how do refugees find their way to the
United States we use the programs run by
Lutheran Social Services of the National
Capital Area as an example of the
process a refugee is a person who is
outside of his or her country of
nationality or habitual residence who
has a well-founded fear of persecution
because of his or her race religion
nationality or membership of a
particular social group or political
opinion and who is unable or unwilling
to avail themselves of the protection of
that country or to return there for fear
of persecution about 70,000 refugees
come to the U.S. every year which is about
10% of total immigration where
they come from depends on world events
year to year by the time someone arrives
here in the U.S. they have suffered in
their own country and possibly been
stuck waiting, either in a refugee camp
or not, for a long time sometimes they
wait without access to the basic
necessities of life the overall
resettlement process falls into three
basic stages what happens while the
refugees are still oversees the process
of arriving in the United States and
helping them create new lives in America
the refugee has to get pretty lucky
before the process even starts since less
than 1% of refugees are referred by the
UN for resettlement in a new country
refugees are only settled in a more
distant country like the U.S. when they
can't be sent home or resettle in a
neighboring country the U.S. does take
60% of those refugees who do
resettle in another country once a
refugee registers with the UN and
resettlement is approved
there are four basic steps the refugee
has to move through before they come to
America first referral to the U.S. just
because a refugee is resettled to a third
country doesn't mean they'll end up in
America second a decision by the
government that the refugee qualifies
for resettlement under U.S. law the U.S.
uses its own definition which isn't
entirely the same as
the UN one third matching with a
resettlement agency like LSS the agency
has to assure the government that they
are prepared to receive the refugee
client the U.S. government is very
concerned with making sure that refugees
will not be an undue burden on American
society this is why it attaches these
requirements to immigration paperwork
fourth a medical examination to ensure
that the refugee doesn't have any
serious medical conditions which might
pose a public health risk fifth security
clearance to ensure that the refugee
isn't an identified security risk
usually by checking their name against
the terrorist database sometimes a more
thorough investigation is required and
sixth a cultural orientation so that
refugees know what to expect in America
it is surprising how much they learn
about America from popular culture which
may give them weird ideas about this
country when refugees arrived they may
have family in the area but they're
largely dependent on LSS while they take
the first steps towards a new life
LSS meets refugees at the airport and
make sure that they get their first warm
meal in the U.S. it's a good idea to
wait a bit before introducing them to
American food LSS gets children into the
school system and gets adults into
english classes they also help refugees
learn how to use the local
transportation system LSS distributes
financial aid meant for
the first 90 days
this is a very limited amount so
refugees are always eager to learn
English and start working
as soon as possible
finally LSS helps refugees with
referrals for health services
employment counseling job searching and
an orientation on the community and
local culture even after a refugee is
settled in LSS keeps a relationship with
them as they build their new life
the job search process could take a long
time in LSS helps refugees improve their
resumes file applications and keep
finding jobs to look for many refugees
come to America with the job history and
specific skills and it can
be disappointing to not be able to
use them but they all want to work and
they make the best of this situation
LSS also assigns volunteer refugee
mentors to many families to visit and
help them learn English and to answer
their many questions about life in
America the volunteers represent
refugees' initial connection to America
and will be one of their first friends
volunteers also help refugee families
deal with the physical and logistical
challenges of starting a new life and
provide the emotional support for such a
big adjustment if you're not
a people person
LSS also has volunteers who help with
driving or who work in the main offices
getting a family on their feet finding
jobs for the adults and getting the kids
into school and helping everyone learn
English while they integrate into
American life is a big job but LSS has a
track record of success thanks to its
many supporters the ultimate goal is
self-sufficiency that's the day everyone
at LSS is waiting for
so give some thought to what you might
be able to do to help this along whether
it's donated goods hiring refugees for
volunteering your time you can help make
that day possible