U.S. Refugee Resettlement Now
The U.S. Department of State works systematically with nine national organizations to appropriately resettle refugees across the country with different state affiliates. These national organizations include:
Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC)
Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)
These nine national agencies work with 49 state affiliates (Wyoming is the only state with no affiliate) who are further assisted by local voluntary organizations, many of them faith-based, to quickly assimilate new arrivals. Upon arrival they are given housing, clothing, and goods for basic survival. Local organizations help refugees connect to health services, education, job training, and employment opportunities. For eight months, the federal government provides refugees with direct cash and medical benefits. The first three months are funded by the Department of State. Beyond that, the state affiliate of the Office for Refugee and Resettlement (ORR) is responsible for disbursing these benefits. After the eight-month adjustment period (which was shrunk down from 3 years during the time between 1982 and 1991), adults under 65 are expected to be working and functioning in the American society. Refugees can apply for a greencard after one year of residency and then apply for citizenship after 5 years.<1>
As far as location, new patterns of resettlement have emerged. In the 70s, Southeast Asian and Cuban refugees were originally dispersed across the U.S. However, secondary migration resulted in these groups re-aggregating into dense enclaves.<2> Vietnam-towns are in Washington, California, along the gulf coast, and in Virginia; sizable Cambodian enclaves are in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Lowell, Massachusetts; Hmong are concentrated in Minneapolis-St. Paul and in three cities in California’s central valley; and finally, Cuban-Miami is one of the most established, post-1965 enclaves in the U.S. Learning from these clustering patterns, resettlement agencies now consciously try to place refugees near family and friend networks.<3>
However, many refugees have no existing family networks. They are called “free cases.” According to Patty Haller, assistant director of the Idaho Office for Refugees, agencies try to settle free cases in so called “soft landing” sites—small- to medium-sized cities with viable job markets, affordable housing, low costs of living, ample services, and demonstrated tolerance for diversity.<4> The theory is that refugees are less likely to fall through the cracks in a smaller city. Services are less overwhelmed. Housing is more available and public schools often perform better outside the major metropolises.
In addition, the cost of real-estate in America’s rejuvenated city centers has also pushed refugees to the outer edges. These combined push-pull factors have resulted in the formation of new refugee enclaves in areas that are otherwise racially homogeneous. For this research project, I investigated refugee food cultivation programs in four such places. Boise, Idaho, Utica, New York, Lewiston, Maine, and Lowell, Massachusetts, all of which could be arguably called "soft landing spots," host a refugee community gardening and/or farm training program.
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<1> J. Kelly Ryan, “Refugee Resettlement and Integration,” US Department of State (2005) http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/44154.htm (accessed November 15, 2007)
<2> Haines, 63
<3> Patty Haller, interview by author, Cambridge, MA, November 14, 2007
<4> Ibid.