§ 94-b. Office for new Americans. 1. Legislative intent. The\nlegislature hereby finds and declares that, according to the 2010\ncensus, approximately twenty-two percent of New Yorkers were not born in\nthe United States, nine percent above the national average. For years\nimmigrants have come to the United States to make a better life for\nthemselves. It is of utmost importance to the state that these new\nAmericans be given the tools to assist them in making a better life for\nthemselves, particularly through programs that help develop and leverage\ntheir skills and strengthen their connections with their communities and\nthrough programs to reduce exploitation of vulnerable immigrant\npopulations.\n 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the terms "new\nAmerican" and "immigrant" shall refer to non-citizen domicilaries of New\nYork state whose country of origin is other than the United States.\n 3. Office for new Americans; director. There is hereby created within\nthe department of state the office for new Americans. The secretary\nshall appoint a director of the office to accomplish the\nresponsibilities set forth in this section. Such director shall receive\nan annual salary within amounts appropriated and shall serve at the\npleasure of the secretary.\n 4. Organization of the office for new Americans. The secretary shall\nhave the power to establish, consolidate, reorganize, or abolish any\norganizational units within the office as he or she determines to be\nnecessary for efficient operation thereof. The secretary shall assign\nfunctions to any such unit and may appoint staff, agents, and\nconsultants, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensation within\namounts appropriated.\n 5. Powers and duties of the office for new Americans. The office for\nnew Americans shall have the power and responsibility to:\n (a) Create a network of neighborhood-based opportunity centers;\n (b) Increase access to English-for-speakers-of-other-languages (ESOL)\ntraining, including by engaging not-for-profit organizations and other\nqualified providers of ESOL training services;\n (c) Assist immigrants in matters relating to immigration status,\nincluding but not limited to assisting with the naturalization process\nand applications for deferred action for childhood arrivals;\n (d) Connect immigrants to business resources that harness their\nskills, employment referral programs, and other workforce development\nprograms;\n (e) Develop and leverage the skills of immigrants to benefit their\ncommunities and the state;\n (f) Strengthen the connections between immigrants and their\ncommunities through civic engagement;\n (g) Reduce exploitation of immigrants;\n (h) Establish a toll-free multi-lingual hotline and a website for\npurposes including but not limited to dissemination of information about\nthe programs and services offered by the office for new Americans,\nreferral for services, and receipt of complaints relating to fraud and\nother related crimes against immigrants;\n (i) Ensure that individuals referred by the office are directed to\nservice providers who are in compliance with article twenty-eight-C of\nthe general business law or providers certified by the bureau of\nimmigration appeals;\n (j) Using information developed by the office through the hotline,\nassist law enforcement in combatting crimes against immigrants;\n (k) Advise the governor and secretary concerning matters affecting\nimmigrants in the state in order to promote and encourage the full\nparticipation of immigrants in the state's civic and economic life;\n (l) Coordinate with other state agencies and otherwise marshal the\nresources of the state to serve the needs of immigrants;\n (m) Encourage and assist local governments in the development of\nactivities to enhance civic engagement among immigrants and in immigrant\ncommunities;\n (n) Beginning in two thousand fifteen, by June fifteenth of each year,\nproduce a report to the gove
‹ Prev All New York sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.