Charity head does not expect big Somali Influx
By Bobbi Mlynar
Originally published 01:07 p.m., November 26, 2007
Updated 01:07 p.m., November 26, 2007
The head of Catholic Charities refugee and migrant services division does not expect a heavy influx of Somali refugees settling in Emporia.
“Direct resettlement is not likely to be a very big deal,” said Stephen P. Weitkamp, director. “All of the Somalians in Emporia now, not one has been directly resettled to Emporia. And that’s not going to change.”
Weitkamp, who earlier this month predicted that Emporia would become a direct resettlement city, explained the direct resettlement that could result would be from families of refugees already in Emporia. A refugee here would need to petition to have his family in Africa join him here.
The only relatives eligible to come in on a family resettlement would be spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, he said. Boyfriends and girlfriends would not be eligible.
Many of the Somalis here are young and perhaps have not married and had children, Weitkamp said. The women here also seem not to have familial ties of their own.
“From what I heard on the Saturday in October that we were down (in Emporia) was that a lot of these women, I believe, were unattached,” he said. “ ... Right now, I think — and I don’t have a real clear picture of this — but I think most of the Somalians in Emporia are younger children of families that are in Minneapolis, Minn., and Columbus, Ohio.”
Weitkamp does not expect non-family, or “free case,” direct resettlements in Emporia, although some of them could bring in families later.
“If you spend a few years resettling free cases, then the people you resettle will possibly become anchors,” he said.
Catholic Charities and Jewish Vocational Services both handle direct resettlements in this region, according to Jan Lewis, executive director of Catholic Charities in Kansas City.
Catholic Charities’ work with refugee populations previously has been concentrated in Wyandotte and Johnson counties.
Non-profit organizations appointed by the Department of State to work with refugees are termed “volags,” taken from the combined term “voluntary agencies.”
Catholic Charities became involved in working with Emporia’s Somali population at the request of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Lewis said.
Catholic Charities has been involved in foster care and counseling services in Emporia since 1994, she said.
As a result of the organization’s preliminary review here for the state, the group set up the State Refugee Social Services Program. The program is funded for the first year with a grant for $109,000, according to the information sheet Lewis provided. The grant is renewable annually, “depending upon how quickly the refugee population can reach self-sufficiency.”
The majority of the funds will be used to finance a full-time manager, a full-time outreach worker, and a part-time outreach worker, in addition to office space and equipment.
“It’s not dollars that pass directly into the refugees. In this new state grant that’s talked about, there’s no monetary monies, it’s strictly for staffing,” she said.
“Emporia’s not a large community, and that’s one of the reasons why the state is trying to invest some resources in personnel,” Lewis said. “ ... This isn’t about somebody from Kansas City coming in and trying to tell Emporia what they should be doing, but we happen to have some expertise.”
Direct resettlements typically occur in metropolitan areas that can absorb diverse populations, she said, citing St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit as examples.
“That’s why places like Emporia would never be considered,” Lewis said.
Lewis said that Catholic Charities receives no payment for helping refugees resettle.
“We actually receive $425 per person,” she said.
The money is given to the refugee to make a security deposit and pay rent on housing or pay for other basic needs. A family of four would receive $1,700.
“That’s the payment that comes to us to resettle that refugee,” she said. “Everything else that goes into getting that refugee settled typically comes from the donor community.”
The Somalis currently here are not direct resettlements; therefore, the $425 stipend was paid to each of them in a city other than Emporia, she said.
“The advantage that they have over other legal immigrants is that they’re eligible for public benefits the moment they arrive,” Weitkamp said.
Lewis said that refugees come in through the Department of State for resettlement. She also does not expect Emporia to be a direct resettlement place for free cases.
“I’m not 100 percent familiar with how that works, but I know they’re going to tend to look at population centers that actually can support populations,” Lewis said. “I don’t believe that Emporia was ever looked at as a direct resettlement.”
In the Kansas City area, 118 refugees from 15 different countries arrived in 2007, he said.
Lewis said the families that may come to Emporia are likely to bring “family structure and stability that comes with families. Like most parents, we’re all looking for a place where family can live safely and get an education.”
Additional refugees may come because of job opportunities or other reasons.
“Once a refugee enters the country, they are free to move and follow opportunities,” she said. “This particular group of Somalis has followed the job opportunities into Emporia. ...
“What Emporia can take comfort from is people coming to Emporia to work. They’re coming and making an immediate contribution to the economy, if nothing else.”
The refugees also pay income, Social Security and Medicare taxes, as do American workers.
Weitkamp said that while resettlement usually is done in large cities like Kansas City, wages in Emporia have attracted refugees.
“Tyson’s in Emporia starts people at $11.35 an hour ... at least that’s what I conclude from interviewing these Somalis,” Weitkamp said. “I have not heard that from Tyson’s.”
(An advertisement by Tyson late last week announced that the company has increased its starting rate on all jobs, with entry wages ranging from $11.65 an hour for processing, $11.75 for slaughter; $12.30 for maintenance; and $17.75 for mechanics and qualified refrigeration mechanics.)
“That (hourly wage) is about 150 percent of what we find jobs for people around here (in the metro area). ... The fact is that there are industries that are based in the smaller towns like Garden City and Emporia and Liberal and Dodge that pay better.”
Weitkamp said that Tyson offers Somalis health insurance, just as it does the rest of its employees.
“I picked up a little bit on this when we were doing registration,” he said. “They become eligible for medical through Tyson, I think it’s three months; dental in nine months.”
Weitkamp said that a change in federal attitude toward illegal immigrants is, in part, responsible for the trend in hiring refugees in this country.
“I believe ... that the federal government is now employing sanctions for employers who hire undocumented (workers) or people whose documentation turns out to be fraudulent,” he said. “This enforcement, these sanctions, are pretty substantial. So, it’s finally a real inhibition to employers. It’s made them very afraid to hire anybody unless they have a high level of confidence” that the new workers are in the country legally.
“ ... So employers are backing away from populations that they used to employ and they’re looking around harder for people they have confidence are legal to work here.”
Once the refugees are employed, income guidelines apply to qualify for SRS and other benefits.
“Nobody qualifies for Medicaid because they are a specific ethnicity. They qualify based on financial data,” he said.
In addition to employment at a higher wage, the atmosphere in the small-town Kansas communities also attracts the refugees.
“It’s nice living in the smaller towns,” Weitkamp said. “It’s not as dangerous. It’s easier to get around, and they’re friendlier. ... This may be a population that is pretty temporary. As long as the jobs are good and the lure is strong, then there’ll be people coming to Emporia to work in that factory.”
The differences between Somalis and Americans has made the refugees’ entry into Emporia more noticeable than the immigrants who are coming in, Weitkamp said.
“The Somalians are, in many ways, the most exotic population to come to Emporia in a long time,” Weitkamp said. “There are Hispanics whose roots in Emporia are much deeper than some Anglos. Whatever cultural differences exist or have existed, they’re sort of lost. They’re in the shade now compared to these new African immigrants.”
Weitkamp said that the Somalis are in debt to the United States because they must pay back the cost of their travel here. He estimated that a Somali family of four coming in from Nairobi or Cairo incurs a debt between $2,500 to $3,000. They must pay back the loan, interest-free, in 48 months, he said.
“It’s a shoestring program with the expectation that people will recognize the tremendous opportunity,” Weitkamp said. “If you want to move someplace where you’ll be taken care of by the government, you should move to Sweden or Norway or even Canada. ... Even if you’re not educated or particularly talented, there’s no place like this country. There’s no place like the United States for opportunity.”
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