Category: Refugee statistics

Georgia joins other states where immigrants are getting all the jobs

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The Center for Immigration Studies has had an on-going project of reporting which states have a high percentage of jobs going to immigrants while the native-born Americans working has declined.

Georgia Governor Deal asked for a reduction in the number of refugees going to the overloaded state. But, GA is still in the top ten receiving states. http://newsmanager.atlantaregional.com/anmviewer.asp?a=56685&z=21

We previously reported on their statistics from Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina.  Now it’s Georgia’s turn.  Here at CIS:

The Gang of Eight immigration bill (S.744) passed by the Senate last June would have roughly doubled the number of new foreign workers allowed into the country, as well as legalized illegal immigrants, partly on the grounds that there is a labor shortage. Many business groups and politicians in Georgia supported the legislation. However, an analysis of government data shows that, since 2000, all of the net increase in the number of working-age (16 to 65) people holding a job in Georgia has gone to immigrants (legal and illegal). This is the case even though the native-born accounted for 54 percent of growth in the state’s total working-age population. Perhaps worst of all, the labor force participation rate of Georgia’s natives shows no improvement through the first part of this year despite the economic recovery.

Among the findings:

~The total number of working-age (16 to 65) immigrants (legal and illegal) holding a job in Georgia increased by 400,000 from the first quarter of 2000 to the first quarter of 2014, while the number of working-age natives with a job declined by 71,000 over the same time frame.

~The fact that all the long-term net gain in employment among the working-age went to immigrants is striking because natives accounted for 54 percent of the increase in the total size of the state’s working-age population.

More here…..

Georgia is in the top ten refugee resettlement states for the 11 months of fiscal year 2014 (which ends on Sept. 30th).

And, keep in mind, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal asked the US State Department to slow the flow to his state.

Compared to illegal immigration the numbers are small, but remember refugees have employment services (federal resettlement contractors) assisting them in finding work.  Check out your state by clicking here.

Texas:  6,398

California:  5,666

New York:  3,733

Michigan:  3,677

Florida:  3,227

Ohio:  2,700

Arizona:  2,675

Georgia:  2,502

Pennsylvania:  2,497

Washington:  2,323

Not far behind are:  Illinois, North Carolina, and Minnesota

 

How many Iraqi refugees came to America since 9/11? How are they doing?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

In our earlier post this morning, we reported that the US State Department is going to begin bringing in Syrians (at the UN’s direction) on par with what we have done for Iraqis.  That reminded me that I wanted to pull together the Iraqi resettlement data.

We are on our way, as this fiscal year ends in a few weeks, to 115,000 Iraqis admitted to the US since 9/11.  Approximately 62% are Muslims (71,300).  How do we know?

Recently a reader sent me some numbers for Iraqi refugees from a data base kept by the US State Department that only select people have access to.  It was the data base of religions refugees bring to America.  Our reader said that of 111,854 Iraqis admitted since 2003, 42,137 are Christians. (38%).   I don’t have access to the religion data, but I did want to check the total numbers for myself.

I don’t come up with 111,854 (I get 111,731, but it’s close and we could easily reach 115,000 by the end of the fiscal year).  This information below comes from data tables at the end of Annual Reports to Congress, here.

Iraqi refugees who were ultimately convicted on terrorism charges were arrested in KY and caused a dip in the numbers for 2011.

From 1983-2002:  we resettled 41,549 Iraqis

From fiscal year 2003 to August 31, 2014:

2003:  294

2004:  65

2005:  186

2006:  189

2007:  1,605

2008:  13,775 (this was a George Bush year)

2009:  18,709

2010:  18,016

2011:  9,388  (Assume this dip is because of the Iraqi terrorists arrested in KY which resulted in a federal freak-out and a re-do on the security screening of Iraqis).

2012:  12,233

2013:  19,500

2014 (11 months of the fiscal year): 17,771

Bottom line is that we are approaching 115,000 Iraqis admitted to the US in the last 12 years (the State Dept. and contractors will make a big push this month to hit their targets and so I am guessing they will reach 115,000).

How are they doing? 

See the special section on Iraqi refugees in the 2012 ORR Annual Report to Congress (the most recent data available) beginning on page 110.

Not so hot!

~The overall US unemployment rate that year was 7.6%, the Iraqi unemployment rate was 22.6% (but up from 40% or so in some previous years).

~Of those not looking for work, 33.6% had poor health or disabilities.

~The average hourly wage for Iraqis who were working was $9.79 per hour.

~ORR says that the goal is self-sufficiency in 3 months, but only 21% got their first job in 6 months and welfare continued.

~60% were on Medicaid or Refugee Medical Assistance.

~82% were receiving food stamps.

~58% were receiving some sort of cash assistance.

~36% were getting SSI (Supplemental Security Income).

The report tries to put a happy face on it, but the numbers are abysmal!

Sure looks like we are importing poverty and you can expect the Syrians to be in the same situation when they begin arriving at rates comparable to the Iraqis—from 10,000-20,000 a year!

For ambitious readers, our Iraqi refugee category has 628 previous posts in it.

Update:  About the photo.  The photo we placed in this post this morning disappeared. This is not the first time, that has happened with the official photo of this pair.  Let’s see what happens with this one.

Almost 1,000 additional Somalis admitted to US in last month

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Just this morning I was working on all those darn numbers and now a few hours later I see that the August 31 data is available at the Refugee Processing Center.

From July 31 to August 31 we admitted 952 Somalis to your towns and cities for a total of 8,278 this year.  That moves Somalis up from the 4th highest group of refugees to the third.  Ahead of Somalia are Iraq (17,771) and Burma (13,166).

Check out all nationalities for the last 11 months (Fiscal year 2014) by clicking here.

