13 and refugees and local communities with growing 

14 immigrant and refugee populations, including— 

15 (A) English language learning; 

16 (B) adult education and workforce train17 ing; 

18 (C) occupational licensure; 

19 (D) early childhood care and education; 

20 (E) elementary, secondary and postsec21 ondary education; 

22 (F) health care; 

23 (G) naturalization; 

24 (H) civic engagement; 


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1 (I) access to immigration assistance and 

2 legal services; 

3 (J) economic development; and 

4 (K) other services the Director identifies as 

5 aiding the integration of immigrants and refu6 gees to the United States. 

7 (3) LIAISON WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

9 Initiative shall serve as a liaison to the respec10 tive agency of the member to ensure that the 

11 agency coordinates with and responds to the 

12 recommendations of the Initiative in a timely 

13 and meaningful manner. 

14 (B) DUTIES OF A LIAISON.—The duties of 

15 each member as an agency liaison include— 

16 (i) creating immigrant and refugee in17 tegration goals within the agency; 

18 (ii) creating immigration integration 

19 indicators within the agency; 

20 (iii) implementing the biannual con21 sultation process described in section 

22 102(e)(10) by consulting with the State 

23 and local counterparts of the agency; 

24 (iv) reporting to the Initiative on the 

25 progress made by the agency in achieving 


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1 the goals and indicators described in 

2 clauses (i) and (ii); and 

3 (v) providing the Director, upon re4 quest of the Director and subject to laws 

5 governing disclosure of information, such 

6 information as may be required to carry 

7 out the responsibilities of the Director and 

8 the functions of the Office. 

9 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INITIATIVE.— 

10 (A) REPORT.—The Director of the Initia11 tive shall submit to Congress a report that in12 cludes the following: 

13 (i) Findings from the consultation 

14 process described in section 102(e)(10), in15 cluding a description of the immigrant and 

16 refugee integration challenges and opportu17 nities facing States and units of local gov18 ernment. 

19 (ii) Assessment of the effects of and 

20 recommendations with regard to pending 

21 legislation and executive branch policy pro22 posals and their possible impacts on immi23 grant and refugee integration. 

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1 tive impact on immigrants, refugees and 

2 local communities with growing immigrant 

3 and refugee populations, in comparison to 

4 the general population. 

5 (iv) Recommendations on legislative 

6 solutions to promote immigrant and ref7 ugee integration. 

8 (B) REPORTING DEADLINE.—The Initia9 tive shall submit a report required by subpara10 graph (A) not later than 12 months after the 

11 Initiative is fully operational and every two 

12 years thereafter. 

13 TITLE II—PROGRAMS TO PRO14 MOTE CITIZENSHIP, INTE15 GRATION, AND PROSPERITY 

16 SEC. 200. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ACCESS TO 

17 COUNSEL. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) immigration law is so complex that it is 

20 nearly impossible and therefore unjust for individ21 uals to navigate the immigration system without 

22 legal assistance or represent themselves in immigra23 tion court; 

24 (2) noncitizens without legal counsel are far 

25 more likely to be denied immigration benefits or be 


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1 deported, which can result in dire consequences, in2 cluding the denial of legal status or U.S. citizenship, 

3 loss of livelihood, separation from or the inability to 

4 support one’s family, life-threatening danger in one’s 

5 country of origin and a long-term or permanent ban 

6 from being able to re-enter the United States; and 

7 (3) consistent with the American values of fair8 ness and justice and the Fifth Amendment to the 

9 U.S. Constitution which guarantees everyone due 

10 process of law, anyone subject to proceedings or the 

11 appeal thereof before an immigration judge or the 

12 Attorney General should have the right of being rep13 resented by counsel, including government-funded 

14 counsel, regardless of one’s ability to pay. 

15 SEC. 201. LEGAL SERVICES AND IMMIGRATION ASSISTANCE 

16 GRANTS. 

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General, acting 

18 through the Director of the Executive Office for Immigra19 tion Review, in consultation with the Director of the Na20 tional Office of New Americans, shall award Legal Serv21 ices and Immigration Assistance grants to eligible entities. 

22 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity eligible to receive a 

23 grant under this section is a unit of local government, pri24 vate organization, community-based organization, or not25 for-profit organization— 


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1 (1) that provides authorized direct legal assist2 ance to immigrants and refugees in the United 

3 States; 

4 (2) in the case of any applicant who has pre5 viously received a grant under this section, that uses 

6 matching funds from non-Federal sources, which 

7 may include in-kind contributions, equal to 25 per8 cent of amount received under this section; 

9 (3) that provides immigration education, out10 reach and quality paralegal services to immigrants 

11 and refugees, in coordination with immigration at12 torneys or representatives accredited by the Recogni13 tion and Accreditation Program of the Department 

14 of Justice Executive Office of Immigration Review; 

15 and 

16 (4) that submits to the Director of the Execu17 tive Office for Immigration Review an application at 

18 such time, in such manner, and containing such in19 formation as such Director may reasonably require. 

20 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds awarded under this 

22 section may be used to provide to an eligible indi23 vidual legal assistance relating to the immigration 

24 status of such individual, or related services. Such 

25 assistance may include— 


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1 (A) outreach and education to identify and 

2 support those in need of legal services; 

3 (B) liaison services to connect individuals 

4 with trusted legal service providers, social serv5 ice organizations and government representa6 tives; 

7 (C) screening to assess the eligibility of 

8 any individual regarding any status under the 

9 immigration laws; 

10 (D) completing immigration applications; 

11 (E) translation services; 

12 (F) gathering of documents such as proof 

13 of identification, employment, residence, family 

14 relationships and tax payment; 

15 (G) applying for any waivers for which an 

16 applicant and qualifying family members may 

17 be eligible; and 

18 (H) assisting an applicant for United 

19 States citizenship with application preparation 

20 and the citizenship application process, includ21 ing support for the English and civics exams. 

22 (2) IMMIGRANTS ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE.— 

23 A non-citizen is eligible to receive the assistance de24 scribed in paragraph (1) if such non-citizen is— 


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1 (A) seeking to become a permanent resi2 dent or naturalized citizen; or 

3 (B) seeking relief from removal and au4 thorization to remain in the United States law5 fully and permanently. 

6 (d) CERTIFICATION.—In order to receive a payment 

7 under this section, a participating entity shall submit to 

8 the Attorney General a certification that the proposed uses 

9 of grant funds by the entity are consistent with this sec10 tion and meet all necessary criteria determined by the At11 torney General in consultation with the Director of the 

12 National Office of New Americans. 

13 (e) ANNUAL REPORT AND EVALUATION.—Not later 

14 than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year for which 

15 an entity receives grant funds under this section, the enti16 ty shall submit to the Director of Citizenship and Immi17 gration Services the following: 

18 (1) A report that describes— 

19 (A) the activities undertaken by the entity 

20 that were funded entirely or partially by the 

21 grant funds; 

22 (B) the geographic area or areas served by 

23 the grant funds; 

24 (C) an estimate of the number of non-citi25 zens living in the jurisdiction or service area of 


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1 the entity, which demonstrates that the entity 

2 made a reasonable effort to determine such 

3 number; 

4 (D) the number of non-citizens receiving 

5 assistance that was funded entirely or partially 

6 by grant funds received by the entity; 

7 (E) a breakdown of the costs of each of 

8 the services provided and the average per capita 

9 cost of providing such assistance; and 

10 (F) the primary languages spoken in the 

11 jurisdiction or service area of the entity. 

12 (2) An evaluation of any program of the entity 

13 using grant funds under this section, including an 

14 assessment of— 

15 (A) the effectiveness of such program and 

16 recommendations for improving the program; 

17 and 

18 (B) whether or not the legal services needs 

19 of the geographic area served have been met 

20 and if not, what further assistance is required 

21 to meet such need. 

