The administration is reviving a commission aimed at helping immigrants integrate into the United States through language learning, workforce training and financial education programs.


The White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC) Special Adviser on Humanitarian Protection and Refugee Affairs Brandon Prelogar (Brandon Prelogar) said in an interview with Voice of America (VOA) on Monday (December 12) that this work will Help newcomers with legal status in the United States.

"The focus, of course, is any and all legal immigrants and refugees. We're talking about newcomers who have legal status in the United States and may stay," Preloga said.

The task force for New Americans is coordinated by the White House through the White House Domestic Policy Council, with support from 20 other federal agencies, local governments and nonprofits, the official said.

President Joe Biden announced the request to restore the task force in a February 2021 executive order . "It took longer than we would have liked," Preloga said, to see the task force restructured. He added that the aim was to ensure the "best possible welcome" for newcomers.

The task force was originally created in 2014 during the Obama administration but was halted by former President Donald Trump.

The announcement comes as the Biden-Harris administration faces a record increase in migrants arriving irregularly at the U.S.-Mexico border, but Preloga said the new plan is "not about the border" but "to ensure Part of the effort to make legal immigrants welcome in our communities is to give them the support they need to live successfully and contribute fully in America.

" crisis for which Biden is responsible; some of them have called for an extension of the legitimacy of the "Section 42" guiding principles -- a public health policy originally implemented under the previous administration with the purpose of is deportation of asylum seekers.

Nearly 2.4 million immigration arrests in FY 2022, but not every arrest means arresting a different immigrant, since that total includes people who made multiple attempts to enter the country during the same fiscal year.

Working with other federal agencies and nonprofits, the task force is focused on reviewing current immigrant integration policies and identifying areas of weakness.

Other Efforts


Also on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken participated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Tent Partnership for Refugees, a group that urges businesses to hire refugees around the world. Non-profit organizations.
Blinken said the partnership aims to mobilize U.S. and international businesses to provide jobs to refugees, which is often an important step in the long-term economic and social resettlement of refugees and the communities that welcome them.

“One thing we all know is that even when they reach their destination, the journey isn’t over: finding a home, learning a language, finding a job, sending their children to school, building a community. All these steps are crucial for refugees to build a new life in a new land. Lives matter," Blinken said.

Founded by Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of the Chobani yogurt company, the Refugee Tent Partnership is a coalition of 250 multinational companies committed to recruiting, training, and guidance to support refugees.

"The most important moment for refugees is the moment they get a job, that's the moment they stop being a refugee," Ulukaya said.



Erin Burrows

Eileen Barrows covers immigration at the Voice of America's Washington, D.C., news center. Before joining VOA in 2016, Eileen Barrows worked for newspapers and television in Montgomery County, Maryland. Erin Barros has reported for The Washington Post, G1 Brazil Portal News and Fox Latin America News. Burrows has a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland.