Announcement
After months of low arrivals, more families will reach San Diego in February.
The first four months of the 2018 fiscal year saw some of the lowest refugee arrivals in recent memory. From October through January, only 61 individuals arrived through the IRC in San Diego, with only 8 arrivals in December, the lowest month to date. In contrast, 474 individuals arrived between October 1 and January 31 in FY17 and 234 in FY16. These drastically lower numbers illustrate the impact that the current administration’s actions have had on refugee resettlement locally – as do the demographics of the arrivals we expect in coming months.
In February we will see a welcome increase with 61 individuals expected to arrive – equal to the total for the previous four months combined, as processing picks up in East Africa and South Asia. Missing from the list of families we expect to welcome this month however, are any from Iraq, Syria or Somalia, – previously three of the main countries of origin served by the San Diego office. Families from these countries continue to be impacted by the policy changes enacted by the current administration, preventing them from reaching the U.S.
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The majority of arrivals this month are Congolese and Afghan, as well as Pakistani and Sri Lankan – two groups not frequently served by the San Diego office. While this marks a change in the clients caseworkers will be working with, resettlement supervisor Ross Fackrell says that “this is part of refugee resettlement, it’s not unusual to see waves of different populations coming in.” He says that while his team is prepared to serve these new families, their greatest need will be for additional material support as most of them are free cases, meaning they have no existing contacts or social safety net in the United States.
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Meanwhile, many Syrian, Iraqi and Somali families already here in San Diego wait for family members they expected to be here by now who instead continue to wait in limbo overseas. Fackrell says that while some continue to come to the office seeking updates on their loved ones cases, many have become resigned to the fact that there just isn’t any information available.
As of mid-February 10 individuals are already scheduled to arrive in March, hopefully an indication that while arrivals will remain historically low this year overall, perhaps the increase in families arriving in February will continue in the months to come.
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