22 (f) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

23 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of 

24 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 


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1 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

2 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

3 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $100,000,000 for fiscal years 2021 through 2022. 

6 SEC. 202. ENGLISH AS A GATEWAY GRANTS. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Assistant Secretary for 

8 Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the Depart9 ment of Education, in consultation with the Director of 

10 the National Office of New Americans, shall award 

11 English as a Gateway to Integration grants to eligible en12 tities. 

13 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity eligible to receive a 

14 grant under this section is a State or unit of local govern15 ment, private organization, educational institution, com16 munity-based organization, or not-for-profit organiza17 tion— 

18 (1) in the case of any applicant who has pre19 viously received a grant under this section, that uses 

20 matching funds from non-Federal sources, which 

21 may include in-kind contributions, equal to 25 per22 cent of amount received from the English as a Gate23 way to Integration program; 

24 (2) that submits to the Assistant Secretary an 

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1 taining such information as the Assistant Secretary 

2 may reasonably require, including— 

3 (A) a description of the target population 

4 to be served, including demographics, literacy 

5 levels and English language levels of the target 

6 population; and 

7 (B) the assessment and performance meas8 ures that the grant recipient plans to use to 

9 evaluate the English language learning progress 

10 of students and overall success of the instruc11 tion and program; 

12 (3) demonstrate collaboration with public and 

13 private entities to provide the instruction and assist14 ance described in subsection (c)(1); 

15 (4) provide English language programs that 

16 teach English language skills to— 

17 (A) lower-educated individuals; 

18 (B) Limited English Proficient (LEP) in19 dividuals; 

20 (C) parents who are caretakers of young 

21 children; 

22 (D) that supports and promotes the social, 

23 economic and civic integration of adult English 

24 language learners and their families; 


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1 (E) that equips adult English language 

2 learners for ongoing, independent study and 

3 learning beyond the classroom or formal in4 struction provided by the entity; and 

5 (F) that incorporates the use of technology 

6 to help students develop digital literacy skills; 

7 (5) are 1 of the 10 States with the highest rate 

8 of foreign-born residents; or 

9 (6) have experienced a large increase in the 

10 population of immigrants during the most recent 10- 

11 year period relative to past migration patterns, 

12 based on data compiled by the Office of Immigration 

13 Statistics or the United States Census Bureau. 

14 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds awarded under this 

16 section shall be used to provide English language in17 struction to adult English language learners. Such 

18 instruction shall advance the integration of students 

19 in order to help them— 

20 (A) build their knowledge of United States 

21 history and civics; 

22 (B) to prepare for United States citizen23 ship and the naturalization process; 

24 (C) gain digital literacy; 


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1 (D) understand and navigate the early 

2 childhood, K–12 and postsecondary education 

3 systems; 

4 (E) gain financial literacy; 

5 (F) build an understanding of the housing 

6 market and systems in the United States; 

7 (G) learn about and access the United 

8 States, State, and local health care systems; 

9 (H) prepare for a high school equivalency 

10 diploma or post-secondary training or edu11 cation; and 

12 (I) prepare for and secure employment. 

13 (2) DESIGN OF PROGRAM.—Funds awarded 

14 under this section shall be used to support an in15 structional program that may include the following 

16 elements: 

17 (A) English language instruction in a 

18 classroom setting, provided that such setting is 

19 in a geographic location accessible to the popu20 lation served. 

21 (B) Online English language instruction 

22 and distance learning platforms. 

23 (C) Educational support and specialized 

24 instruction for English language learners with 

25 low levels of literacy in their first language. 


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1 (D) Other online and digital components, 

2 including the use of mobile phones. 

3 (d) CERTIFICATION.—In order to receive a payment 

4 under this section, a participating entity shall submit to 

5 the Assistant Secretary a certification that the proposed 

6 uses of grant funds by the entity are consistent with this 

7 section and meet all necessary criteria determined by the 

8 Assistant Secretary. 

9 (e) ANNUAL REPORT AND EVALUATION.—Not later 

10 than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year for which 

11 an entity receives grant funds under this section, the enti12 ty shall submit to the Assistant Secretary the following: 

13 (1) A report that describes— 

14 (A) the activities undertaken by the entity 

15 that were funded entirely or partially by the 

16 grant funds; 

17 (B) the geographic area or areas served by 

18 the grant funds; 

19 (C) the number of immigrants in such 

20 areas; 

21 (D) the primary languages spoken in such 

22 areas; 

23 (E) the number of adult English language 

24 learners receiving assistance that was funded 


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1 entirely or partially by grant funds received by 

2 the entity; and 

3 (F) a breakdown of the costs of the in4 struction services provided and the average per 

5 capita cost of providing such instruction. 

6 (2) An evaluation of any program of the entity 

7 using grant funds under this section, including an 

8 assessment of— 

9 (A) the effectiveness of such program and 

10 recommendations for improving the program; 

11 (B) whether or not the English language 

12 instruction needs of the geographic area served 

13 have been met and if not, what further assist14 ance is required to meet such need; and 

15 (C) the results of any assessment or eval16 uation of progress or success described in sub17 section (b)(3)(B). 

18 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi19 nitions apply: 

20 (1) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

21 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

22 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

23 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

24 the Northern Mariana Islands. 


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1 (2) The terms ‘‘limited English proficient’’ and 

2 ‘‘English language learner’’ describe an individual 

3 who does not speak English as their primary lan4 guage and who has a limited ability to read, speak, 

5 write, or understand English. 

6 (3) The term ‘‘adult English language learner’’ 

7 refers to an individual age 16 and older who is not 

8 enrolled in secondary school and who is limited 

9 English proficient. 

10 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

12 $100,000,000 for fiscal years 2021 through 2022. 

13 SEC. 203. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY 

14 GRANTS. 

15 (a) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

16 United States— 

17 (1) that adults have equitable access to edu18 cation and workforce programs that— 

19 (A) help them learn basic skills in reading, 

20 writing, math and the English language; and 

21 (B) equip them with occupational skills 

22 needed to secure or advance in employment, to 

23 fill employer needs, and support themselves and 

24 their families; 


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1 (2) to strengthen the economy by helping adults 

2 with limited skills to attain industry-recognized post3 secondary credentials; and 

4 (3) that workforce programs for adults with 

5 limited skills incorporate an integrated education 

6 and training approach that allow adults to acquire 

7 basic skills while pursuing occupational or industry 

8 specific training. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Assistant Secretary for 

10 Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the Depart11 ment of Education (referred to as the Assistant Secretary 

12 in this section), in consultation with the Director of the 

13 National Office of New Americans, shall award Workforce 

14 Development and Shared Prosperity grants, on a competi15 tive basis, to States and local governments or other quali16 fying entities described in subsection (c), in collaboration 

17 with State and local governments. 

18 (c) QUALIFYING ENTITIES.—Qualifying entities 

19 under this section may include— 

20 (1) an educational institution; 

21 (2) a private organization; 

22 (3) a community-based organization; or 

23 (4) a not-for-profit organization. 

