Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade (ONA) takes major step towards becoming hub for immigrant resources, announces launch of 'Miami-Dade New American Task Force'

This week, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and The Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade (ONA) announced the launch of the ‘Miami-Dade New American Task Force’, an initiative designed to support immigrant residents as they navigate through their new community. Launched in 2016, Gateways for Growth (G4G) offers an opportunity for localities, such as Miami-Dade County, to receive research support and/or technical assistance from New American Economy and Welcoming America to improve immigrant inclusion in their communities. Miami-Dade’s Office of Office of New Americans was this year’s recipient of G4G’s ‘Research And Technical Assistance’ Award, which spurred the creation of the Miami-Dade New American Task Force.

Established in 2017 to help increase the number of legal permanent residents becoming a US citizen, ONA is a countywide initiative to raise awareness about the importance of citizenship. With the mission to empower immigrants eligible for naturalization to become more civically and economically engaged in our communities, ONA facilitates access to the resources needed to attain citizenship and ultimately prosper.

“Miami-Dade County is a vibrant immigrant-majority, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual community that serves as a reflection of the future of America,” said Krystina François, Executive Director of the Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade. “Our participation in the Gateways for Growth cohort will enable ONA to address the full economic, civic, and social integration of our residents, so that we have a healthy, secure, and engaged citizenry.”

In light of the scale and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gateways for Growth Challenge this year prioritized localities that demonstrated a public-private commitment to better integrating immigrants into recovery efforts and emergency management systems. In Miami-Dade, tens of thousands of our immigrant residents are essential workers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, construction workers, healthcare providers, and other crucial support staff. All of whom need trustworthy and reliable information, access to funds to offset the costs for citizenship fees, basic needs, and business operation and multilingual resources that are available across the county. As the country looks to rebuild and set a more inclusive path forward nationally, Miami- Dade County, as part of the G4G 2020 cohort, will lay the groundwork and build the infrastructure for economic, civic, and social inclusion at the local level.

“Helping to welcome and engage new aspiring Americans is how we continue building a stronger, more inclusive community,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Through this key initiative, the Office of New Americans – which I was proud to help found in 2015 – will build on their great work helping more Miamians chart a path to citizenship and access resources needed to create a strong economic foundation in our county.”

“We are thrilled to see the Gateways for Growth Challenge expand to another set of localities that reflect the diversity of our nation,” said Christina Pope, Senior Network Director at Welcoming America. “With each cohort, there is an opportunity to support and connect local leaders making their communities more welcoming and resilient places where everyone, including immigrants, can prosper and belong.”

“The Gateways for Growth program helps communities quantify what many people already know -- that immigrants play a key role in driving growth,” said Mo Kantner, Director of State and Local Initiatives at New American Economy. “We’re excited to see how these communities can use data and technical assistance to support their work to ensure that all residents are welcome and have pathways to success.”

The Miami-Dade New American Task Force initiative is now live and available to provide support for eligible residents. For more information, please visit: www.officeofnewamericans.org. 

About New American Economy
New American Economy (NAE) is a bipartisan research and advocacy organization founded to educate, empower and support policymakers, influencers, and citizens across the country that see the economic and social benefits of a smart approach to immigration reform. NAE has created a coalition of civic, business, and cultural leaders who span the political spectrum and represent all 50 states. NAE makes the case for smart immigration reform in four ways:

• We generate and use powerful research to demonstrate how immigration impacts our economy;
• We organize champions at the grassroots and influencer levels to build support for immigration;
• We partner with state and local leaders to advocate for policies that recognize the value immigrants add locally; and
• We show immigrant contributions to American culture through film, food, art, sports, comedy, and more.

Visit NewAmericanEconomy.org to learn more.

About Welcoming America
Welcoming America leads a movement of inclusive communities from across the world in becoming more prosperous by making everyone feel like they belong. Through a membership network of 200+ local governments and nonprofits, Welcoming America connects and supports place-based initiatives that work to reduce divisions and support greater civic, social, and economic participation among new and longtime residents alike. Through the Welcoming Network, participating members access peer learning opportunities, technical assistance, tools, and training to help transform their communities into more welcoming places. Visit WelcomingAmerica.org to learn more.

About Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade
Miami-Dade County is home to more than 1.45 million immigrants, making up more than half of our county’s population. In June of 2015, through the leadership of then Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, then Mayor Carlos Gimenez, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Citi Community Development, and the Board of County Commissioners, the county leveraged its resources to educate aspiring Americans and provide free and low-cost services as part of a national effort, Cities for Citizenship. The first county in the nation to join this effort.

Created by resolution no. r-595-15 , The Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade’s (ONA) is a county-wide initiative to assist our immigrant residents overcome any barriers on their path to full citizenship. Its mission is to empower immigrants eligible for naturalization and other immigration benefits to become more civically and economically engaged in our communities by facilitating access to the resources they need to attain citizenship and to prosper. Visit www.officeofnewamericans.org to learn more.