Office of “New Americans” State Network Finally Fizzles after Fast Start
May 07, 2025
Folks at the American Immigration Council (AIC), a subsidiary of the powerful American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), were gleeful about the prospects of their new and euphemistically named Office of “New Americans” State Network (ONA), when it launched in 2015. Surging levels of illegal immigration and rising numbers of sanctuary-supporting politicians eager to join a multi-state collaboration of like-minded colleagues seemed to ensure that ONA had a limitless horizon for expansion — one which offered endless future business for 16,000 AILA immigration attorneys.
Its stated mission was — and remains — to “bring together a wide-ranging group of state officials to share best practices in immigrant and refugee integration and act as a critical anchor to help these populations fully integrate into their communities.” In itself, integrating immigrants (although they conveniently omit any distinction between legal and illegal immigrants) and refugees into their new communities is worthy goal.
ONA’s national office encourages state and local governments to create local ONA “chapters” which can be housed in agencies like human services or state employment offices, while others are situated directly in governor’s offices. “There are different names for them and there might be different functions or structures” said Caitlin McTiernan, a spokesperson at the AIC, “but the common goal of all of these offices is centered on integrating immigrants into their communities.”
What isn’t transparent, nor disclosed by Ms. McTiernan, is the network’s true function. ONA promotes itself as an organization that supports immigrant and refugee integration into the workforce and economy. In reality ONA offices coordinate with one another in a national consortium to advance illegal alien friendly legislation, determine methods to lobby for federal funds, and collectively advocate for work permits for migrants who are otherwise ineligible to be employed in the U.S.
https://www.fairus.org/blog/2025/05/07/office-new-americans-state-network
