Inside the Numbers: Welcoming Refugee Communities
By Henny Ohr
John Win’s* dream was to become a U.S. citizen. John was excited to submit his naturalization application, and go to his interview. However, instead of receiving a letter to attend his citizenship ceremony he received a “Notice to Appear” from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to begin removal proceedings. USCIS asserted that he had misrepresented his identity by not mentioning all names he had used in the past, and therefore was inadmissible.
John’s story represents one of many challenges refugees may encounter in the immigration process. The Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) was founded in 2011 to help new refugees successfully settle in Iowa. As Iowa’s first and only refugee-led service provider, our approach is different. EMBARC better understands not only the challenges, but also the dreams and potential of refugee families. EMBARC works to welcome and support new refugees in Iowa.
For many years, the U.S. has led the global initiative to accept refugees and asylees by raising quotas during periods of international conflict. As of June 2017, refugees from Burma represented 23% of the 708,354 total refugees admitted since 2007 — the largest ethnic group resettled to the U.S. over that decade. In 2016, our reach expanded to welcome and serve newly arriving refugee groups from Congo and Eritrea.
EMBARC helps build leadership and community through its peer-to-peer, train the trainer social learning model. The Legal Navigator Program helps refugee families understand and navigate the immigration system. We know that families provide a vital support network for one another, and we help refugees build new lives and lay roots in Iowa and support family reunification in the U.S. In addition, last year, the local Chin community was shaken when at least 50 refugees received letters from USCIS requesting that they report for voluntary interviews. EMBARC mobilized to provide support to community members and help submit Freedom of Information Act requests to learn more about why they were being investigated. We also provide family and youth, literacy, and community health services.
As part of resettlement assistance, each refugee is eligible for a cash grant of $1,800 and case management support for three months. However, more support is needed to help refugees establish themselves in the U.S. Most of the refugees in Des Moines are recent arrivals, and many are still struggling. We need greater investment in refugee resettlement and integration so we can help our refugee brothers and sisters with their transition to the U.S. and build strong, healthy American communities.
Henny Ohr is the Executive Director for Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center.
This blog is part of our Inside the Numbers series. For more information on immigration in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, download the full report from Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles. The report goes in depth into the diversity of AAPI communities and immigration pathways. Released in June 2019, the report also examines what is not working in the current immigration system and offers recommendations for policy changes to improve the immigration system.