24 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—A State or local government or 

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1 ernment is eligible to receive a grant under this section 

2 provided that the State or local government or entity— 

3 (1) supports and promotes the economic inte4 gration of immigrants and refugees and their fami5 lies; 

6 (2) has expertise in workforce development and 

7 adult education for the purpose of developing and 

8 implementing State or local programs of integrated 

9 education and training; 

10 (3) in carrying out the grant program, includes 

11 at least one entity— 

12 (A) with expertise in workforce develop13 ment for immigrants and refugees; and 

14 (B) with expertise in adult education of 

15 immigrants and refugees; 

16 (4) uses matching funds from non-Federal 

17 sources, which may include in-kind contributions, 

18 equal to 25 percent of the amount received from the 

19 Workforce Development and Shared Prosperity 

20 grants program; and 

21 (5) submits to the Assistant Secretary an appli22 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing 

23 such information as the Assistant Secretary may 

24 reasonably require, including— 


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1 (A) a description of the target population 

2 to be served, including demographics, English 

3 language levels, educational levels, and skill lev4 els of the target population; 

5 (B) the specific integrated education and 

6 training instructional model to be implemented; 

7 (C) how the program will be designed and 

8 implemented by educators with expertise in 

9 adult education, English language instruction 

10 and occupational skills training; 

11 (D) how the program will prepare students 

12 to receive a high school equivalency credential; 

13 (E) how the program will prepare students 

14 to receive a postsecondary credential; 

15 (F) the occupations or industry for which 

16 the program will prepare students for employ17 ment; 

18 (G) evidence of employer demand for the 

19 skills or occupational training offered by the 

20 grant program; 

21 (H) the extent to which the program re22 duces the time required for students to acquire 

23 English and workforce skills; 

24 (I) how the program will increase digital 

25 literacy skills; 


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1 (J) how the program will provide student 

2 support services including guidance counseling 

3 in order to promote student success; and 

4 (K) the assessment and performance meas5 ures that the grant recipient plans to use to 

6 evaluate— 

7 (i) the progress of adult learners in 

8 acquiring basic skills such as reading, writ9 ing, math and the English language; and 

10 (ii) the success of the grant program 

11 to prepare students for employment and to 

12 help them find employment or advance in 

13 employment. 

14 (e) CERTIFICATION.—In order to receive a payment 

15 under this section, a participating entity shall submit to 

16 the Assistant Secretary a certification that the proposed 

17 uses of grant funds by the entity are consistent with this 

18 section and meet all necessary criteria determined by the 

19 Assistant Secretary in consultation with the Director of 

20 the National Office of New Americans. 

21 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Assistant Sec22 retary shall provide technical assistance to adult education 

23 providers on how to provide integrated education and 

24 training. 


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1 (g) ANNUAL REPORT AND EVALUATION.—Not later 

2 than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year for which 

3 an entity receives grant funds under this section, the enti4 ty shall submit to the Assistant Secretary the following: 

5 (1) A report that describes— 

6 (A) the activities undertaken by the entity 

7 that were funded entirely or partially by the 

8 grant funds; 

9 (B) the geographic area or areas served by 

10 the grant funds; 

11 (C) the number of immigrants in such 

12 areas; 

13 (D) the primary languages spoken in such 

14 areas; and 

15 (E) a breakdown of the costs of each of 

16 the services provided and the average per capita 

17 cost of providing such services. 

18 (2) An evaluation of any program of the entity 

19 using grant funds under this section, including an 

20 assessment of— 

21 (A) the effectiveness of such program and 

22 recommendations for improving the program; 

23 (B) whether or not the legal services needs 

24 of the geographic area served have been met 


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1 and if not, what further assistance is required 

2 to meet such need; and 

3 (C) the results of any assessment or eval4 uation of progress or success described in sub5 section (c)(5)(I). 

6 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi7 nitions apply: 

8 (1) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

9 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

10 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

11 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

12 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

13 (2) The term ‘‘integrated education and train14 ing’’ means instruction that provides adult edu15 cation, literacy and English language activities con16 currently and contextually with workforce prepara17 tion activities and workforce training for a specific 

18 occupation or occupational cluster for the purpose of 

19 educational and career advancement. 

20 (3) The term ‘‘adult education’’ means aca21 demic instruction and education services below the 

22 postsecondary level that increase an individual’s abil23 ity to read, write, and speak English and perform 

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1 nized equivalent, transition to postsecondary edu2 cation and training, or obtain employment. 

3 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $100,000,000 for fiscal years 2021 through 2022. 

6 SEC. 204. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED FOR EXISTING 

7 CITIZENSHIP GRANTS. 

8 There are authorized to be awarded by the Depart9 ment of Homeland Security to public or private nonprofit 

10 organizations for the purpose of Citizenship Education 

11 and Training (under the Catalog of Federal Domestic As12 sistance Number 97.010) an amount not less than 

13 $25,000,000. 

14 SEC. 205. CONSIDERATION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS. 

15 With regard to grants administered and awarded to 

16 public or private nonprofit organizations by the Depart17 ment of Homeland Security, unless otherwise required by 

18 law, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Secu19 rity, when making determinations about such grants, shall 

20 not consider the enrollment in or use by such organiza21 tions of E-Verify, the web-based system that the Depart22 ment administers for employers that enroll in the system 

23 to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the 

24 United States. 


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1 SEC. 206. ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITED STATES CITIZEN2 SHIP AND INTEGRATION FOUNDATION. 

3 The Secretary, acting through the Director of United 

4 States Citizenship and Immigration Services and in co5 ordination with National Office of New Americans, is au6 thorized to establish a nonprofit corporation or a not-for7 profit, public benefit, or similar entity, which shall be 

8 known as the ‘‘United States Citizenship and Integration 

9 Foundation’’ (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Founda10 tion’’). 

11 SEC. 207. GIFTS TO FOUNDATION. 

12 In order to carry out the purposes set forth in section 

13 208, the Foundation may— 

14 (1) solicit, accept, and make gifts of money and 

15 other property in accordance with section 501(c)(3) 

16 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

17 (2) engage in coordinated work with the De18 partment, including United States Citizenship and 

19 Immigration Services and the National Office of 

20 New Americans; and 

21 (3) accept, hold, administer, invest, and spend 

22 any gift, devise, or bequest of real or personal prop23 erty made to the Foundation. 

24 SEC. 208. PURPOSES. 

25 The purposes of the Foundation are— 


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1 (1) to spur innovation in the promotion and ex2 pansion of citizenship preparation programs for law3 ful permanent residents; 

4 (2) to evaluate and identify best practices in 

5 citizenship promotion and preparation and to make 

6 recommendations to the Department and the Na7 tional Office for New Americans about how to bring 

8 such best practices to scale; 

9 (3) to support direct assistance for noncitizens 

10 seeking lawful permanent resident status, or natu11 ralization as a United States citizen; and 

12 (4) to coordinate immigrant integration with 

13 State and local entities. 

14 SEC. 209. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. 

15 The Foundation shall carry out its purpose by— 

16 (1) making United States citizenship instruc17 tion and naturalization application services acces18 sible to low-income and other underserved lawful 

19 permanent resident populations; 

20 (2) developing, identifying, and sharing best 

21 practices in United States citizenship promotion and 

22 preparation; 

23 (3) supporting innovative and creative solutions 

24 to barriers faced by those seeking naturalization; 


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1 (4) increasing the use of, and access to, tech2 nology in United States citizenship preparation pro3 grams; 

4 (5) engaging receiving communities in the 

5 United States citizenship and civic integration proc6 ess; 

7 (6) administering the New Citizens Award Pro8 gram to recognize, in each calendar year, not more 

9 than 10 United States citizens who— 

10 (A) have made outstanding contributions 

11 to the United States; and 

12 (B) have been naturalized during the 10- 

13 year period ending on the date of such recogni14 tion; 

15 (7) fostering public education and awareness; 

16 (8) coordinating its immigrant integration ef17 forts with United States Citizenship and Immigra18 tion Services and the National Office of New Ameri19 cans; and 

20 (9) awarding grants to State and local govern21 ments under section 208. 

22 SEC. 210. COUNCIL OF DIRECTORS. 

23 (a) MEMBERS.—To the extent consistent with section 

24 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the 

25 Foundation shall have a Council of Directors (in this title 


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1 referred to as the ‘‘Council’’, which shall be comprised 

2 of— 

3 (1) the Director of United States Citizenship 

4 and Immigration Services; 

5 (2) the Director of the National Office of New 

6 Americans; and 

7 (3) 10 directors, appointed by the ex-officio di8 rectors designated in paragraphs (1) and (2), from 

9 national private and public nonprofit organizations 

10 that promote and assist permanent residents with 

11 naturalization. 