While you are visiting the Refugee Processing Center, be sure to see how many refugees your state received so far this year.

How to find those darn numbers! Found it! 7,600 Somalis to America in 2013

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update: Almost 1,000 additional Somalis admitted to the US in the past month, here. The number for FY2014 is now 8,278.

Almost every day someone asks us—where do I find numbers for this group of refugees admitted to the US, or that group.  Let me tell you it isn’t easy!

This morning I was on the hunt for how many Somalis we admitted to the US in fiscal year 2013.

Eskinder Negash (right) Director of ORR and Larry Bartlett (left) Director of Refugee Admissions of the US State Department addressing an audience in “welcoming” Portland, Maine. Maine is a Somali resettlement site. http://www.pressherald.com/2013/01/30/growth-of-refugee-community-attributed-to-welcoming-city_2013-01-30/

We know that for fiscal year 2014, through July 31st (in ten months), we have admitted 7,326.  You can always check this site at WRAPSnet.org for the on-going resettlement in a given year.

Update: Here in Statistical Abstracts you can learn about how many refugees/asylees etc. came to your state in FY2013.

The handiest place for all numbers is the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Annual Reports to Congress, here.  However, since they are always behind in producing those, the most recent numbers are not available to us or to Congress.  The numbers are in tables at the end of each report.

Another good source is the Annual Flow Reports from the Department of Homeland Security.  Here is one for 2012.

You can find some information at the Migration Policy Institute (a pro-immigration ‘think tank’), here.

Then there is the massive data base at Homeland Security’s Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, here.

Where did I finally find the number I was looking for?

I found it in the text of a year-end wrap-up which we previously posted by the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Eskinder Negash, who said this on December 20, 2013 (posted here for the benefit of our new readers).  Emphasis is mine:

Two thousand thirteen was another busy year for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).  Despite an extended moratorium on overseas refugee arrivals in October, Fiscal Year 2013 brought fairly steady arrivals each month, across all categories.

The largest group was refugees, with the United States welcoming refugees from 65 countries across the globe this past year. The highest number of overseas arrivals represented a slight switch from those of the past few years, with nearly 19,500 Iraqi refugee admissions and 16,300 Burmese refugees accounting for more than half of all refugee arrivals.  They were followed by Bhutanese (9,100), Somali (7,600) and Cuban refugees (4,200), with Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia rounding out rest of the top ten admissions groups in FY2013.

The overall population served by ORR and its partners, however, grew to a projected 143,000 new arrivals in Fiscal Year 2013, including almost 72,000 refugees and Special Immigrant Visa holders, an estimated 46,000 asylees and Cuban/Haitian Entrants and Parolees; more than 500 Victims of Trafficking, and nearly 25,000 Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC). 

Negash:  The best news!  They are voting!

The numbers only tell part of the story: most of the 143,000 people ORR served last year are on a path to U.S. citizenship that began the day they arrived.  Former refugees, asylees, and UAC are making positive changes in communities across the country—and will continue to do so throughout their lives—opening businesses, buying homes and raising families, and voting (and running!) in local elections.  Three former refugees ran for public office in multi-cultural Clarkston, Georgia this past November—and for the first time in the city’s history, voters elected a refugee to a seat on the City Council.

Read it all.

We have two categories, now very full, to help you find reports, documents, statistics etc.  One is ‘Where to find information’ and the other is ‘Refugee statistics.’

See also one of our most read posts from the last seven years,  ‘How did we get so many Somali refugees…’ I put those numbers together by poring over each annual report that had become available.  By the way, keep in mind that most Somalis in the US today came as refugees or are the children of refugees.

Is yours a “welcoming” state for refugees? The answer may depend on your Hepatitis and HIV treatment availability

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

That is one of the interesting facts we are learning while reading through ORR’s Key Indicators for Fiscal Year 2015.  We have been telling you about it (see here and here).

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) has recently been compiling statistics on such things as employment opportunities and whether your state has generous social service benefits and healthcare to help refugees get the very best care they can get.

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/orr/statistical_abstract_for_refugee_resettlement_stakeholders_508.pdf

I found the ‘Access to Health Care’ on page 18 of the Statistical Abstract enlightening.

By the way, if yours is one of 26 states expanding Medicaid, yours will be a more “welcoming” location than the 19 (stingy) states which have not.

Access to Health Care

Access to health care and health insurance is an important consideration in refugee placement and resettlement decisions. Depending on their circumstances, refugees may be eligible for different types of health insurance, including Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA), employer-based plans, and private insurance available through the Health Insurance Marketplace. However, many refugees are uninsured. In fact, one third of refugees from ORR’s Annual Survey in 2011 lacked medical of any kind throughout the preceding year. In addition, the availability of “safety net” health services varies by state.

Initial placement decisions can have a long-term impact on refugees’ health outcomes;

For example:

* Treatment for chronic Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C can last up to one year. People with these conditions who are resettled in a state where RMA is the only health insurance option will be less likely to start or complete treatment.

* Refugees with HIV will require specialized care; the availability of long-term health
insurance and the robustness of local Ryan White programs (especially, waiting periods to
access anti-HIV medications) should be considered when making placement decisions
regarding people with HIV.

You really should check out the report, you will learn a lot about how generous (or not) your state is and how well refugees are doing finding jobs and keeping them.

And, how is your TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)?  There is a very detailed state-by-state list of how much refugees get and what the rules are in your state.

Oh, and we learned one more thing!  ORR is using your tax dollars for “gaining socio-political support for the refugee program.”

For new readers, we have an extensive ‘health issues’ category, click here.  You may be surprised to learn that in addition to HIV and Hepatitis, we take refugees with TB, venereal diseases and parasites as well.