State-run immigrant support offices are stuck in limbo across the mid-Atlantic

Technical.ly

24-04-2025

Offices of New Americans (ONAs) aim to help immigrants integrate into their communities and access state services, but their adoption across states is uneven due to political and budgetary challenges under the Trump administration.
Advocates argue ONAs provide economic benefits by facilitating workforce participation and entrepreneurship among immigrants, outweighing the relatively low cost of establishing and operating the offices.
Despite setbacks, the network of ONAs is expanding, and stakeholders remain hopeful that states like Pennsylvania and Delaware will overcome current obstacles and launch their own offices, like elected officials have done in New Jersey.
These are challenging times for immigrants settling into their new communities in the US.
States nationwide are stepping up to launch offices that help immigrants boost local economies, but efforts in parts of the mid-Atlantic have stalled because of the Trump administration's federal funding cuts and a lack of bipartisan support.
More than a third of states have adopted Offices of New Americans (ONA) since the idea first gained traction over a decade ago. In the neighboring mid-Atlantic states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, the three ONAs are in three different stages — not yet passed state legislature, passed but not yet funded, and existing and funded.
'There [are] different names for them and there might be different functions or structures,' said Caitlin McTiernan, a program manager at the bipartisan nonprofit American Immigration Council, 'but the common goal of all of these offices is centered on integrating immigrants into their communities.'
Local advocates for ONAs say anti-immigrant sentiment is holding states back from fully benefiting from immigration, since many new residents struggle to navigate government systems that support workforce participation.
Stakeholders say the effort is worth the fight, as the Trump administration revokes billions in funding for state and local services.
'There will be a net economic benefit to helping people make a more smooth transition,' Pennsylvania Senator Sharif Street, the prime sponsor for a bill to establish an ONA in Pennsylvania, told Technical.ly. 'This will help us grow our commonwealth, so in the end, we will reap far more tax benefits and economic benefits for the commonwealth than any small price we pay for the office.'
More states are adopting ONAs, but not without challenges
ONAs often serve as a coordinating body, kind of like a switchboard, directing questions and requests to other state government resources that already exist, according to McTiernan, of the American Immigration Council, which supports and co-convenes the Office of New Americans State Network.
Established in 2014, the network grew slowly at first, with just six states joining by 2019. Since then, it's grown rapidly, and now comprises 22 states — some of which are still in the process of establishing ONAs, like Pennsylvania, McTiernan said.
Factors slowing adoption of ONAs include tightening budgets and the political climate, according to McTiernan, especially as the federal government cuts funding for immigrant support programming.
'In this particular climate, there can be a hesitancy to speak out on behalf of immigrant populations,' she said, 'or to be vocal about recognizing all the ways that immigrants enrich our communities.'
Partisan divides are holding up some offices
Democrats in Pennsylvania blame stalled efforts on the other side of the aisle.
The commonwealth joined the ONA Network last year, but the effort to establish an ONA started over a decade earlier, in 2013. In each congressional session that's followed, a new form of the bill has been introduced but ultimately died in committee.
If established, an ONA in Pennsylvania would be a centralized agency that could direct immigrants to services offered by the commonwealth or provide information, like how to obtain driver's licenses, start businesses and navigate healthcare or housing, according to Street, the state senator who since 2018 has been the prime sponsor for the bill.
He cited lack of Republican support has prevented the bill from passing so far, Street said.While he sees a growing interest among some lawmakers to support legal immigrants, anti-immigrant sentiment remains a significant barrier.
Pennsylvania's immigrant population rose by 35% from 2010 to 2022, accounting for a 2% rise in the commonwealth's total population and helping prevent an overall decline. Without an ONA, Pennsylvania's newest residents may struggle to navigate state systems or find ways to fully contribute to the local economy, Street said.
'For people who just arrived, they need an office that will wrap their arms around them the way our neighbors will, until they can develop that sense of community.'
Pennsylvania Senator Sharif Street
'For most of us, there's somebody in our lives we can turn to because of the network we're sort of born into that helps us navigate the system,' Street said. 'For people who just arrived, they need an office that will wrap their arms around them the way our neighbors will, until they can develop that sense of community.'
The potential economic contributions immigrants could make with the support of an ONA would far outweigh any costs of establishing an office, according to Street.
Although the exact cost of establishing an ONA in Pennsylvania remains unclear since a fiscal note has not yet been issued, Street said it would be 'relatively negligible' compared to the substantial economic benefits immigrants already bring to Pennsylvania.
Immigrants contribute $4.4 billion in state and local taxes and hold $34.2 billion in spending power within Pennsylvania's economy, according to a recent report from workforce development nonprofit Upwardly Global and the American Immigration Council. Immigrants are also 26% more likely to be entrepreneurs than US-born residents.