12 (b) APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The 

13 Council shall appoint an Executive Director, who shall 

14 oversee the day-to-day operations of the Foundation. 

15 SEC. 211. POWERS. 

16 The Executive Director is authorized to carry out the 

17 purposes set forth in section 208 on behalf of the Founda18 tion by— 

19 (1) accepting, holding, administering, investing, 

20 and spending any gift, devise, or bequest of real or 

21 personal property made to the Foundation; 

22 (2) entering into contracts and other financial 

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1 ernment agencies to carry out the functions of the 

2 Foundation; 

3 (3) entering into such other contracts, leases, 

4 cooperative agreements, and other transactions as 

5 the Executive Director considers appropriate to 

6 carry out the activities of the Foundation; and 

7 (4) charging such fees for professional services 

8 furnished by the Foundation as the Executive Direc9 tor determines reasonable and appropriate. 

10 SEC. 212. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 The Foundation shall be established and operational 

12 within 12 months of enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 213. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR 

14 FOUNDATION AND PILOT PROGRAM. 

15 There is authorized to be appropriated for the first 

16 two fiscal years after the date of enactment of this Act 

17 such sums as may be necessary to establish the Founda18 tion and the pilot program as described in section 212 of 

19 this Act. Such amounts may be invested and any amounts 

20 resulting from such investments shall remain available for 

21 the operations of the Foundation and the pilot program 

22 without further appropriation. 


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1 SEC. 214. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE IMMIGRANT INTE2 GRATION AT STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS. 

3 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Chief of the United 

4 States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of 

5 Citizenship, in coordination with the National Office of 

6 New Americans (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Chief’’), 

7 shall establish a pilot program through which the Chief 

8 may award grants, on a competitive basis, to States and 

9 local governments or other qualifying entities, in collabora10 tion with State and local governments— 

11 (1) to establish New Immigrant Councils to 

12 carry out programs to integrate new immigrants; or 

13 (2) to carry out programs to integrate new im14 migrants. 

15 (b) APPLICATION.—A State or local government de16 siring a grant under this section shall submit an applica17 tion to the Chief at such time, in such manner, and con18 taining such information as the Chief may reasonably re19 quire, including— 

20 (1) a proposal to meet an objective or combina21 tion of objectives set forth in subsection (d)(3); 

22 (2) the number of new immigrants in the appli23 cant’s jurisdiction; and 

24 (3) a description of the challenges in intro25 ducing and integrating new immigrants into the 

26 State or local community. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—A grant awarded 

2 under this subsection may be used— 

3 (1) to form a New Immigrant Council, which 

4 shall— 

5 (A) consist of between 15 and 19 individ6 uals, inclusive, from the State, local govern7 ment, or qualifying organization; 

8 (B) include, to the extent practicable, rep9 resentatives from— 

10 (i) business; 

11 (ii) faith-based organizations; 

12 (iii) civic organizations; 

13 (iv) philanthropic organizations; 

14 (v) nonprofit organizations, including 

15 those with legal and advocacy experience 

16 working with immigrant communities; 

17 (vi) key education stakeholders, such 

18 as State educational agencies, local edu19 cational agencies, community colleges, and 

20 teachers; 

21 (vii) State adult education offices; 

22 (viii) State or local public libraries; 

23 and 

24 (ix) State or local governments; and 


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1 (C) meet not less frequently than once 

2 each quarter; 

3 (2) to provide subgrants to local communities, 

4 city governments, municipalities, nonprofit organiza5 tions (including veterans’ and patriotic organiza6 tions), or other qualifying entities; 

7 (3) to develop, implement, expand, or enhance 

8 a comprehensive plan to introduce and integrate new 

9 immigrants into the State by— 

10 (A) improving English language skills; 

11 (B) engaging caretakers with limited 

12 English proficiency in their child’s education 

13 through interactive parent and child literacy ac14 tivities; 

15 (C) improving and expanding access to 

16 workforce training programs; 

17 (D) teaching United States history, civics 

18 education, citizenship rights, and responsibil19 ities; 

20 (E) promoting an understanding of the 

21 form of government and history of the United 

22 States and the principles of the Constitution; 

23 (F) improving financial literacy; and 

24 (G) focusing on other key areas of impor25 tance to integration in our society; and 


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1 (4) to engage receiving communities in the citi2 zenship and civic integration process by— 

3 (A) increasing local service capacity; 

4 (B) building meaningful connections be5 tween newer immigrants and long-time resi6 dents; 

7 (C) communicating the contributions of re8 ceiving communities and new immigrants; and 

9 (D) engaging leaders from all sectors of 

10 the community. 

11 (d) REPORTING AND EVALUATION.— 

12 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each grant recipient 

13 shall submit an annual report to the Chief that de14 scribes— 

15 (A) the activities undertaken by the grant 

16 recipient, including how such activities meet the 

17 goals of the Office, the Foundation, and the 

18 comprehensive plan described in subsection 

19 (d)(3); 

20 (B) the geographic areas being served; 

21 (C) the number of immigrants in such 

22 areas; and 

23 (D) the primary languages spoken in such 

24 areas. 


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1 (2) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—The Chief shall 

2 conduct an annual evaluation of the grant program 

3 established under this section— 

4 (A) to assess and improve the effectiveness 

5 of such grant program; 

6 (B) to assess the future needs of immi7 grants and of State and local governments re8 lated to immigrants; and 

9 (C) to ensure that grantees recipients and 

10 subgrantees are acting within the scope and 

11 purpose of this subchapter. 

12 TITLE III—REDUCING BARRIERS 

13 TO CITIZENSHIP 

14 SEC. 301. IMMIGRATION SERVICE FEES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (m) of section 286 of 

16 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)) 

17 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(m) IMMIGRATION SERVICE FEES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (2) and notwithstanding any other provision 

21 of law, all adjudication fees as are designated by the 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security in regulations shall 

23 be deposited as offsetting receipts into a separate ac24 count entitled ‘Immigration Examinations Fee Ac25 count’ in the Treasury of the United States, whether 


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1 collected directly by the Secretary or through clerks 

2 of courts. 

3 ‘‘(2) VIRGIN ISLANDS AND GUAM.—All fees re4 ceived by the Secretary of Homeland Security from 

5 applicants residing in the Virgin Islands of the 

6 United States, or in Guam, under this subsection 

7 shall be paid over to the treasury of the Virgin Is8 lands or to the treasury of Guam, respectively. 

9 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTIONS.—All fees received by the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security from applicants re11 siding in the Virgin Islands of the United States, or 

12 in Guam, under this subsection shall be prohibited 

13 for use to cover the cost associated with— 

14 ‘‘(A) the civil revocation of naturalization; 

15 ‘‘(B) Operation Second Look; 

16 ‘‘(C) Operation Janus; 

17 ‘‘(D) any and all activities and operations 

18 conducted by Immigration and Customs En19 forcement, Customs and Border Protection and 

20 Homeland Security Investigations; and 

21 ‘‘(E) any other activity or operation that is 

22 not directly related to adjudications for immi23 gration benefits. 

24 ‘‘(4) FEES FOR ADJUDICATION AND NATU25 RALIZATION SERVICES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

3 may set fees for providing adjudication and nat4 uralization services at a level that will— 

5 ‘‘(i) ensure recovery of the full costs 

6 of providing such services, or a portion 

7 thereof, including the costs of naturaliza8 tion and similar services provided without 

9 charge to asylum applicants or other immi10 grants; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) recover the full cost of admin12 istering the collection of fees under this 

13 paragraph, or a portion thereof. 

