Research Topic 02: Refugee Resettlement in Columbus, Ohio. Precedent Study 05: (CRIS) Community Refugee and Immigration Services

RESEARCH TOPIC 02: REFUGEE SETTLEMENT IN COLUMBUS OHIO

Role of the US Department of State:
The mandate for refugees falls under the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, which is itself headed by the Undersecretary for Democracy and global Affairs.

Who is eligible for resettlement?

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has the international mandate to provide refugee assistance and to determine if resettlement in a third country – be it the United States or another country – is the right solution.

Less than one percent of refugees worldwide are ever resettled in a third country. Resettlement is often called “the option of last resort,” i.e. the course for the most vulnerable groups of refugees. UNHCR has eleven criteria to determine if resettlement is appropriate, such as Iraqis who worked for the Multinational Force in Iraq or for the US government, households headed by women, and members of religious minorities.


Resettlement Agencies: This term describes the nine U.S. private voluntary agencies (Volags) and one state agency that have cooperative agreements with the PRM Bureau to provide reception and placement services to newly arrived refugees in the United States. Such agencies recieve per capita grants (According to CRIS this only amounts to about $400 per refugee) and administrative overhead funding which is supplemented by self-generated resources, to provide refugees with a range of services including sponsorship, inital housing, food and clothing, orientation and counseling. The Bureau enters into agreements with such agencies annually, based on a proposal submission and review process.

The 10 volags are listed as follows:



CASE Study 05: Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS)

Initial Contact with CRIS:
Initially I contacted Jane McGrew of CRIS via e-mail on August 18, 2008 the following is the initial contact between Jane and Myself.

Dear Ms. McGrew,

Allow me to introduce myself; I am a Graduate Student of Architecture, at the Boston Architectural College working on my thesis project. I am also presently a resident of Westerville, Ohio.

I am in the beginning stages of my thesis, which will be for a center for refugee assistance and acculturalation. My focus is on creating a built environment, which acts as a Haven for Refugees and Asylees, allowing them to transition into American Culture. This is not to say that the goal is to assimilate them into society, but to allow opportunities of community outreach and exchange.

I was surprised and delighted to find your organization in the Columbus area. I am pleased to say that many of the services for which I am proposing for my proposal are in tandem with the services provided by CRIS. I would appreciate a chance to be able to talk with you about your needs as an organization, the services you offer, and needs and desires of the refugees and immigrants whom your organization serves. I also see this as an opportunity for me to become involved with your organization in a manner beyond that of the purely academic.

Ultimately, my research would be a meaningless exercise if I did not feel that the work of organizations such as CRIS was valuable and beneficial. I am more than willing to involve myself personally and am pleased to offer my services as a volunteer in exchange for the opportunity to understand the needs and wants of your organization.

I will be in Boston the week of August 18th thru August 24th, but would welcome a phone call from you as soon as you are able to find time. I would also like to be able to come to your office and discuss the aspirations for this project with you or someone from your organization upon my return to the Columbus area.

I can be reached by cell phone at 614.787.0402, by e-mail at steven.munger@the-bac.edu, or via my g-mail account at steven.munger@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Steven A. Munger

Steve,

Thank you for the email and your interest in CRIS. Your thesis project sounds really interesting, and it comes at a time when we are considering consolidating our various offices at one site.

Because I will be out of the office for a month or so I will find someone at the agency to meet with you. Please let me know that you have made contact -- or if there is anything else I can do for you.

Jane

Jane McGrew
Community Liaison
Community Refugee & Immigration Services
3624 Bexvie Avenue, 43227
Phone: 614 235-5747
Fax: 614 235-6127
www.cris-ohio.com

We have subsequently met and conversed a number of times, and Jane has been incredibly helpful in providing me with information about who the Refugees are, where they are coming from, what they can expect upon arrival, and what services her origination offers. Beyond this, she has provided me with what she wishes her organization could do if it had the facilities to accommodate additional activity.

Below is a summary of the important points from our conversations:

What is CRIS? What is its mission and what are the services provided:

The mission of CRIS is to provide the services most necessary to the acculturation, self-sufficiency and well being of families and individuals in legal immigration status, of all religions and national origins presently living in Central Ohio. The organization was founded in 1995 to respond to the need for ongoing services to refugees resettled in Central Ohio by Catholic Social Services' Office of Migration and Refugee Resettlement Services (CSS/MRRS) and Lutheran Immigration and Resettlement Services (LIRS), both of which closed in 1995 after 20 years of service resettling immigrants.

The Buddhamamaka Society, Inc., a charitable organization founded in 1987 by political refugees from Laos, established CRIS as an outreach organization to provide services no longer available for immigrants following the closure of CSS/MRRS and LIRS.

Who are the individuals served?

Currently, CRIS serves more than 1,000 individuals per month, and is the largest provider of services to legal immigrants in Central Ohio. CRIS is uniquely suited to deliver services to language-minorities CRIS staff includes approximately 30 men and women fluent in English and 19 other languages appropriate for the needs of their clients.

How are refugees matched with Columbus as a city for permanent relocation?

Refugees arrive in the United States for permanent thrid-country resettlement, in conjunction with the United States Department of State. from there they are placed by one of 10 umbrella organizations with their member constituents. As an example CRIS is the Ohio representative of the Church World Services organization. CWS works with the state department as a VOLAG, to match incoming refugees with the services which will best be able to provide for their particular situation. For instance if there is a large ethnic community of Somalis it will be more likely that incoming Somalis will be placed in the same city. This also follows that family reunifications occur in the same manner.

What is the demographic breakdown of cases recieved in Columbus?

he following vignettes give a flavor of the legal issues addressed by CRIS volunteer attorneys:

• A Somali woman came to the U.S. as a refugee with several of her children, fleeing the devastating effects of that country’s long civil war. Her husband and several other children were forced to remain behind in a refugee camp. The woman came to CRIS for help in being reunited with her family. CRIS’ staff attorney helped her prepare the appropriate papers needed to do so.
• A young man escaped from Mauritania, the country of his birth, after having survived years of persecution by the Mauritanian government, and beatings at the hands of the police. The man is working with CRIS’ attorney and Fulani bilingual staff worker to prove his eligibility for political asylum.
• A woman from Cameroon endured years of mental and physical abuse from her husband because of a mistaken fear that her own and her children’s immigration status would be compromised if she did not. She finally could not tolerate the situation any longer and decided to leave her abuser. She came to CRIS’ staff attorney who provided counseling, linkage to shelter and found pro bono legal representation for her divorce.
• An Ethiopian refugee applied for a “green card” to which he was entitled and which he must have to benefit from all available employment opportunities and to begin the process of becoming an American citizen. He received no response from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for years. His inability to speak English fluently and the complexities of official communication with INS made it very difficult for him to claim the immigration benefits for which he is eligible. CRIS’ staff attorney wrote a letter on the man’s behalf and was able to get him his green card.
• An Eritrean woman’s landlord attempted to evict her for non-payment of rent despite the woman’s claim she did not owe the money. CRIS’ staff attorney helped her resolve the situation so that she could remain in her apartment.