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Refugee Resettlement - Utica, NY
Page history
last edited
by Robert Hackett 14 years, 7 months ago
Goal Statement
- Link here to the Refugee Resettlement overview page for the goal statement related to this issue brief
Scope of the Problem
- Utica, New York, of Oneida County, is an area with many refugees. Refugees represent 12 percent of the population in Utica In the past 25 years, Utica has hosted over 12,000 refugees. The low cost of living, existing refugee population and framework for refugee services makes Utica an ideal site for resettlement.
- In Utica, New York, the main populations resettled in the last two decades are Bosnians (4500), former Soviet Union (~2500) and Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian (~2500). The latest group, which will probably become the second largest population resettled here, are the Burmese/Karin from Myanmar, most of which have been in refugee camps in Thailand for up to twenty years now.
- Utica, New York has been a very successful resettlement site and has received much attention in the media. Performance measures are employment-based and monitored by New York State Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Affairs (BRIA.) Bosnian refugees were integrated quite successfully into the community in the mid to late 1990s and early 2000s, but Somali families arriving in 2003-2006 presented a different challenge to the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees. This group of refugees was more difficult to prepare for the workforce and to support in a way of life that was culturally much different than the one they had left behind. The newest population of refugees from Myanmar want to have employment opportunities, but the economic downturn has made available jobs more scarce. The Refugee Center finds it more difficult in the past few years to meet their performance targets, and the newer populations of Somalis and Burmese/Karin have not integrated as well into the community.
Past Policy
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In 1975 a group of clergy in Utica began a mission to resettle refugees with one Vietnamese man. The Refugee Resource Center was established more officially in 1979, sponsored by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services and incorporated in 1981. Refugee placement numbers grew after 1983 under the direction of Rose Marie Battisti, who was responsible for beginning the "Welcome Home House," a part of the Amerasian Residential Program that resettled children of American servicemen from Vietnam under the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1990. This ended in 1992. Arrivals from the former Soviet Union were mostly Pentecostal Russians, beginning in 1988, and a major population of Bosnian refugees began to arrive in 1993.
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The Center is one of the largest affiliates of the LUtheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
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Events of September 11, 2001 impacted refugee resettlement to the U.S. and consequently to Utica. In 2002 the Center resettled only 240 refugees from a peak of 1363 in 1997, the high point of the Bosnian arrivals.
Current Policy
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In 2003 the Board of Directors went through a formal strategic planning process to consider new directions and revisit the Center's mission. The new mission statement is: We promote the well-being of culturally diverse individuals and families within our community by welcoming our new neighbors, refugees and immigrants and by providing individual and community-centered activities designed to create opportunity and facilitate understanding.
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The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees (MVRCR) collaborates with the Mohawk Valley Latino Association and the African Alliance and offers opportunities to share facilities and services to support their ethnic communities.
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The agency has new contractual arrangements to increase access to medical assistance for Limited English Language Proficiency individuals in the community, providing interpretation/translation services in 8-10 languages.
- Cultural competency training is offered now to agencies and organizations under the new structure of community-centered services.
Criticism
An issue within the refugee policy program is the perceived high costs or "handouts" that are given to the refugees. Many people believe that refugees are a drain on public resources and funds, that refugees are given large cash incentives to become refugees, that refugees take American jobs, don't pay taxes, and stay simply to "freeload" off of the American social welfare system. However, these common beliefs aren't accurate.
- Each refugee that comes through MVRCR is given $425, which $50 of that given in cash. The rest is used to set new arrivals up with apartments, which require first month's rent and a security deposit. They are also given English classes at the Adult Learning Center for up to five years, and job placement services. Beyond those initial costs, refugees are required to support themselves.
- However, the investment in humanity is generally a worthwhile one. A local economics professor at Hamilton College estimates that the initial costs born by the city are repaid in about 15 years.
Policy Options
Key Organizations/Individuals
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Peter Vogelaar, Executive Director, Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, Utica, NY 315-738-1083.
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Betsy LaPorte, Director, Utica City School District ESL Program. Utica City School District, 115 Mohawk Street, Utica NY (315) 792-2243.
Glossary of Terms
- Link here to the Refugee Resettlement overview page for the glossary of terms related to this issue brief
Bibliography web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material
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Coughlan, R., Owens-Manley, J. (2005). Bosnian refugees in America: New communities, new cultures. New York: Springer.
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Martin, S. F. (2004). Refugee women. New York: Lexington Books
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Balgopal, P.R. (Ed.) (2000). Social work practice with immigrants and refugees. New York: Columbia University Press.
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Waxman, P., Colic-Peisker, V. (Eds.). (2005). Homeland wanted: Interdisciplinary perspectives on refugee resettlement in the west. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
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Ranard, D.A., Barron, S. (Eds.) (June 2007). Refugees from Burma: Their backgrounds and refugee experiences. Culture Profile No. 21. Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics. Found at www.culturalorientation.net.
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Zolberg, A.R. (1995). From invitation to interdiction: US foreign policy and immigration since 1945. In M.S. Teitelbaum and M. Weiner (Eds.), Threatened people, threatened borders: World migration policy (pp.117-159), New York, NY: The American Assembly, Columbia University.
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Owens-Manley, J. (2009). Immigrants and Refugees in the US, Spring 2009. New York: Hamilton College. http://academics.hamilton.edu/s09refpod/.
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Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees. http://mvrcr.org/index.php. Accessed 14 July 2009.
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Burnett, Derek. "Second Chance City." Reader's Digest. August 2007. Accessed 28 July 2009. http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/the-refugees-of-utica-ny/article43037.html
Refugee Resettlement - Utica, NY
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