14 ‘‘(B) REPORT REQUIREMENT BEFORE FEE

15 INCREASE.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity may not increase any fee under this para17 graph above the level of such fee on January 1, 

18 2019, until— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Secretary submits to the 

20 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

21 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

22 House of Representatives a report that— 

23 ‘‘(I) identifies the direct and indi24 rect costs associated with providing 

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1 ices, and distinguishes such costs 

2 from immigration enforcement and 

3 national security costs; 

4 ‘‘(II) identifies the costs allocable 

5 to providing premium processing serv6 ices to business customers prescribed 

7 by section 286(u) of this Act; de8 scribes the extent to which the fee 

9 prescribed in that section is set at a 

10 level that ensures full recovery of 

11 those costs; and identifies the amount 

12 of funding that is being allocated for 

13 the infrastructure improvements in 

14 the adjudications and customer-service 

15 processes as prescribed by that sec16 tion; and 

17 ‘‘(III) contains information re18 garding the amount the fee will be in19 creased; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) a period of 60 days has expired 

21 beginning on the date that the report in 

22 clause (i) is received by the committees de23 scribed in such clause. 

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1 curity shall report to the Committee on the Ju2 diciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 

3 Judiciary of the House of Representatives on a 

4 quarterly basis the following— 

5 ‘‘(i) for adjudications, when the proc6 essing time of more than ten percent of 

7 any single category of immigration benefits 

8 surpasses the agency’s stated processing 

9 goal as of January 1, 2019; 

10 ‘‘(ii) when the processing time of more 

11 than 5 percent of applications for legal 

12 permanent residence surpass 150 days; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(iii) when the processing time of 

15 more than 5 percent of applications for 

16 naturalization surpass 150 days. 

17 ‘‘(5) FEE WAIVERS FOR ADJUDICATION AND

18 NATURALIZATION SERVICES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the 

20 provisions of this Act or any other law, the fol21 lowing fee waivers shall apply: 

22 ‘‘(i) In the case of an alien whose in23 come is less than 150 percent of the Fed24 eral poverty line, no fee shall be charged or 

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1 peal, motion, service or other service de2 scribed in section 286(m) or for the bio3 metrics capture or background check asso4 ciated with such services. 

5 ‘‘(ii) In the case of an alien whose in6 come is less than 250 percent of the Fed7 eral poverty line, not more than 50 percent 

8 of the applicable fee shall be charged or 

9 collected for an application, petition, ap10 peal, motion, service or service described in 

11 section 286(m). 

12 ‘‘(iii) In the case of an alien under fi13 nancial hardship due to extraordinary ex14 penses or other circumstances affecting his 

15 or her financial situation to the degree 

16 that he or she is unable to pay the fee, no 

17 fee shall be charged or collected for an ap18 plication, petition, appeal, motion, service 

19 or other service described in section 

20 286(m) or for the biometrics capture or 

21 background check associated with such 

22 services. 

23 ‘‘(B) NO FEE CHARGED FOR WAIVER RE24 QUEST.—No fee shall be charged for a fee waiv25 er request described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(C) NO WAIVER FOR CERTAIN FEES.— 

2 The fee for employment-based petitions and ap3 plications prescribed by subsection (u) may not 

4 be waived. 

5 ‘‘(D) MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS.—Not6 withstanding any other provision of law, the 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security shall consider 

8 the receipt of means-tested benefits as a cri9 terion for the purpose of demonstrating eligi10 bility for a fee waiver under subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(E) APPLICATION FOR FEE WAIVER.—An 

12 alien requesting a waiver of fees under subpara13 graph (A) may submit either a form as pre14 scribed by the Secretary or an applicant-gen15 erated, written request for permission to have 

16 their immigration benefit request processed 

17 without payment of the required fee. 

18 ‘‘(F) FEDERAL POVERTY LINE DEFINED.— 

19 In this subsection, the term ‘Federal poverty 

20 line’ has the meaning given such term by the 

21 Director of the Office of Management and 

22 Budget, as revised annually by the Secretary of 

23 Health and Human Services in accordance with 

24 section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Rec25 onciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902).’’. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that— 

3 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security should 

4 set fees under section 286(m)(34) of the Immigra5 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)(3)), as 

6 amended by subsection (a) of this section, at a level 

7 that ensures recovery of only the direct costs associ8 ated with the services described in such section 

9 286(m)(34); and 

10 (2) Congress should appropriate to the Sec11 retary of Homeland Security such funds as may be 

12 necessary to cover— 

13 (A) the indirect costs associated with the 

14 services described in such section 286(m)(3); 

15 (B) the adjudication of refugee and asylum 

16 processing; 

17 (C) the costs of administering the System18 atic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) 

19 Program; 

20 (D) the adjudication of naturalization ap21 plications not covered in full by the fees paid by 

22 applicants; 

23 (E) the reduction or elimination of fees 

24 granted to fee waiver applicants; and 


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1 (F) grants to public and private nonprofits 

2 for the purposes of citizenship and training. 

3 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 286 of the 

4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsections (d), (e), (f), (h), (i), (j), (k), 

7 (l), (n), (o), (q), (t), and (u), by striking ‘‘Attorney 

8 General’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Sec9 retary of Homeland Security’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (r)— 

11 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Depart12 ment of Justice’’ and inserting ‘‘Department of 

13 Homeland Security’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraphs (3) and (4), by striking 

15 ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place it appears and 

16 inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’. 

17 SEC. 302. REDUCE FINANCIAL OBSTACLES TO NATURALIZA18 TION. 

19 Section 316 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

20 is amended by inserting after subsection (e) (and redesig21 nating all that follows): 

22 ‘‘(f) FEE.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

23 shall impose a fee of no more than $50 for the consider24 ation of an application for naturalization. Nothing in this 

25 paragraph shall be construed to limit the authority of the 


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1 Secretary to set adjudication fees for other benefit applica2 tions other than naturalization in accordance with section 

3 286(m).’’. 

4 SEC. 303. WAIVER OF ENGLISH REQUIREMENT FOR SENIOR 

5 NEW AMERICANS. 

6 Section 312 (8 U.S.C. 1423) is amended by striking 

7 subsection (b) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(b) The requirements under subsection (a) shall not 

9 apply to any person who— 

10 ‘‘(1) is unable to comply with such require11 ments because of physical or mental disability, in12 cluding developmental or intellectual disability; or 

13 ‘‘(2) on the date on which the person’s applica14 tion for naturalization is filed under section 334— 

15 ‘‘(A) is older than 65 years of age; and 

16 ‘‘(B) has been living in the United States 

17 for periods totaling at least 5 years after being 

18 lawfully admitted for permanent residence. 

19 ‘‘(c) The requirement under subsection (a)(1) shall 

20 not apply to any person who, on the date on which the 

21 person’s application for naturalization is filed under sec22 tion 334— 

23 ‘‘(1) is older than 50 years of age and has been 

24 living in the United States for periods totaling at 


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1 least 20 years after being lawfully admitted for per2 manent residence; 

3 ‘‘(2) is older than 55 years of age and has been 

4 living in the United States for periods totaling at 

5 least 15 years after being lawfully admitted for per6 manent residence; or 

7 ‘‘(3) is older than 60 years of age and has been 

8 living in the United States for periods totaling at 

9 least 10 years after being lawfully admitted for per10 manent residence. 

11 ‘‘(d) The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive, 

12 on a case-by-case basis, the requirement under subsection 

13 (a)(2) on behalf of any person who, on the date on which 

14 the person’s application for naturalization is filed under 

15 section 334— 

16 ‘‘(1) is older than 60 years of age; and 

17 ‘‘(2) has been living in the United States for 

18 periods totaling at least 10 years after being lawfully 

19 admitted for permanent residence.’’. 

20 SEC. 304. NATURALIZATION FOR CERTAIN UNITED STATES 

21 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) is amended by 

24 inserting after section 320 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 321. CITIZENSHIP FOR CERTAIN UNITED STATES 

2 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES. 

3 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS DEEMED SATISFIED.—In the 

4 case of an alien described in subsection (b), the alien shall 

5 be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of section 

6 312(a). 

