Office of New Americans
Support Vermont’s 2025 “oFFICE OF nEW aMERICANS” Bill (S.56/H.375)
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Access the ONA one-pager here.
Access the supplementary memorandum addressing frequently asked questions here.
Access the multi-organization advocacy letter here.
While immediate and temporary solutions are critical, immigration injustice is not new—it long predates the current federal administration. S.56/H.375 (the ONA Bill) offers a rare opportunity to move beyond short-term fixes and create a permanent, systemic foundation for comprehensive, coordinated immigrant support and integration in Vermont:
A dedicated “Office of New Americans” equivalent focused on all foreign born residents would help ensure that Vermont is proactively building infrastructure for immigrant inclusion—across legal services, workforce development, housing, and more—rather than relying on fragmented, reactive solutions that siloes subpopulations across the regions.
With existing refugee coordination at the State Refugee Office under threat, we cannot afford to let this legislation stall in Senate Committee for a second year.
By prioritizing impactful integration services for ALL, we can meet the emergent needs of this moment while also creating a stronger, more equitable future for Vermont.
Related issue: Access VAAP’s Access to Justice Coalition one-pager here.
These and other critical measures profiled below work together to address both immediate harm and long-term systemic change. Now is the time to act—not just for this moment, but for our future. For background on how VAAP and dozens of statewide partners collaborated on supporting the ONA, read our blog post here.
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Read VAAP’s coverage of ONA needs here, which cross-references blogs about:
VAAP’s testimony in support of related Act 105 (2024) regarding immigration legal status as an economic justice issue;
key findings from the Welcoming New Americans Symposium in June;
Vermont Poverty Law Fellow 2022-24 Maya Tsukazaki’s final report;
VAAP’s efforts to build coordination capacity for Vermont’s immigration services bar; and
research regarding the positive economic impacts of increasing access to free immigration legal services in Vermont.
Vermont’s Economic Action Plan 2025 identifying migrant workers as essential to securing our economic future.
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