Homeland Security Components

• Citizenship and Immigration Services

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Task Force on New Americans

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.

Objectives of the Task Force on New Americans include:

• Improving access to federal information and resources for new immigrants;
• Encouraging volunteerism among U.S. citizens and newcomers;
• Providing training and technical resources to organization that serve immigrants; and
• Gathering input on successful immigrant integration practices

Created by President George W. Bush in June 2006, the Task Force was established within the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Michael Chertoff serves as Chair of the Task Force and Emilio T. 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.

Task Force Members

Department of Agriculture Department of Commerce Department of Defense Department of Education Department of Health and Human Services Department of Homeland Security Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of the Interior Department of Justice Department of Labor Department of State Department of the Treasury

Corporation for National and Community Service Federal Trade Commission General Services Administration Government Printing Office Institute of Museum and Library Services National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities Small Business Administration

Authority

• Executive Order: Task Force on New Americans   

Initiatives

• WelcometoUSA.gov – In order to provide newcomers with settlement assistance, the Task Force has created a single web portal for immigrants to locate all relevant federal government resources and information. This comprehensive website contains information on settling in the United States and other essential information to help new immigrants fully embrace the common core of American civic culture. Those that assist immigrants, including volunteers and adult educators, can also find helpful educational materials and resources.
• "New Americans Project" Search Engine – 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, public service announcements, 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.
• Civics and Citizenship Toolkit – 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, which contains educational materials to help immigrants learn about the United States. The Government Printing Office (GPO) will also distribute the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit  to the nearly 1,300 members of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). In February 2008, registration for the Toolkit was expanded to include all established immigrant-serving organizations.
• Training and Technical Resources – The Task Force is working to provide training and resources for public libraries, educators, and volunteers. First, a series of web-based and regional training courses for volunteers and adult educators will be introduced across the country. In addition, the Task Force will develop a “How To” manual and other guidance materials to help interested organizations establish English as a Second Language (ESL) and citizenship classes for immigrants.
• Research Current Integration Efforts – The Task Force is conducting a series of roundtable discussions to learn more about successful integration practices across the country. These roundtables will gather input from immigrant-serving organizations, businesses, and state and local governments, among others. The Task Force will present its findings and recommendations in a formal report to the President.

This page was last reviewed/modified on March 10, 2008.