7 ‘‘(b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described in 

8 this subsection if the alien submits an application for nat9 uralization under section 334 that contains the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Transcripts from public or private schools 

11 in the United States that demonstrate the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) The alien completed grades 9 through 

13 12 in the United States and was graduated 

14 with a high school diploma. 

15 ‘‘(B) The alien completed a curriculum 

16 that reflects knowledge of United States his17 tory, Government, and civics. 

18 ‘‘(2) A copy of the alien’s high school di19 ploma.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

21 for the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by 

22 inserting after the item relating to section 320 the fol23 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 321. Citizenship for certain United States high school graduates.’’. 

24 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

25 section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 


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1 this Act and shall apply to applicants for naturalization 

2 who apply for naturalization on or after such date. 

3 (d) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Homeland Se4 curity shall promulgate regulations to carry out this sec5 tion and the amendments made by this section not later 

6 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 305. FAMILY INTEGRATION. 

8 Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1151) is amended by striking in subsection 

10 (b)(2)(A)(i) the number ‘‘21’’ and inserting the number 

11 ‘‘18’’. 

12 SEC. 306. REVISION OF GROUNDS FOR DEPORTATION. 

13 Section 237(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(5)) is repealed. 

15 SEC. 307. WAIVER TO ENSURE ACCESS TO CITIZENSHIP. 

16 The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

17 et seq.) is amended— 

18 (1) in section 237(a)(3)(D) (8 U.S.C. 

19 1227(a)(3)(D)), by inserting ‘‘and willfully’’ after 

20 ‘‘falsely’’ each place such term appears; 

21 (2) in section 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) (8 U.S.C. 

22 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii)), by inserting ‘‘and willfully’’ after 

23 ‘‘falsely’’ each place such term appears; 


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1 (3) in section 212(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I) (8 U.S.C. 

2 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I)), by striking ‘‘or any other Fed3 eral or State law’’; 

4 (4) in section 212(a)(6)(C)(iii) (8 U.S.C. 

5 1182(a)(6)(C)(iii)), by striking ‘‘of clause (i)’’; and 

6 (5) by amending section 212(i)(1) (8 U.S.C. 

7 1182(i)(1)) to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(1) The Attorney General or the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security may, in the discretion of the At10 torney General or the Secretary, waive the applica11 tion of subsection (a)(6)(C)(ii) in the case of an im12 migrant who is the parent, spouse, son, or daughter 

13 of a United States citizen or of an alien lawfully ad14 mitted for permanent residence, or an alien granted 

15 classification under clause (iii) or (iv) of section 

16 204(a)(1)(A), if it is established to the satisfaction 

17 of the Attorney General or the Secretary that the 

18 admission to the United States of such alien would 

19 not be contrary to the national welfare, safety, or se20 curity of the United States.’’. 

21 SEC. 308. NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chief of the Office of Citizen23 ship in United States Citizenship and Immigration Serv24 ices, in consultation with the Deputy Director for Citizen25 ship and Inclusion of the National Office of New AmeriVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928

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1 cans as established in title I of this Act, the Director of 

2 the National Park Service, the Archivist of the United 

3 States, and other appropriate Federal officials, shall de4 velop and implement a strategy to enhance the public 

5 awareness of naturalization ceremonies. 

6 (b) VENUES.—In developing the strategy under sub7 section (a), the Chief and the Deputy Director shall con8 sider the use of outstanding and historic locations as 

9 venues for select naturalization ceremonies. 

10 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

11 annually submit a report to Congress that contains— 

12 (1) the content of the strategy developed under 

13 subsection (a); and 

14 (2) the progress made towards the implementa15 tion of such strategy. 

16 SEC. 309. NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP PROMOTION PROGRAM. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

19 2020, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall es20 tablish a program to promote United States citizen21 ship. 

22 (2) DESIGNATION.—The program required by 

23 paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘‘Proud to Be 

24 a United States Citizen Program’’ (in this section 

25 referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 


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1 (b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—As part of the Program 

2 required by subsection (a), the Secretary of Homeland Se3 curity shall carry out outreach activities in accordance 

4 with subsection (c). 

5 (c) OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu6 rity shall— 

7 (1) develop outreach materials targeted to non8 citizens who have been lawfully admitted for perma9 nent residence to encourage such aliens to apply to 

10 become citizens of the United States; 

11 (2) make such outreach materials available 

12 through— 

13 (A) public service announcements; 

14 (B) advertisements; and 

15 (C) such other media as the Secretary de16 termines is appropriate; 

17 (3) conduct outreach activities targeted to non18 citizens eligible to apply for naturalization that in19 clude a communication by text, email and the United 

20 States postal service that includes on paper or in 

21 electronic form— 

22 (A) notice that the individual is possibly el23 igible to apply for naturalization; 

24 (B) information about the requirements of 

25 United States citizenship; 


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1 (C) information about the benefits of 

2 United States citizenship; 

3 (D) a pre-filled naturalization application 

4 containing the data the agency already has 

5 about the individual; 

6 (E) instructions about how to complete the 

7 application; and 

8 (F) information about where to get free or 

9 low-cost assistance to apply for naturalization 

10 and to prepare for the English and civics 

11 exams. 

12 SEC. 310. MISSION OF UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP AND 

13 IMMIGRATION SERVICES. 

14 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 

15 271(a)) is amended by inserting after section 271(a)(1) 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) MISSION.—The mission statement of 

18 United States citizenship and immigration services 

19 shall read, ‘USCIS secures America’s promise as a 

20 Nation that welcomes of immigrants and refugees by 

21 providing accurate and useful information to our 

22 customers, granting humanitarian, immigration and 

23 citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and un24 derstanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integ25 rity of our immigration system.’.’’. 


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1 SEC. 311. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI2 VIDUALS. 

3 (a) REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPER4 ATE AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION SYSTEM FOR THE

5 NEWLY NATURALIZED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election offi7 cial of each State shall establish and operate a sys8 tem of automatic registration for newly naturalized 

9 individuals to vote for elections for Federal office in 

10 the State, in accordance with the provisions of this 

11 part. 

12 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this sec13 tion: 

14 (A) The term ‘‘automatic registration’’ 

15 means a system that registers an individual to 

16 vote in elections for Federal office in a State, 

17 if eligible, by transferring the information nec18 essary for registration from the Department of 

19 Homeland Security to election officials of the 

20 State so that, unless the individual affirmatively 

21 declines to be registered or is determined to be 

22 ineligible for registration, the individual will be 

23 registered to vote in such elections. 

24 (B) The term ‘‘newly naturalized’’ refers 

25 to an individual with an approved application 

26 for naturalization admitted for United States 


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1 citizenship who has taken the oath described in 

2 section 337 of the Immigration and Nationality 

3 Act (8 U.S.C. 1448) and received a certificate 

4 of naturalization under section 338 of the Im5 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1449). 

6 (b) REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON DEPART7 MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY RECORDS.—The chief 

8 State election official shall— 

9 (1) upon receiving information from the Sec10 retary of the Department of Homeland Security con11 cerning a person who has received a certificate of 

12 naturalization pursuant to section 338 of the Immi13 gration and Nationality Act and who has not de14 clined such registration— 

15 (A) ensure that such person fulfills any 

16 local or State qualifications to register to vote 

17 related to legal competency and to past criminal 

18 convictions; and 

19 (B) determine whether such person is sub20 ject to privacy protections for victims of domes21 tic violence or for people with sensitive or high22 profile professions; 

23 (2) not later than 15 days after the Secretary 

24 of the Department of Homeland Security has trans25 mitted information with respect to an individual purVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928

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1 suant to section 312, ensure that the individual is 

2 registered to vote in elections for Federal office in 

3 the State if the individual is not disqualified from 

4 voting by reason of incompetency or past criminal 

5 conviction; 

6 (3) not later than 45 days after the Secretary 

7 has transmitted such information with respect to the 

8 individual, send written notice to the individual, in 

9 addition to other means of notice established by this 

10 part, of the individual’s voter registration status; 

11 and 

12 (4) exclude from all public availability or disclo13 sure the voter registration records of any such indi14 viduals who are protected by applicable State or 

15 local laws that prevent publication of the home ad16 dress and other personally identifying information 

17 about victims of domestic violence and people with 

18 sensitive or high-profile professions. 

