I didn’t plan it this way, but it’s convenient that this post follows my previous post in which Roy Beck of NumbersUSA points out that illegal aliens occupy millions of jobs in the US.
From the Catholic News Service, this news release begins with the usual sad story of an unemployed refugee, a Liberian, who lost her job and now is in distress.
“Right now it’s not easy,” she told Catholic News Service in thickly accented English. “I just applied for unemployment again. It’s very hard for me right now. Now my landlord is after me.”
Togba has not given up looking for work, but she said she is not sure where else to turn after months of searching.
“Do us a favor by telling the government we’re refugees in this country,” Togba said. “Some of us do not even know where to go. We lived in the refugee camp and we were suffering and they brought us here for safety, for times to be better for us. But right now things are really out of hand. We cannot even control it any more.”
Togba’s situation illustrates the plight facing thousands of resettled refugees nationwide.
But despite the dire circumstances these refugees are in, the US State Department is still hauling them in this fiscal year.
The economic slump has caused diocesan MRS staffers to scramble to find work for the thousands of refugees lining up at the border. The State Department is planning to bring about 80,000 refugees into the country in the fiscal year ending September 30.
The economy is nothing like we have ever seen before!
“I don’t think we’ve ever had quite the scenario we’ve had as we do right now,” said Kathy Cooper, director of the Virginia Office of Newcomer Services in Richmond, a position she has held since 1991. “It’s just really bad. It’s an economy none of us have experienced before in terms of finding jobs for refugees.
“It’s not about finding a good, full-time job with good health benefits. It’s not even about finding a good job. It’s about finding a job,” she said.
We are trying to help even if it isn’t in our contract!
Once the refugees are resettled, there’s not much else local resettlement agencies are able to do contractually. Under State Department contracts, local resettlement agencies provide assistance for up to 90 days.
But that doesn’t mean the agencies stop helping, according to Richard Hogan, associate director for diocesan development for Migration and Refugee Services at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
“So what they’ve been doing is asking for support from the community, from parishes, seeking donations of all sorts, and using that money to pay for rent,” Hogan explained.
What!!! Mr. Hogan, you are supposed to be helping even if it isn’t in your contract! This is a public-private partnership, right? You know this is what happens when originally charitable groups, even church groups, start being paid by the taxpayer to do their good works, they get complacent and then EXPECT government to do it all.
These refugees would not be hurting so badly now if each family had its own sponsor (a church, a civic group, or even an American well-established family), something we have advocated at RRW until we are blue in the face.
The solution according to this Catholic group, get more taxpayer money! How about slowing the flow of refugees during the recession? Not a chance.
Because the economy has taken such a toll on refugees, national resettlement agencies have turned to the State Department to seek emergency assistance for newcomers who have lost jobs and are in danger of losing their homes. Recognizing the growing need, State Department officials have authorized a one-time expenditure of $5 million for rental assistance.
The USCCB and other national organizations involved with resettling newcomers also are hopeful that Congress will approve legislation adding $30 million for refugee housing programs. The amount would be in addition to the $60 million already in the federal budget.
Another partial solution, form immigrant groups to ask for more money too!
“If the government helps, everything will be fine to us,” Dweh explained.
Dweh is President of a new organization to fight for stuff for Liberians called United Tchien Association. I’ll bet you a buck it is set up with taxpayer funded grants. I told you some time ago about Ethnic Community Based Organizations, this is surely one of those and a prime example of community organizing ala Obama.