LANSING, Mich. – Despite divisive political rhetoric over the past year on the issue of refugees, many cities in Michigan are welcoming with open arms those seeking safe haven.
Christine Sauvé, senior program coordinator of the Welcoming Michigan Project for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, says there are large numbers of refugees in communities around Michigan, and more Syrian refugees have resettled here over the past year than in any other state.
She maintains there's always room for more, as the state's foreign-born population is about half of the national average.
"When we in Michigan think, 'Can we welcome more immigrants and refugees?' we definitely say, 'Yes,'” she states. “And we were the only state to lose population in the last census, so it's a win-win situation."
Today is World Refugee Day, which Sauvé says is an opportunity to welcome refugees and celebrate their resiliency.
According to the Refugee Processing Center, from October through May, more than 1,800 refugees arrived in Michigan.
St. Vincent Catholic Charities in Lansing is among a handful of resettlement agencies in the state. Community Outreach Coordinator Marissa Nalley says her agency works to help those fleeing conflict start new lives and become part of the community.
"We meet everyone at the airport,” she relates. “We have already located them housing, furnished their housing, filled their cabinets and their fridge with appropriate foods.
“We help them through cultural orientation, housing orientation, employment orientation, enroll them in ESL classes, enroll kids in school."
Sauvé adds there also are neighborhood, faith and community groups with generous hearts that are willing to help refugees. She says refugees need all the support they can get since fleeing their home can be traumatizing.
"They're leaving not like in the situation of other immigrants where they might have planned ahead for their trip or had already learned English,” she explains. “Many refugees have to flee in the middle of the night with really no possessions or anything. They're really starting over."
Sauvé notes that refugees increase cultural diversity, contribute to the economy and revitalize communities with declining populations.
A new report from the Center for American Progress shows that 10 years after being in the U.S., refugees have similar rates of labor force participation and business ownership compared with U.S. born citizens.
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A public health measure known as Title 42 was a response to the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed for immigrants to be immediately expelled if they crossed into the United States illegally. It ended several weeks ago - but in Iowa, the effects are not as dramatic as some immigration advocates anticipated.
Even though Title 42 has come to an end, they say it is not impacting immigrants seeking asylum in Iowa.
Jody Mashek - co-director of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice - said immigrants have returned to age-old ways of staying and seeking asylum if they make it in to the country, often using the same tactics they used prior to Title 42.
"People who are allowed to enter the country and pursue an asylum claim, if they're not otherwise detained by the immigration service," said Mashek, "then if they know a friend of family member that they could reach out to stay with, then that's how they wind up going to all these different states."
The end of Title 42 was considered by human-rights advocates the end of an unjust refusal to protect asylum seekers, but Mashek said existing laws are not much better - and mean a return of outdated rules that allow the U.S. to refuse immigrants protections they need.
Nearly two million people were expelled under Title 42, according to the Pew Research Center. And while detailed state numbers are still hard to come by - Mashek said, percentage-wise - the figures in Iowa largely reflected the national numbers, and so did the nations that the migrants come from.
"There are Cubans in small-town Iowa. There are Haitians," said Mashek. "We're just a microcosm. We tell people all the time 'whatever is happening on the border, you will see that trickle into Iowa.' "
Iowa has long been a draw for migrants who come to take jobs in the state's massive meat packing industry, which has often been criticized for having lax safety standards and dangerous working conditions.
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Immigrant's rights advocates are displeased with the provisions
for New York City's budget. According to New York City Mayor Eric Adams budget proposal, the city could be caring for 70,000 asylum seekers by June 2024, costing the city around $4.3 billion. Critics also said the proposal is unduly expensive, but New York City will keep welcoming immigrants.
"In the school system we need a three million dollar investment in English Language Learner Transfer School Programs. We need an additional 75 million dollars to hire additional social workers to help support students in need, especially newcomers," said Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director of New York Immigration Coalition.
Awadeh added they city needs other programs to help immigrants, including renewed funding for legal services programs through a $31.1 million investment for Action-N-Y-C and Admin Immigrant Opportunity Initiative. Meanwhile, the recently passed New York State budget allocates $43 million for additional funding for the Office for New Americans. This provides immigrants with free legal services, mental health support, workforce development, and English language learning.
But, Awawdeh explained the Adams Administration has been scapegoating immigrants as a means of passing off failures. This comes as Mayor Adams announced he will be bussing willing migrants
to communities throughout Upstate New York following the end of Title 42. Awawdeh said the city's leadership needs to aspire to different goals when it comes to immigrants.
"What we do need is for leadership in this moment to unite people, to serve people, and to ensure that our city is building up the infrastructure it needs to continue to be a beacon of hope for all people across the world who want to come here," Awawdeh continued.
He added after three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, people need to have employment, educational and legal supports in place to ensure they're on the road to a stable recovery.
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Thousands of immigrants arrive in the United States every year, knowing very little about the language, culture and civic ways of their new homeland.
Asian and Pacific Islanders are a growing part of America's immigrant community, accounting for 15% of all migrants. One nonprofit, the Asian and Pacific Islanders Vote-Michigan, serves as a bridge for newcomers, helping them get settled, learn the language and most importantly, navigate civic engagement and voting.
Rebeka Islam, executive director of the group, said unlike some other groups, Asian and Pacific migrants come from a wide variety of backgrounds.
"When you say Asian Americans, you're talking about 30-plus countries, 30-plus ethnicities, 30-plus languages, and for the most part, government," Islam explained. "Getting involved in civic engagement is not pretty accessible from countries that most of our folks come from."
According to the Census Bureau, 20.6 million people identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, making up 6.2% of the nation's population. While the majority live in large cities on the east and west coasts, the bureau estimates about 45,000 Asians live in Michigan.
Islam believes the most important thing her group does is help migrants register to vote, understand how the American voting system works and how to find out about the candidates. She emphasized it is important for her group to be represented at the ballot box.
"We get the information, we follow up and say, 'Hey, we registered you. There's an election coming. Here's what's on the ballot. This is what you can do, and this is what you can't do,' " Islam outlined. "We never tell anyone who to vote for, but we always tell them, 'This is your right; this is how you can vote.' "
Asian and Pacific Islanders Vote-Michigan hosts seminars on language, schools, housing and other basic life skills, as well as sponsoring naturalization ceremonies. Islam added like many immigrants; they may face hostility or even violence because of their race or ethnicity. She stressed they provide a space where people can feel safe.
"We really just try to meet our community where they are, get the message across and just give them the information that they need," Islam stated. "We serve like a community hub, basically for the community, with resources for the community."
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