Credit: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Ruiz, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In the aftermath of the evacuations of United States military personnel, allies, and assets from Afghanistan, Afghan refugees look to nations such as the United States to resettle and experience lives of peace and prosperity. According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House expects to resettle up to 95,000 Afghans in the US. The Biden administration, working to reverse refugee and immigrant policies from the Trump administration, has struggled to efficiently vet and resettle refugees entering the United States, only admitting 11,411 refugees in fiscal year 2021. The admissions cap set by the administration is 62,500 refugees. The responsibility of resettling refugees in America has landed on resettlement agencies, who work as service organizations to refugees looking to create permanent living in the United States. In the months of August and September, resettlement agencies have felt the brute force of the Afghan refugee crisis, and their response and services to these refugees have illustrated the nature of America's response to immigration and the admittance of refugees.
How have resettlement agencies responded to the crisis of incoming refugees from Afghanistan?
The dramatic increase in the number of Afghan refugees in July, August, and September has put tremendous pressure on resettlement agencies nationwide to provide goods and services to refugees hoping for permanent residence in the U.S. Although many resettlement agencies are dramatically understaffed due to the slowed pace of immigration during the Trump administration, agencies have been forced to take action in the resettlement of refugees because of their tremendous number of arrivals across the nation. Resettlement agencies have been recruited to meet Afghans on military bases upon arrival, collect legal information, and begin the relocation process with the refugees. The agencies hope to acquire secure housing, schooling, groceries, and furniture for newly arrived refugees. These agencies tend to cover the rent for newly settled refugees for the first three months of occupancy. The United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants also grants $1,200 per person, adults and children receiving the same amounts, which must be used within 90 days, according to NPR. The $1,200 is a one-timed stipend grant allocated to refugees upon arrival. Agencies aid refugees in using this money to buy groceries and other essentials for refugee families. Yet, permanent residency for Afghan refugees remains the paramount difficulty for the resettlement agencies, particularly because Afghan refugees want to settle in communities with large Afghan populations. According to a CBS article, Dallas, northern California, and northern Virginia have been hotspots for Afghan resettlement because of affordable housing. However, there is very limited housing available in these areas due to the massive influx of refugees, so resettlement agencies have also been forced to respond to the crisis by working with hotel chains to provide short-term housing for refugees. The resettlement agencies in America are slowly working to provide each and every refugee with the necessary resources to rebuild their lives in America, but the current state of refugee resettlement in the nation indicates that the initial responses of resettlement agencies for permanently relocating refugees in America will need to continually improve for the majority of Afghan refugees to be able to achieve residency in America.
What services are being provided for Afghan refugees in America?
Despite the challenges that resettlement agencies face in relocating refugees into towns and cities across the country, there have been great services provided to the Afghan refugees upon their arrival in America. Refugees with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), granted to Afghans who aided the United States during the war in Afghanistan, can become green card holders, which means that they’re able to become permanent residents of the United States. The Afghan refugees who hold SIVs are prioritized in the resettlement process in that holders and their families are granted immediate access to services that will help them resettle in America. Along with holding an SIV, resettlement agencies are also crucial to the services provided to the refugees. For example, the group RAICES, a resettlement group in San Antonio, Texas, provides job skills training and aids with job search. Marisol Girella is the associate vice president of social programs for RAICES, and in an interview with NPR, she outlined the objectives of RAICES in aiding the resettlement of Afghan refugees in the San Antonio area. Through job skills training and aid with job search, they seek to give refugees the skills necessary and opportunities to join the workforce and provide for themselves and their families. Qualifying adults also will receive monthly cash assistance from the agency depending on the size of the household and the current income of the recipients. RAICES also provides services that allow for the refugees to be culturally oriented in America. They will teach the values of currency, show how and where to send monthly rent, and create checking accounts so that the refugees resettling will be able to have access to the American banking system without having to learn how to set up accounts that will deposit or withdraw money. Girella states on the topic of cultural orientation: “Everything is incredibly different here. The great thing is we have a pretty big Afghan community here in San Antonio so our clients have a built-in support system that they can turn to.” The services of communities and resettlement groups has allowed for the Afghan refugees to be socially and economically acquainted with the United States at a fundamental level. The aid being provided for refugees has greatly helped their transition into American life.
How has Afghan resettlement in New York affected state demographics?
Regardless of where you might live in the country, the Afghan refugee resettlement crisis will have its effects near or in your town or city. New York state holds residency to a great deal of students, families, and friends that we may know, so it is important to take into consideration the demographics of the Afghan refugee population settling in certain areas of New York. A report from Nick Reisman from Spectrum News New York states that New York can anticipate 1,143 Afghan refugees looking to resettle in the state. The numbers for such resettlement are 100 people in Albany, 335 in Buffalo, 240 in the New York City area, 200 people in Rochester, 248 refugees in Syracuse, and 20 in Ithaca. More refugees will expect to immigrate into New York and the Tri-state area in the coming weeks and months as well. These refugees will be aided by the Bureau of Refugee Services in New York, which will provide social and economic services to the refugees settling in New York. Resettlement agencies will be needed to aid the refugees settling in high density areas such as New York City due to the cultural barrier and the difficulty of finding work in one of the most populated cities in the world. The refugees bring another element of diversity into the areas in which they settle and education systems will have to accommodate the adaptation of young Afghan refugees into American schools as well.
Governor Kathy Hochul says to Spectrum News that New York will continue to provide its services to these incoming refugees hoping to resettle in New York and in the United States. Governors and senators from states across the country join in Governor Hochul’s rhetoric, hoping that resettlement agencies will be able to provide their full support for the Afghan refugees entering the country, but the future is yet to be determined with regards to the success Afghan refugees and their families will find in American society.
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