Your tax dollars:
We have had posts lately about scandals, abuse of women, arrests for human trafficking, and sneaky dead of night amendments to increase refugee numbers, but once in awhile we have to get back to one of our missions and that is just plain educating our readers on how the federal Refugee Resettlement program benefits this special class of immigrant.
At the September forum on refugee resettlement in Hagerstown, someone asked the government officials and church contractors if refugees could get cars somehow. The questioner was thoroughly dismissed. But, there is a way.
Through a special grant program called the Individual Development Accounts (IDA) a refugee can save for several goals (one is a car) and have his savings matched through a federal grant (your tax dollars).
Individual development accounts are matched savings accounts available for the purchase of specific assets. Under the IDA program, the matching funds, together with the refugee’s own savings from their employment, are available for purchasing one (or more) of four savings goals: home purchase; microenterprise capitalization; post secondary education or training; and in some cases, purchase of an automobile if necessary to maintain or upgrade employment.
I contacted the manager of this grant program and learned that ORR currently funds this program in eight locations: Wheaton, IL, Sacramento, CA, Philadelphia, PA, Des Moines, IA, New York, NY, St. Louis, MO, Louisville, KY, and Nashville, TN. The grants are awarded through public agencies or private volags (non profit groups).
No wonder Louisville is a magnet for secondary migration.
So, the answer is YES, there is a way in some parts of the US for refugees to get cars. I wonder why we couldn’t get that simple answer from the experts.
I don’t wonder anymore why hundreds of thousands are beating down embassy doors throughout the world in hopes of being a “refugee” in America
Actually there may be another way to become a car owner. Some of the volags operate used car lots. Cars are donated to the volag and the non-profit group uses the donations for the Match Grant Program where it receives cash from the federal government for the donated items (cars in this case). Will investigate this another day.