Category: Where to find information

Iraqis top list of refugees resettled in first 2 months of fiscal year; Texas top resettlement state

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Two months of fiscal year 2015 are now behind us and the US State Department and its contractors are off and running with a surprising number of refugees resettled so far.

These were the top 5 states in FY2014. Right now Arizona is edging out Florida and Michigan has moved to number 3.

According to the statistics kept at the Refugee Processing Center, Iraqis top the list.  Here are the Top Five countries of origin for refugees arriving in the US in October and November 2014 (the 2015 fiscal year began Oct. 1):

Iraqis:  3,367

Burmese:  2,530

Somalis:  1,856

Congolese:  1,004

Bhutanese:  870

The Syrian push is not on yet we see. Only 112 have come so far this year.

We then checked out any state that received more than 400 refugees in two months (which is a lot when supplying them with their welfare needs), and here they are:

Texas:   1,386

California:  997

Michigan:  585

New York:  584

Arizona:  564

Florida:  530

Washington:  529

Ohio:  514

Illinois:  475

Minnesota:  435

Georgia: 435

North Carolina:  434

Pennsylvania:  433

If you are wondering which nationalities have arrived in your state, you are out of luck because the State Department has removed the data base that tells us that.  Instead they have a completely useless data base that only tells us the ‘processing country’ from which your state’s refugees arrived.

Well, maybe I shouldn’t call it completely useless because it does give us some bits of information to ponder. For example, we learn that we took another 116 of Malta’s illegal aliens off their hands (probably Somalis).   466 came to the US from South Africa (the safe Rainbow Nation country), so who were they?  I noticed a bunch (79) of those South African “refugees” went to Minnesota.

I was interested to see we processed 1,070 from Turkey and a whopping 1,504 from Malaysia (who were they, illegal aliens trying to reach Australia?).  And we helped out the United Arab Emirates by taking 45 “refugees” off their hands.

This post is archived in our “where to find information” category and our “refugee statistics” category.

Handy directory for US Refugee Resettlement Offices in 180 cities

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

And, there are 350 of them in 180 cities.  That means that in some cities two or more federally-funded agencies are falling over themselves to bring the joys of ethnic diversity to your neighborhood.

We came across this very useful list last night when we reported on the US State Department launch of their new “refugee” program for children in Central America.

Have a look at who is responsible where you live and keep the list for future reference.  Bear in mind that you might not have an office in your town (yet), but may be getting refugees from one of these offices nearby. 

Ha! Ha!  So much for Wyoming not having a refugee program, they sure do have an office listed!

Wyoming
LIRS
WY-LIRS-01: Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains
Address: 1600 Downing Street, Suite 600, Casper, WY 80218
Phone:  303-217-5184
Remember Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains, here.

 

CDC Health profiles released for Bhutanese and Congolese refugees in America

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The Centers for Disease Control has some reports you might like to see if Bhutanese and/or Congolese refugees are being resettled in your towns.  This could be important information needed by your local health department.

Below is where you can find more information at the CDC website.

The CDC has some great stats, and not just on health issues. http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/profiles/congolese/population-movements/index.html

For the Bhutanese the big concerns are nutritional deficiencies, communicable diseases and mental health problems relating to their ability to adjust to living here. (We have already brought over 70,000 Bhutanese/Nepalese to the US).

For the Congolese (we have begun the movement of 50,000 to the US) the big concerns are parasites, Malaria, and mental health problems relating to sexual and gender-based violence.

Gee, I guess Obamacare’s money tree will be taking care of all these problems!   (This post is archived in our ‘health issues’ category).

CDC:

The refugee health profiles found on this page provide key health and cultural information for specific refugee groups resettling to the United States. Information gathered from the World Health Organization (WHO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), US Department of State, and other sources is provided to help resettlement agencies, clinicians, and public health providers facilitate medical screening and interventions appropriate for each refugee group.

Each profile has six components:

  • priority health conditions
  • background
  • population movements
  • health care and nutrition in camps/urban settings
  • medical screening of US-bound refugees
  • health information

Available refugee health profiles include:

First month of FY2015, Iraqis top the list of refugees resettled by US State Department

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
The Refugee Processing Center is the keeper of the US State Department’s statistics on refugees arriving in the US. I am asked all the time, do they keep records of religions, and the answer is yes, but those stats are not available to the general public. Only special people have that access. http://www.wrapsnet.org/

October 31st marked the end of the first month of Fiscal Year 2015.  You can have a look at which refugees the US State Department has admitted in those 31 days by clicking here.

Topping the list is Iraq with 1,790 Iraqis going to your towns and cities.

The next five after Iraq are as follows:

Burma:  1,240

Somalia:  871

DR Congo:  625

Bhutan:  370

Iran:  309

And, so far 51 Syrians entered the US in this fiscal year.

By the way, do you see the table listed here entitled: Arrivals by State and Country (Posted after the 5th of the following month).  It is virtually useless to you because the refugees’ nationalities are not given, only the processing country.  So if you look at Minnesota for instance, you can be sure MN got some of those Somalis, but Somalia isn’t listed.  Much to my surprise South Africa is listed! 

WTH, surely we aren’t bringing persecuted white South Africans, but I will bet you a buck we are bringing some of the unwanted Somalis from the RAINBOW NATION!  48 went to Minnesota in just the last month!  So much for South Africa’s image as a welcoming country!

Just one more example of how the State Department keeps information from the general public:  there previously was a data table available for which refugees went to which CITIES, but that is no longer listed as available to you (or me).  You can be sure they have that information!

Remember Obama is shooting for 70,000 total refugees for the year, but dissatisfied resettlement contractors, like the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, are looking for 100,000.

Office of Refugee Resettlement maps help you research your state, learn who is responsible

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Where in the USA are the refugees and the resettlement offices?

I just came across this very useful map for FY2013-2014 at the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS) to help you research what is happening with the Refugee Resettlement program in your state.

When you go to the site and click on your state, all of the federal money flowing there is available as well as a list of locations where refugees are resettled with names and contact information for those doing the resettlement.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for you to learn about the program where you live.  I know it’s an overused expression, but knowledge is power.  And, that is why we started this blog in the first place to help you gain that knowledge.

Click here for ORR’s interactive state map!  (When you look at the map, you might want to go here for information on what a Wilson-Fish state is).

ORR Regional Offices

In 2013, ORR Director Eskinder Negash, announced the creation of Regional refugee resettlement offices to coordinate state offices.  At that time there were regional refugee offices located within five of the ten Administration for Children and Family (ACF) offices.

ORR will open up to five regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, and San Francisco (and potentially additional regional locations).

Click here to see the ten ACF regions and regional headquarters.