Governor Matt Mead keeps saying, they (refugees) are coming to Wyoming anyway, so we need a plan.
According to this article some immigrants are arriving in the Wyoming court system and require interpreters that are not readily available. The Wyoming Public Radio story mentions Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish, and an occasional Laotian or Somali speaker.
However, keep in mind that a “refugee recruitment” office in the state is not going to solve the problem of immigrants on trial in Wyoming and in need of skilled interpreters—it will only exacerbate the problem because of the myriad languages refugees to America are speaking.
For review, the top nine languages (in descending order) spoken by refugees in the last 6 years are: Arabic, Nepali, Sgaw Karen, Somali, Spanish, Chaldean, Burmese, Armenian, Kayah and more than 8000 refugees in those 6 years spoke “other minor languages.”
We have written much lately about the expensive refugee criminal trials where costs for court interpreters were a hefty portion of the bill (see Utah Burmese rape murder trial for instance). Are you ready for this in Wyoming?
A refugee resettlement office will have no role in dealing with the secondary migrants already arriving in Wyoming. Their job will be to bring new refugees into Wyoming and that is what they are paid to do!
Here is how the Wyoming Public Radio story begins (Hat tip” ‘pungentpeppers’):
Wyoming is a largely rural state with limited diversity. But as the population grows and the state attracts all sorts of newcomers. Wyoming is learning to accommodate the changing population. One of the areas where the state is making headway is interpretation services in its courts. Wyoming Public Radio’s Irina Zhorov reports.
Not mentioned here is that it is federal law that appropriate court interpreters (and interpreters for all sorts of social welfare/healthcare/education) be provided to the newcomers and billed to LOCAL taxpayers. Note to “welcoming” communities—it is expensive!