Senate Bill 44 “establishes the Office of New Americans to help improve the lives and economic prosperity of new Americans who come to Delaware and of all Delawareans generally.” This Office has been established in other states like New York, Utah and New Jersey and in cities like New York Houston and Chicago and it helps new immigrants in accessing and navigating a variety of free services and support through its statewide network of community-based providers.
The proposed Office would do the following:
(1) Respond to inquiries from State agencies, the media, immigrant-serving organizations, and the public about immigration issues in this State.
(2) Serve as point of contact for State licensing boards and the Division of Professional Regulation.
(3) Serve as an information clearinghouse for State agencies on immigration-related policy issues and coordinate among agencies as appropriate.
(4) Analyze economic, demographic, and other trends impacting immigrants in this State and make policy recommendations.
(5) Ensure that this State is gathering relevant data to inform the State’s policy making on immigrant issues.
(6) Develop strategies to attract, retain, and integrate immigrants into this State.
(7) Convene stakeholders in business development and international trade promotion programs to increase capacity to utilize immigrant contributors.
(8) Disseminate information to new and prospective immigrant residents of this State who wish to invest capital, launch businesses, or apply their skills in this State.
(9) Convene municipal and county officials to boost peer learning on increasing immigration in locations in this State struggling with population loss and economic decline.
(10) Convene college and university officials to foster learning on strategies for immigrant and international student retention.
(11) Provide matching grant funds for high-quality immigration and economic development programs that can demonstrate corporate or philanthropic investment.
(12) Disseminate information about available services to assist new and prospective immigrant residents of this State on the path to naturalization.
(13) Disseminate information about legal services available to immigrants in civil legal matters, including housing, family, and immigration.
(14) Disseminate information about English language instruction and resources available to immigrant residents of this State.
(15) Convene stakeholders in State agencies, immigrant-serving organizations, and the public to identify and reduce exploitation and fraud against immigrants.
(16) Convene stakeholders in immigrant-serving organizations to promote race, sex, gender, age, income, and LGBTQ equity and to identify and reduce inequities.
(17) Develop strategies to provide immigrants with meaningful access to State resources and opportunities regardless of their level of English proficiency.
(18) Communicate with federal and international stakeholders to support the resettlement process for refugees who have been identified for resettlement in this State.
(19) Evaluate the success of activities and adjust activities as appropriate.
One possible amendment to improve the bill would be to add immigrant representation to the advisory board membership.
It looks like this bill will be considered in the Senate Elections & Government Affairs committee on March 15, 2023 at 3 p.m.
| Senate Bill 44 – Office of New Americans | Currrent Status – Senate Elections & Government Affairs 2/17/23 |
| House Sponsors – Johnson, Wilson-Anton, Heffernan | Senate Sponsors – Brown, Gay, Hoffner |
| House Yes Votes – | Senate Yes Votes – |
| House No Votes – | Senate No Votes – |
| House Absents or Not Voting – | Senate Absent or Not Voting – |
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