On November 21, 2014, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum, “Creating Welcoming Communities and Fully Integrating Immigrants and Refugees,” establishing a White House Task Force on New Americans. Within 120 days, the task force, made up of officials from across the executive branch, is expected to present recommendations that will allow the federal government to shape a national integration strategy. The memorandum places a heavy emphasis on working with state and local groups who have been championing immigrant integration, with the goal of leveraging federal, state, and local resources to improve efforts to assist and welcome immigrants, as well as the communities that receive them.

        Ultimately, immigrant integration is also connected to assisting with the transition from LPR status to citizenship. On November 20, 2014, DHS Secretary Johnson issued a memorandum memo directing USCIS to explore options to expand access to naturalization and to consider innovative ways to address barriers that may impede access, including for those who lack resources to pay application fees. Among other items, USCIS will implement credit card processing for fee payments, determine whether it could expand its use of fee waivers, and conduct a major marketing campaign encouraging naturalization.