Tag: COVID-19

COVID-19 News: UN Suspends Refugee Travel; However, 69 New Refugees Arrived in US Since Monday

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 4 Comments

The International Organization for Migration, a wing of the UN, announced refugee travel was being suspended. “This is a temporary measure that will be in place only for as long as it remains essential, ” said the IOM in a statement released yesterday.

I am still not seeing any official announcement from the US State Department and no commentary, so far, from the refugee contractors.  See below that 69 new refugee arrivals were ‘welcomed’ to America since Monday.

Here is IOM:

IOM, UNHCR announce temporary suspension of resettlement travel for refugees

If you see the distinctive IOM blue bags at the airport, it is a sure sign of refugee arrivals. IOM arranges the plane tickets that you, taxpayers, pay for!

Geneva – As countries drastically reduce entry into their territories owing to the COVID-19 global health crisis, and restrictions around international air travel are introduced, travel arrangements for resettling refugees are currently subject to severe disruptions. Some States have also placed a hold on resettlement arrivals given their public health situation, which impacts on their capacity to receive newly resettled refugees.

Refugee families are being directly impacted by these quickly evolving regulations in the course of their travel, with some experiencing extensive delays while others have been stranded or separated from family members.

In addition, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, the International Organization for Migration, are concerned that international travel could increase the exposure of refugees to the virus.

As a result, IOM and UNHCR are taking steps to suspend resettlement departures for refugees. This is a temporary measure that will be in place only for as long as it remains essential.

[….]

Both agencies look forward to resuming full resettlement travel as soon as prudence and logistics permit.

More here.

I decided to check to see if we were still seeing refugee arrivals since I reported, here, that as of a week ago, there was not a slowdown.

Here are the numbers this morning at the Refugee Processing Center from Monday (the 13th) to this morning.

We had 69 arrivals, 62 of those from the DR Congo.

In 2013, Anne Richard, Obama’s head honcho for refugees, told then UNHCR that we would ‘welcome’ 50,000 impoverished Congolese to America.

Just to review, in 2013 the Obama Administration told the UN that we we would take 50,000 needy people from the DR Congo over five years.

In 2020, we are at 60,880 and they are still coming in in large numbers.

In fact, since Trump took office we have admitted 32,000 from the DR Congo and distributed them throughout America.

Here is a map from the Refugee Processing Center showing where 69 refugees were placed since Monday.  62 hailed from the DR Congo (including the 13 who went to Idaho and 21 of 22 who were placed in Texas).

In addition to the 62 from the DR Congo, 3 refugees arrived from Iraq, 2 from Eritrea and one each from India and Somalia.

These numbers do not include the Special Immigrant Visa holders arriving from Afghanistan and Iraq and treated like refugees.  There is no daily breakdown that I know of for their arrival.  Make note that since October 1, 2019 to yesterday we admitted 6,867 special refugees from Afghanistan and 152 from Iraq.  Will check in a few days and see how the number changes.

 

Ohio: Refugee Agencies Scramble to Get COVID-19 Warnings to Those Who Don’t Speak English

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

“Advocates for immigrants and refugees say about 200 languages are spoken in the state.”

 

There are nearly 7,000 distinct languages in the world. Lucky Ohio has only 200! https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/how-many-languages-are-there-world

Some refugees are in America for years and never learn to speak English, and indeed many arrive in America unable to read in their own language, so now refugee resettlement agencies are scrambling to get out instructions to immigrant communities while they close their own doors to avoid face to face contact with their “clients.”

So much for diversity bringing strength!

Here is a story explaining the problem in Ohio. It is from The Columbus Dispatch:

Language a barrier in getting coronavirus information to all

Those who don’t speak English may have trouble getting updates about what coronavirus is and its spread. Local and state immigrant and refugee advocates are working to get resources to people in the language they speak and read.

As many Americans try to absorb all the information they can on the coronavirus and its spread in Ohio, some are left out of the conversation entirely.

Advocates for immigrants and refugees say about 200 languages are spoken in the state, and many of those advocates are working to make sure the individuals who speak those languages can get information about the rapidly spreading virus in ways they can understand.

[….]

Advocates aren’t the only ones trying to make sure that everyone is reached.