19 (c) CONTENTS OF WRITTEN NOTICE TO NEWLY

20 REGISTERED VOTERS.—The written notice chief State 

21 election officials shall promptly send each individual whose 

22 information is transmitted by the Secretary of Homeland 

23 Security pursuant to this part shall include— 

24 (1) notice that the individual has been reg25 istered to vote; 


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1 (2) the substantive qualifications of an elector 

2 in the State as listed in the mail voter registration 

3 application form for elections for Federal office pre4 scribed pursuant to section 9 of the National Voter 

5 Registration Act of 1993, the consequences of false 

6 registration, and a statement that the individual 

7 should cancel registration if the individual does not 

8 meet all those qualifications, and instructions for 

9 cancelling registration; and 

10 (3) instructions for correcting any erroneous in11 formation in the individual’s voter registration 

12 record. 

13 (d) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 YEARS

14 OF AGE.—A State may not refuse to treat an individual 

15 as an eligible individual for purposes of this part on the 

16 grounds that the individual is less than 18 years of age 

17 at the time the Secretary receives information with respect 

18 to the individual, so long as the individual is at least 16 

19 years of age at such time. 

20 SEC. 312. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ASSIST21 ANCE IN REGISTRATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this part, the 

23 Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security shall 

24 assist the State’s chief election official in registering to 


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1 vote all newly naturalized individuals sworn in and issued 

2 a naturalization certificate by the Secretary. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SECRETARY.— 

4 (1) INSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA5 TION.—The Secretary require each individual ap6 proved for naturalization to submit an executed doc7 ument at the time of taking of the oath described in 

8 section 337 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 that— 

10 (A) informs the individual of the sub11 stantive qualifications of an elector in the State 

12 as listed in the mail voter registration applica13 tion form for elections for Federal office pre14 scribed pursuant to section 9 of the National 

15 Voter Registration Act of 1993, the con16 sequences of false registration, and that the in17 dividual should decline to register if the indi18 vidual does not meet all those qualifications; 

19 (B) informs the individual that voter reg20 istration is voluntary, and neither registering 

21 nor declining to register to vote will in any way 

22 affect the individual’s citizenship status or 

23 availability of services or benefits, nor be used 

24 for other purposes; 


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1 (C) informs the individual that affiliation 

2 or enrollment with a political party may be re3 quired in order to participate in an election to 

4 select the party’s candidate in an election for 

5 Federal office, and offers the option to individ6 uals accepting voter registration of affiliating or 

7 enrolling with a political party; 

8 (D) states that if the individual executes 

9 the document but does not take an oath of alle10 giance to the United States and is not issued a 

11 certificate of naturalization, the individual shall 

12 not be registered to vote; 

13 (E) instructs individuals who accept voter 

14 registration to provide their residential address 

15 or coordinates if different from their mailing 

16 address on file with USCIS; 

17 (F) directs individuals to either sign in a 

18 designated space to decline voter registration, 

19 or to sign in a different designated space to at20 test that the individual— 

21 (i) affirms that information provided 

22 on the document is true and complete to 

23 the best of the individual’s knowledge; 

24 (ii) will fulfill nationally applicable 

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1 ments to vote upon the individual’s natu2 ralization; and 

3 (iii) accepts voter registration if deter4 mined by State election officials to be eligi5 ble to register in the individual’s State and 

6 municipality of residence; and 

7 (G) provides a phone number and other 

8 widely accessible means of contacting USCIS 

9 with questions about or for assistance with 

10 completing sections of the document concerning 

11 automatic voter registration, as set forth in 

12 subsection (b)(3) of this section. 

13 (2) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL.—Before or 

14 upon the expiration of the 15-day period which be15 gins on the date a newly naturalized individual re16 turns an executed document described in paragraph 

17 (1) to the Secretary, the Secretary shall transmit to 

18 the appropriate State election official, in a format 

19 compatible with the statewide voter database main20 tained under section 303 of the Help America Vote 

21 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083) whenever possible, 

22 the following information, unless the individual de23 clines to be registered to vote when executing the 

24 document: 


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1 (A) The individual’s given name(s) and 

2 surname(s). 

3 (B) The individual’s date of birth. 

4 (C) The individual’s residential address or 

5 coordinates. 

6 (D) Confirmation that the individual is a 

7 citizen of the United States. 

8 (E) The date on which the individual was 

9 sworn in as a United States citizen. 

10 (F) If available, the individual’s signature 

11 in electronic form. 

12 (G) Information regarding the individual’s 

13 affiliation or enrollment with a political party, 

14 if the individual provides such information. 

15 (3) REGISTRATION ASSISTANCE.—The Sec16 retary shall publish information about and instruc17 tions for accepting or declining automatic voter reg18 istration for newly naturalized United States citizens 

19 on the USCIS website and in materials routinely 

20 provided to approved applicants for United States 

21 citizenship; and create a telephonic hotline staffed by 

22 live operators to provide assistance with registration 

23 to approved applicants for United States citizenship. 


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1 SEC. 313. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTO2 MATIC REGISTRATION. 

3 (a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 

4 An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 

5 or State law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication 

6 concerning immigration status or naturalization, or sub7 ject to an allegation in any legal proceeding that the indi8 vidual is not a citizen of the United States on any of the 

9 following grounds: 

10 (1) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec11 tions for Federal office but— 

12 (A) was automatically registered to vote 

13 under this title; or 

14 (B) was automatically registered to vote 

15 under this part and subsequently voted without 

16 willful intent to do so unlawfully. 

17 (2) The individual was automatically registered 

18 to vote under this part at an incorrect address. 

19 (3) The individual declined the opportunity to 

20 register to vote or did not make an affirmation of 

21 citizenship, including through automatic registration, 

22 under this part. 

23 (b) LIMITS ON USE OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA24 TION.—The automatic registration of any individual or the 

25 fact that an individual declined the opportunity to register 

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1 cluding through automatic registration) under this part 

2 may not be used as evidence against that individual in any 

3 State or Federal law enforcement proceeding, and an indi4 vidual’s lack of knowledge or willfulness of such registra5 tion may be demonstrated by the individual’s testimony 

6 alone. 

7 (c) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES’ PROTECTION OF IN8 FORMATION.—Nothing in this part authorizes the Depart9 ment of Homeland Security to collect, retain, transmit, or 

10 publicly disclose any of the following, except to State elec11 tion officials as directed in this part: 

12 (1) An individual’s decision to decline to reg13 ister to vote or not to register to vote. 

14 (2) An individual’s decision not to affirm his or 

15 her citizenship. 

16 (3) Any information that a contributing agency 

17 transmits pursuant to section 312(b)(3), except in 

18 pursuing the agency’s ordinary course of business. 

19 (d) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.—With re20 spect to any individual for whom any State election official 

21 receives information from the Department of Homeland 

22 Security, the State election officials shall not publicly dis23 close any of the following: 

24 (1) Any information not necessary to voter reg25 istration. 


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1 (2) Any voter information otherwise shielded 

2 from disclosure under State law or section 8(a) of 

3 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 

4 U.S.C. 20507(a)). 

5 (3) Any portion of the individual’s social secu6 rity number. 

7 (4) Any portion of the individual’s motor vehicle 

8 driver’s license number. 

9 (5) The individual’s signature. 

10 (6) The individual’s telephone number. 

11 (7) The individual’s email address. 

