01/01/2008

News / TASK FORCE ON NEW AMERICANS

Created in June 2006 by President George W. Bush, the Task Force on New Americans is an inter-agency effort to help immigrants learn English, embrace the common core of American civic culture, and fully become American. The Task Force works to develop a more cooperative federal approach to assimilation, one of the five pillars of the President’s comprehensive immigration reform plan.
Established within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Secretary Michael Chertoff serves as Chair of the Task Force and Emilio González, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), serves as Executive Secretary. Task Force membership includes representatives from 12 Cabinet-level departments and a technical working committee of eight additional federal agencies.
Since June 2006, the Task Force on New Americans has been working to develop inter-agency initiatives to help immigrants settle in their new country and maximize the use of federal resources in promoting integration. By providing technical resources to communities and organizations, encouraging volunteerism, developing effective training methods, and conducting targeted research efforts, the Task Force seeks to encourage successful immigrant integration in a comprehensive manner. The following are current and planned Task Force initiatives:
Improve Access to Information and Resources for New Immigrants
• With the launch of WelcometoUSA.gov, the federal government presents newcomers with basic information, through a comprehensive web portal, on settling in the United States and other essential information to fully embrace the common core of American civic culture. In addition to settlement information, WelcometoUSA.gov contains links to help new immigrants find an English class and ways to get involved in their community through volunteering.
• Before arriving in the country, all successful immigrant visa recipients now receive a brochure from the Department of State providing instructions, in their native language, to call the USCIS forms line (1-800-870-3676) to request a hard copy—in English, Spanish, or Chinese—of the comprehensive publication for newcomers, Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants, at no charge.
Encourage Volunteerism Among U.S. Citizens and New Immigrants
A major Task Force initiative, entitled the New Americans Project, seeks to encourage volunteerism among both U.S. citizens and new immigrants. The Task Force will accomplish this through, among other projects, a zip code based search engine listing volunteer opportunities to work with immigrants and a series of outreach events to promote volunteerism. In addition, the New Americans Project aims to provide opportunities for immigrants themselves to integrate into their communities by volunteering. The Task Force will be working closely with USA Freedom Corps on the New Americans Project.
Provide Training and Technical Resources to Organizations that Serve Immigrants
The Task Force will provide public libraries, adult educators, and volunteers with training and resources to assist them in establishing programs to help immigrants settle in and learn about the United States.
• Public libraries in the United States have a long history of helping immigrants integrate into their communities and better understand life in their new country. With more and more immigrants settling outside of traditional immigrant gateways, it is important that all public libraries are equipped with resources to assist immigrants. In response, the Task Force will be distributing the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit,

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