The Ohio Department of Health is linking to CDC resources in other languages on its website, coronavirus.ohio.gov, spokeswoman Melanie Amato said. The agency is also reaching out to local organizations for translation resources and the Ohio Hispanic Coalition is working to translate press releases.

[….]

US Together is a Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Subcontractor. https://www.ustogether.us

At US Together, a local refugee resettlement agency, staff members began being trained last week on how to prepare themselves and their clients for the virus, Emily Locke, a communications specialist with US Together, said in an email.

The training focused on what the virus is, how it spreads and which communities are vulnerable. They also addressed how to identify symptoms, prevent the virus and prepare food and supplies to deal with the outbreak.

On Monday, the resettlement agency closed its offices to the public and said its employees will work with clients by phone, email and other technology.  [So much for looking out for the newly arrived refugees!—ed]

More here.

By the way, yesterday I wondered if refugee agency volunteers were still meeting refugees at airports (new refugees were arriving up to last Thursday), but it sure looks like either the State Department has now wisely cut off the flow of new arrivals or those that do arrive are on their own!

Top Ten Languages spoken by refugees arriving in America.  

It’s been a long time since I reported on this information available at the Refugee Processing Center.  This is a good time to tell you about it.

Don’t forget!  According to a Clinton-era Executive Order your local and state governments are on the hook for the cost of interpreters.

(By the way, the growing cost of interpreter services, especially involving medical services, is something I never see calculated in any economic study of whether immigrants/refugees benefit the economy.)

 

 

Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken in East Africa.  Kinyarwanda is a Rwandan language. Sgaw Karen is a Burmese language.

For my recent posts on COVID-19 see that I have a tag for it.

 

Editor’s note:  As RRW approaches its 13th birthday, there are over 10,000 posts archived here at Refugee Resettlement Watch. Unfortunately, it is just me here with no staff and so it has become virtually impossible to answer all of the basic questions that come into my e-mail inbox or to RRW’s facebook page every day. I don’t want to appear rude—I simply haven’t enough hours in the day.

Please take time to visit RRW (don’t just read posts in your e-mail) and use the search window in the right hand sidebar and see if you can find the information you need.  Also see my series that I wrote in recent months entitled Knowledge is Power which explains some basic principles of how Refugee Resettlement is carried out in the US.

And, lastly, I don’t write that much every day, so if you made a habit of reading my posts here on a daily basis, you would eventually catch on to what is happening because I do link back to previous posts as much as possible. LOL!  Thank you for helping me not go crazy!

 

No Slowdown in Refugee Arrivals as Borders Close and Travel Bans Grow Worldwide

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been mentioning in recent posts*** that I have seen no news about curtailing refugee arrivals as travel bans grow world wide, so I just checked the arrival data at the Refugee Processing Center and sure enough there is no slowing of refugee arrivals.

***Update*** UN suspends refugee travel for at least a few weeks so as not to expose refugees to coronavirus.

 

Here (below) is a map of where 1,768 refugees who arrived in the US were placed between February 15th and yesterday.

Thinking maybe a slowdown was evident if I checked the numbers for the last week, I found that we ‘welcomed’ 488 refugees to your towns and cities in the last seven days. No slowdown.  All traveled through airports in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Of the 1,768 ‘new Americans’ who arrived in the last month, the largest numbers came from the DR Congo (728) followed by Ukraine (278), Burma(136), Iraq (130) and Pakistan (50).

Top welcoming states were:  California, Washington, Texas, New York, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Georgia.

 

 

If you want to research the data at the Refugee Processing Center yourself, I gave instructions on how to do that in Knowledge is Power IV.

***See my tag for COVID-19 to find other posts on the subject here at RRW.

 

Editor’s note:  As RRW approaches its 13th birthday, there are over 10,000 posts archived here at Refugee Resettlement Watch. Unfortunately, it is just me here with no staff and so it has become virtually impossible to answer all of the basic questions that come into my e-mail inbox or to RRW’s facebook page every day. I don’t want to appear rude—I simply haven’t enough hours in the day.

Please take time to visit RRW (don’t just read posts in your e-mail) and use the search window in the right hand sidebar and see if you can find the information you need.  Also see my series that I wrote in recent months entitled Knowledge is Power which explains some basic principles of how Refugee Resettlement is carried out in the US.

