email : Webview : Newsletter #10 - Rochester Refugee Resettlement Advocacy Interest Group

Greetings Friends of Refugee Resettlement,

In today’s newsletter… national refugee news, a brief explanation of Cuban resettlement, CFC resettlement projections and a few words of thanks to some of our friends.

National News

Since our last newsletter in late March, overseas processing of refugee cases has been restarted and new cases are being referred into the program and making their way to resettlement agencies across the U.S. In addition, we have recently been informed that the Department of State will be booking refugees for travel to the U.S. beyond April 28th and into the foreseeable future. As of April 3rd, the U.S. has admitted 39,808 refugees and 10,834 Special Interest Visas (SIV) (50,642 individuals) in the current fiscal year. If national arrivals remain at the current pace of 900 refugees arriving per week, the U.S. will reach 50,000 arrivals by the middle of June. The below graph illustrates refugee arrivals to date and projected for the remainder of the fiscal year. Please note that projections are just that – best guess estimates subject to change depending on governmental actions.

Projected Refugee Arrivals - updated April, 2017

Also of note on the national scene, the White House appointed a new Chief to lead the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). ORR is responsible for refugee support programs that help refugees who have been admitted to the U.S. achieve self-sufficiency and integration. The new ORR Director is Scott Lloyd; the ORR news release regarding his appointment is here.

Cuban Resettlement

Many have asked us how we continue to resettle Cuban entrants despite the normalization of relations between the U.S and Cuba and the cessation of the wet foot/dry foot policy that the Obama administration undertook in the last months of his administration. While it’s true that Cubans are no longer able to be admitted to the U.S. simply by presenting themselves at the border or rafting onto U.S. soil, there is a program that is still being operated that allows for certain Cuban medical personnel who were practicing in foreign countries (mostly in South America) to gain admission to the U.S. and apply for resettlement services. This program is called the Cuban Medical Professional Parole (CMPP) program. At present, the U.S. is still honoring visa applications for those Cubans that applied for admission at U.S. consulates prior to January 12, 2017 under the CMPP program and these individuals are being admitted and resettled through the Cuban resettlement network. That network includes Rochester so we here at CFC are still seeing a significant number of Cubans in our resettlement program and have been told by our national office to expect these type cases through the rest of the 2017 year. For more about the CMPP program visit the government website.

Rochester Refugee Arrivals

At present we are projecting that inclusive of refugees, SIVs and Cubans, CFC will be resettling between 40 and 60 individuals per month for the remainder of the 2017 federal fiscal year (ending September 30, 2017). Again, all projections are subject to change, but given the actual number of individuals we’re seeing booked for flight and what we know of the currently ever-shifting picture in Washington, this is our best estimate.

THANKS!

Over the past few months, two local churches presented CFC with a gift from their congregants in support of refugee assistance provided by our agency. We want to express our most grateful thanks to Memorial AME Zion Church and the Artisan Church for their very generous gifts that will do so much to allow our staff to continue to provide the refugee support services that our community has come to rely on. THANK YOU!

We also wish to say thank you to some of our local political leaders who advocated on behalf of resettlement agencies in New York State. Assemblyman Harry Bronson and Senator Joe Robach were both advocates for refugee resettlement that resulted in funds pledged in the state budget to provide some financial relief to agencies that lost federal support for resettlement.

As always, thanks you for your continued support!

In gratitude,

Jim Morris

Vice President, Family Services

A regional agency of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester

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