The Senate Republican Caucus did not immediately respond to Technical.ly's request for comment.
State funding gaps pose a challenge for an ONA in Delaware
Federal funding cuts have impacted the implementation of ONAs in some states, including Delaware.
On paper, Delaware's ONA is ready to go. The legislation has passed, and its launch now depends on funding.
State Senator Darius Brown of Wilmington introduced Senate Bill 44 to establish the Delaware Office of New Americans in February 2023. It breezed through the Elections and Government Affairs Senate Committee that year, and an updated version, Senate Bill 27, introduced in January, was approved in March of this year.
'The office is to help individuals that are residing in Delaware navigate government to better deliver services that state government provides to these populations,' Brown told Technical.ly. 'They're very entrepreneurial and contribute to our state economy, and we want to make sure that we're doing more for those communities.'
Brown said the Office of New Americans will help meet the needs of the demographic shifts in the state of Delaware
According to Senate Bill 27's fiscal note, the Delaware ONA will cost $593,554 the first year for personnel, operating costs and equipment, and the yearly cost is estimated to increase by 2% each subsequent year, bringing it to just over $600,000 by 2027.
Ordinarily, that might not be a major issue. Under the new Trump administration, with federal funding to the states slashed, state governments have to deal with the loss of funding for things like the Food Bank, Head Start and healthcare.
During Governor Matt Meyer's 2024 campaign, he often talked about his commitment to establishing Delaware's ONA. That was before the current presidential administration. During his April 10 State of the State, Meyer focused on affordable housing, education, healthcare access and economic development.
There was no mention of the ONA.
'We continue to monitor all immigration-related legislation closely and we are working with bill sponsors to develop the right solutions for Delaware,' Mila Myles, spokesperson for Governor Meyer, told Technical.ly.
While the immediate future of Delaware's ONA is unknown, state legislators are considering a package of bills that strengthen privacy protections for undocumented residents, including a bill that would prohibit law enforcement from arresting and detaining residents because of actual or suspected immigration status.
New Jersey doubles down on ONA and supporting immigrants
New Jersey, unlike neighboring Pennsylvania and Delaware, does have an existing ONA. It was created by Governor Phil Murphy's executive order in 2019, during the first Trump administration.
'While the federal government takes action that prevents immigrants from seeking the American Dream, New Jersey will fight for our brothers and sisters and stand against the hatred and bigotry coming from Washington,' said Murphy in a press release at the time. 'Immigrants are an integral part of our state, and enrich our communities socially, culturally, and economically.'
The New Jersey ONA, part of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, has a website with links to resources, an asylum guide, employment authorization information, and ' Know Your Rights ' materials in 21 languages for dealing with situations with ICE or law enforcement, an expansion on the economic development focus of a typical ONA.
'More recent ONAs focus on talent attraction and workforce development,' said McTiernan of the American Immigration Council, but some offices, like New Jersey, also offer legal and refugee resettlement services.
'This funding is a crucial safeguard to protect individuals and families from harmful and unlawful immigration enforcement actions.'
Tom Hester, New Jersey Human Services
The website is available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. It has a lot of information and resources, though, beyond the law hotline, Technical.ly didn't find an easy way to ask questions if one needs help navigating it.
That might change. In February of this year, Murphy proposed doubling funding to the New Jersey ONA in his 2025 budget.
'This investment will enhance outreach and education efforts, helping immigrants and refugees access essential services including social support, workforce development, employment resources, and legal assistance,' Tom Hester of New Jersey Human Services told Technical.ly.
Additionally, Hester said, the governor's budget proposal included $11.2 million to fund legal services for immigration-related matters.
'This funding is a crucial safeguard to protect individuals and families from harmful and unlawful immigration enforcement actions,' Hester said.
New Jersey also has the Immigrant Trust Act, currently pending in the state legislature, which would protect the personal information of immigrants from ICE and limit assisting federal officers when they are enforcing civil warrants.
Still stalling, but hopeful for a path forward
The Trump Administration made it challenging for states that want to welcome and include new Americans into their economies, sources across the programs said. It's especially challenging for more ideologically divided states like Pennsylvania that don't have an ONA yet.
As with most things with the economy so far in 2025, it's hard to know where ONA funding will be in a few weeks, let alone further down the line, but 18 states, including New York, Maine, North Dakota and Michigan, have them. And other states, like New Mexico, North Carolina and Wisconsin, have joined the ONA Network, even without established offices.
Despite challenges, McTiernan said the American Immigration Council is optimistic that Delaware would join the network and Pennsylvania would pass legislation to establish an ONA.