And, lastly, I don’t write that much every day, so if you made a habit of reading my posts here on a daily basis, you would eventually catch on to what is happening because I do link back to previous posts as much as possible. LOL!  Thank you for helping me not go crazy!

Malaysia: Mosque Event Spreads COVID-19

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a follow-up to my post yesterday in which I directed your attention to the Processing Countries map.

Ukraine is the location where the largest numbers of refugees are processed for your towns and cities, but Malaysia is not far behind. 

And, as I said yesterday I am not seeing any US State Department guidance or mention that refugees from these locations are being blocked from entry into the US or are being tested for coronavirus if they are being admitted.

Here is the news from Malaysia (a Muslim country where we process Rohingya Muslims into the US, among other refugees who have found their way to that country).

From Reuters:

Malaysia virus tally hits highest in Southeast Asia due to mosque event

16,000 Muslims attended religious event now believed to be source for rapid spread of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Malaysia is the second largest processing location for refugees being admitted to the US right now. Photo: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-confirms-77-cases-from-mosque-event-in-kl

 

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia reported 190 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, with most linked to a religious event at a mosque that was attended by 16,000 people from several countries.

The new cases bring the total number of infections in the country to 428, the health ministry said, making it the worst affected in Southeast Asia.

A total of 243 cases have been linked to the mosque gathering with 9 cases critically ill in intensive care, the ministry said, adding that all event participants and their close contacts will be placed under mandatory quarantine for 14 days.

About 14,500 Malaysians and 1,500 foreigners attended the religious gathering between Feb. 27 and March 1 at a mosque near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian health authorities have said.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday that the country was facing a “second wave” of infections, and warned of an impact on economic growth.

More here.

How many US-bound refugees attended that event two weeks ago and then got on a plane to America?

Ukraine: Top Refugee Processing Country to Close Borders on Tuesday

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 5 Comments

COVID-19 News…..

From time to time over the years, I’ve told you about “processing countries” which are locations around the world where refugees are gathered and as the word says, are processed into the US.  It doesn’t mean that all those processed are the nationality of the country that is doing the processing.

Indeed when you look at the map of processing locations from the Refugee Processing Center (below), you will see Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey are high on the list, but in those cases they are locations where refugees of various nationalities are being selected for movement to your towns and cities.

 

https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/Arrivals%20by%20Processing%20Country%20and%20Nationality%20-%20Map%202-29-20.pdf

 

However, in the case of Ukraine, they are mostly (if not all) Ukrainians.  Don’t ask me what the deal is and why we are moving supposedly persecuted Ukrainians to America, but we are.

Every day I look for any news about whether the US State Department is taking any action to either delay refugee arrivals or at least to test refugees for coronavirus exposure and am not seeing it.

That said, I did see that the Ukrainian government has announced that as of March 17th, Ukraine’s borders (both in and out) will close even as the country only has a handful of cases so far, so presumably that will bring refugee arrivals from Ukraine (presently among the largest numbers we are getting) to a halt.

By the way, the largest number of Ukrainian refugees arriving in the US are going to Washington, California and New York states with more cases of COVID-19 than the whole country of Ukraine.

Keep an eye out!  If you see news about delays in refugee arrivals due to the virus crisis let me know!

 

Editor’s note:  As RRW approaches its 13th birthday, there are over 10,000 posts archived here at Refugee Resettlement Watch. Unfortunately, it is just me here with no staff and so it has become virtually impossible to answer all of the basic questions that come into my e-mail inbox or to RRW’s facebook page every day. I don’t want to appear rude—I simply haven’t enough hours in the day.

Please take time to visit RRW (don’t just read posts in your e-mail) and use the search window in the right hand sidebar and see if you can find the information you need.  Also see my series that I wrote in recent months entitled Knowledge is Power which explains some basic principles of how Refugee Resettlement is carried out in the US.

And, lastly, I don’t write that much every day, so if you made a habit of reading my posts here on a daily basis, you would eventually catch on to what is happening because I do link back to previous posts as much as possible. LOL!  Thank you for helping me not go crazy!