Objective

To determine whether the Department of State’s Office for New Americans is effectively connecting and providing immigrants with legal services. The audit covered the period from January 2019 through July 2024. We also considered information provided by the Office for New Americans and by selected grantees through December 2025.

About the Program

The Office for New Americans (ONA) was initially established in 2012, followed by legislation enacted in 2014 that amended the State Executive Law (Law) to lay out ONA’s powers and duties. ONA’s stated mission is to work to assist newcomers to New York State to fully participate in the State’s civic and economic life, and to strengthen the State’s welcoming environment for New Americans and facilitate their success. ONA defines a New American as an individual born abroad and their children, irrespective of immigration status. To fulfill its mission, ONA offers help to New Americans in accessing and navigating a variety of free services and supports—including legal services—through its grant contracts with a statewide network of not-for-profit community‑based providers. Through nine grant-funded programs, grantees provide referrals to legal service providers and assist New Americans with naturalization applications and citizenship interviews.

ONA programs that provide legal services include a confidential hotline and a pro bono program that seeks to build future capacity through training other attorneys in the field of immigration services. In addition, Opportunity Centers (Centers) operate in physical locations to offer a variety of services, and through the Legal Counsels (LC) program, not-for-profit organizations make experienced immigration attorneys available to provide legal consultations and potential direct representation, as well as support to the Centers. Center grantees must be U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)-recognized, which includes having a DOJ-accredited representative(s) on staff.

Most grantees that provide legal services are required to submit quarterly reports that quantify and describe the services they provided during the quarter. Under the Law, ONA is required to provide an annual report to the Executive and the Legislature that describes its activities and the status of its programs. Budgeted funding to ONA increased for the State Fiscal Year (SFY) ended March 31, 2024, to $67 million from the prior year’s $22 million. Funding for the SFY ended March 31, 2025 was $68.2 million.

Key Findings

Through its grant contracts with not-for-profit organizations, ONA helps connect immigrants with a variety of free legal services. As a result of our audit, we identified several areas that ONA should address to improve its ability to connect and provide New Americans with legal services. Specifically:

• ONA lacks adequate information to assess and estimate potential unmet need and grantees’ ability and capacity to meet it.
• There were limitations in the quarterly reports that ONA requires from grantees that make them difficult to use and compare, as well as inconsistencies in grantees’ reported numbers that represent potential inaccuracies and/or lack of understanding about how to report their activity.
• ONA hasn’t provided clear reporting requirements to grantees that could improve accuracy, consistency, and comparability in their reporting.
• The lack of organizations in the North Country region with DOJ accreditation presents a continuing challenge.
• ONA doesn’t request information about which grantee(s) made the referrals to the Pro Bono program; this information could provide insight about Centers’ and/or LC grantees’ capacity to provide services.

Key Recommendations

• Take steps to obtain information to help anticipate and identify changes in the need for services to New Americans and grantees’ ability to provide these services, and estimate unmet need.
• Revise grantee reporting requirements to obtain the most appropriate information to assess grantee activity and performance.
• Provide guidance to grantees, which could include training and/or written instruction, to assist them in providing information to ONA.
• Continue to evaluate potential ways to expand legal services to New Americans in the North Country region.
• Evaluate reporting requirements to determine the feasibility and value of obtaining referral sources.