12 SEC. 314. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 Sections 312, 313, and 314 shall go into effect begin14 ning January 1, 2021. 

15 TITLE IV—REFUGEE RESETTLE16 MENT AND INTEGRATION 

17 SEC. 401. MINIMUM NUMBER OF REFUGEES TO BE ADMIT18 TED. 

19 Section 207(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(a)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘in 

21 any fiscal year after fiscal year 1982 shall be such number 

22 as the President determines,’’ the following: ‘‘except that 

23 in any fiscal year after fiscal year 2018, such number may 

24 not be less than 110,000’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. PRE-ARRIVAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND WORK 

2 ORIENTATION TRAINING FOR APPROVED 

3 REFUGEE APPLICANTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es5 tablish overseas refugee training programs to offer 

6 English as a second language and work orientation train7 ing options for refugees who have been approved for ad8 mission to the United States before their departure for 

9 the United States. 

10 (b) DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION.—In designing 

11 and implementing the programs referred to in subsection 

12 (a), the Secretary shall consult with or use— 

13 (1) nongovernmental or international organiza14 tions with direct ties to the United States refugee 

15 resettlement program; and 

16 (2) nongovernmental or international organiza17 tions with appropriate expertise in developing cur18 riculum and teaching English as a second language. 

19 (c) IMPACT ON PROCESSING TIMES.—The Secretary 

20 shall ensure that such training programs are strictly op21 tional, occur within applicable processing times and do not 

22 delay or prevent the departure for the United States of 

23 refugees who have been approved for admission to the 

24 United States. 

25 (d) TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 

2 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

3 the Secretary shall ensure that such training pro4 grams are fully and continually operational in at 

5 least 3 refugee processing regions. 

6 (2) ADDITIONAL IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

7 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act, the Secretary shall notify the appropriate con9 gressional committees that such training programs 

10 are fully and consistently operational in 5 refugee 

11 processing regions. 

12 (e) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

14 of the United States shall conduct a study on the imple15 mentation of this section, including an assessment of the 

16 quality of English as a second language curriculum and 

17 instruction, the benefits of the work orientation and 

18 English as a second language training program to refu19 gees, and recommendations on whether such programs 

20 should be continued, broadened, or modified, and shall 

21 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re22 port on the findings of such study. 

23 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec24 tion shall be construed to require that a refugee particiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:50 Nov 08, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4928.IH H4928

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1 pate in such a training program as a precondition for the 

2 admission to the United States of such refugee. 

3 SEC. 403. UPDATE OF RECEPTION AND PLACEMENT 

4 GRANTS. 

5 Beginning with fiscal year 2020, the Secretary of 

6 State shall, when setting the amount of the reception and 

7 placement grants for refugees, ensure that— 

8 (1) the grant amount is adjusted so that it is 

9 adequate to provide for the anticipated initial reset10 tlement needs of refugees, including adjusting the 

11 amount for inflation and the cost of living; 

12 (2) the administrative proportion of the grant is 

13 provided at the beginning of the fiscal year to each 

14 national resettlement agency that is sufficient to en15 sure adequate local and national capacity to serve 

16 the initial resettlement needs of refugees the Sec17 retary anticipates the agency will resettle throughout 

18 the fiscal year; and 

19 (3) additional amounts are provided to each na20 tional resettlement agency promptly upon the arrival 

21 of refugees that, exclusive of the amounts provided 

22 pursuant to paragraph (2), are sufficient to meet the 

23 anticipated initial resettlement needs of such refu24 gees and support local and national operational costs 


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1 in excess of the estimates described in paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 SEC. 404. CASE MANAGEMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 

6 The Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

7 shall make grants to national resettlement agencies 

8 to operate a case management system to assist 

9 qualified individuals in accessing services, benefits, 

10 and assistance for which they are eligible that are 

11 provided by— 

12 (A) the Office of Refugee Resettlement 

13 (the ‘‘Office’’); 

14 (B) other Federal, State, or local agencies; 

15 and 

16 (C) private or nonprofit organizations. 

17 (2) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS.—Subject to para18 graphs (3) and (4), any individual who was at any 

19 time eligible for resettlement, acculturation, or sub20 sistence services provided by the Office shall be 

21 qualified to receive the case management services de22 scribed in paragraph (1). 

23 (3) PERIOD OF QUALIFICATION.—Except as 

24 provided in paragraph (4), an individual described in 

25 paragraph (2) shall be qualified to receive the case 


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1 management services described in paragraph (1) 

2 during the period beginning on the date such indi3 vidual was determined to be eligible for resettlement, 

4 acculturation, or subsistence services provided by the 

5 Office, and continuing for 1 year after the date on 

6 which such individual ceases to be eligible for such 

7 resettlement, acculturation, or subsistence service. 

8 (4) EXCEPTIONS FOR EXCEPTIONAL CIR9 CUMSTANCES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para11 graph (3), an individual described in subpara12 graph (B) shall be qualified to receive the case 

13 management services described in paragraph 

14 (1) during the period beginning on the date on 

15 which such individual was determined eligible 

16 for resettlement, acculturation, or subsistence 

17 services provided by the Office, and continuing 

18 for 3 years after the date on which such indi19 vidual ceases to be eligible for such resettle20 ment, acculturation, or subsistence services. 

21 (B) EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—An 

22 individual described in paragraph (2) may be 

23 treated in accordance with subparagraph (A) if 

24 such individual— 

25 (i) is elderly; 


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1 (ii) has extraordinary resettlement or 

2 acculturation needs that impede such indi3 vidual’s ability to achieve durable self-suffi4 ciency; 

5 (iii) is a refugee who was resettled 

6 from a situation of protracted displace7 ment; 

8 (iv) is a member of a family caring for 

9 an unattached refugee minor; or 

10 (v) at the time of entry— 

11 (I) had a disability or serious 

12 medical condition; 

13 (II) had mental health condi14 tions; 

15 (III) was part of a household 

16 headed by a single parent; or 

17 (IV) had been the victim of a se18 vere form of violence. 

19 (5) DEFINITION OF RESETTLEMENT, ACCUL20 TURATION, OR SUBSISTENCE SERVICES.—For the 

21 purposes of this section, the term, ‘‘resettlement, ac22 culturation, or subsistence services’’ shall include all 

23 of the services provided by the Office to aliens, with 

24 the exception of the case management services pro25 vided under paragraph (1). 


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1 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

2 be construed as affecting the authority of the Director 

3 under section 412(e)(7)(A) of the Immigration and Na4 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522(e)(7)(A)), or of any other 

5 section of such Act, to provide case management services 

6 to individuals who have been in the United States for 

7 longer than 36 months. 

8 SEC. 405. INCREASE IN CASH PAYMENTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 412 of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘(iv) Subject to the availability of 

14 funds appropriated for this purpose, assist15 ance and social services for employment, 

16 health and living expenses shall be avail17 able for a period of not less than 12 

18 months.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (a)(5), by adding at the end 

20 the following: ‘‘Subject to the availability of funds 

21 appropriated for this purpose, assistance and serv22 ices shall be made available to refugees for a period 

23 of not less than 12 months.’’; and 

24 (3) in subsection (e)(1)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘(1)(A)’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) Subject to the availability of funds 

5 appropriated for this purpose, such assistance 

6 shall be provided for a minimum of 12 months 

7 beginning with the first month in which such 

8 refugee entered the United States.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 subsection (a) shall become effective on the earlier of— 

11 (1) the first day of the first fiscal year that be12 gins after the date of the enactment of this Act; or 

13 (2) the date on which a final rule is promul14 gated to implement this section. 

15 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The 12-month speci16 fication contained in the amendments made by subsection 

17 (a) is a minimum standard for the provision of services 

18 to the refugee community. No part of this Act shall be 

19 interpreted as limiting or reducing assistance already pro20 vided for a period longer than 12 months. 

Æ 


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