CLEVELAND — It's been a month since the Biden administration lifted Title 42—the United States' COVID-era immigration policy allowing officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19.
As a result of the change in border policy, a surge in refugees and asylum seekers is expected to head to the U.S., an influx that has already begun.
Cleveland alone is expected to welcome thousands of immigrants, and the Northeast Ohio area is working to be prepared for their arrival.
Who is expected to be arriving?
Graham Ball, Development Associate at U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), said a new federal program is expected to bring in people from countries including Venezuela, Cuba, Honduras and other countries in Central America and South America.
Those fleeing to the U.S. are doing so from violence, crime, famine and corruption. Many of those looking for refuge are families looking for safety and a better life for their loved ones.
"These are folks who are coming into the States legally under national and international law and applying for asylum because they're fearing persecution in their home countries," Ball said. "And so we're expecting some of these folks that come to Cleveland because we have an immigration court here, and so this is where they'll have to wait for their asylum cases to be processed."
Can Northeast Ohio handle the influx?
Those working directly with immigration planning and services say yes.
The area has been a hub for thousands of refugees from Ukraine since the beginning of the war with Russia and hundreds more refugees from Afghanistan since 2021.
Joe Cimperman, the president and CEO of Global Cleveland, has seen the work that's been done over the past few years and the way Northeast Ohio has welcomed refugees with open arms.
"For the Ukrainian community and the community from Afghanistan, we have done an outstanding, outstanding job of welcoming them because we have the resources and we have the will," Cimperman said.
Cimperman said he believes Northeast Ohio will continue being a successful area in welcoming those seeking asylum because of the already diverse population across the area. Parma's large population of Ukrainian Americans showed that to be true.
For those arriving from Central and South American countries, the area's Hispanic and Latin communities are expected to offer similar comforts.
"We have a very, very welcoming Hispanic community. We have a great Latino culture. We've got places where people can work, where they can come here and learn our language, learn our culture. We have enough jobs for people," Cimperman said. "And I think that as we start to see more people because we're already starting to see people coming from those places, as they become integrated into the community and they become part of Northeast Ohio...You give somebody a little bit of a place to stand, and they start to make their way, and they start to fulfill their own American dream. So we think that we are ready for it."
How is the area preparing?
With thousands expected to arrive in the coming weeks and months, leaders like Cimperman said this surge is nothing the area hasn't seen before.
Global Cleveland is behind some of the preparations, making sure when refugees arrive, they are connected with viable resources like housing options, accessible schooling and gainful employment opportunities.
"We've been welcoming immigrants, refugees, international newcomers, since the 1850s here in Northeast Ohio and in Cleveland specifically. When you look at the number of people that are coming here from Ukraine, Cleveland is in the top six cities around the country for welcoming international newcomers," Cimperman said. "They're coming to Cleveland. They're coming to Parma. They're coming to Middleburg Heights. They're coming to Broadview Heights. They're coming to all of our communities in Northeast Ohio."
As for employment opportunities, Ball said those arriving here will quickly start working and integrating themselves within the community.
"When folks come here, it's not that they are taking away resources, but they are bringing resources with them. They are contributing more than they take. Two years after resettlement, refugees are employed at higher rates than native-born Clevelanders, and they have public assistance at lower rates than native-born citizens," Ball said. "These are not people who are coming and mooching off of our welfare systems, but rather they're contributing to their communities. They're starting businesses; they're hiring people."
So far, USCRI has seen $4 million invested in refugee resettlement services producing $40 million in economic output.
What are the challenges facing Northeast Ohio?
While immigration leaders in the area fully expect refugees soon arriving to quickly find employment and begin integrating into the community, resources to get them started need to be addressed.
Ball said that refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan arrived with different needs, as many came with money from the federal government and came in eligible for programs that helped alleviate some of the early struggles of finding homes and jobs.
For the new influx of refugees expected to arrive in the coming weeks and months, defining resources without federal government direction and support will fall more on area programs.
Steps like the creation of a county Office of International Services to accommodate the refugees are something area leaders have vowed to do.
Still, Ball and Cimperman both know that community support will be the biggest help for those who will soon call Northeast Ohio home.
"We still really need the support of the community. And I think that in these situations where the government is falling a little bit short on providing the resources, we really turn to our neighbors and our community members to provide for our these newcomers to our city. It's so essential, especially for stuff like paying rent or buying groceries," Ball said.
Getting that community support is something that Ball hopes will naturally happen because the area recently welcomed those from Ukraine with open arms—and these refugees are facing the same kind of problems forcing them to find safety in Northeast Ohio.
"Just like the Ukrainian refugees are fleeing the war with Russia, the refugees who are coming from the southern border are fleeing violence in their home countries, and they deserve every kind of grace and welcoming that we are providing to the Ukrainians," Ball said.
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