After years of steep declines in the number of refugees coming to the region, organizations dedicated to helping people resettle in Massachusetts after fleeing war and persecution are racing to ramp up for an expected surge of these newcomers this year.
Less than a week after President Joe Biden raised the cap on the number of refugees the U.S. will take in, local nonprofits and church organizations say they need to expand their operations to meet an increase of refugees expected here by this summer and fall.
Massachusetts saw the number of refugees resettling here decrease by about 70 percent, from more than 2,400 five years ago to less than 700 in 2019, according to the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants.
Two of the leading refugee organizations in the state, Catholic Charities of Boston and the International Institute of New England, told GBH News that they cut back on staffing and programs as the Trump Administration drastically reduced the number of refugees permitted to resettle in America.
“All of these higher arrival numbers are something that we've been advocating for many years,” said Marjean Perhot, the head of refugee services at Catholic Charities. “We are certainly gearing up to resettle an increased number of refugees.”
It’s not clear yet how many will come to Massachusetts. Under political pressure to undo one of the Trump’s immigration policies that capped the number of refugees at 15,000 a year, Biden raised that limit to 62,500 through September and would allow another 125,000 to resettle in U.S. in the following 12 months.
Jeffrey Thielman, the CEO of the International Institute of New England, said his organization expects to see more refugees this summer and fall.
In addition to hiring more staff, both Thielman and Perhot said they are reaching out to faith-based organizations for volunteers and to landlords for housing options.
“Since we've had the decimation really of the refugee resettlement program over the past several years, lots of things have changed,” said Thielman. “The cost of living has increased. The cost of housing has increased. So we've got to go out and build those relationships to make sure we have places where refugees can live.”
The International Institute helps refugees and immigrants around Boston, Lowell and Manchester, N.H.
While federal funds cover some of the costs of resettlement for refugees, advocates said they will still need to raise money to get back up to speed.
“There is a lot of rebuild in our system and program. It’s going to take time,” said Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. “We do need the resources to build back.”
Refugees will also need jobs to survive here. The International Institute will step up its English language classes and job training for employment in healthcare and in construction trades, said Thielman.
“Employers are calling us and saying, ‘We need we need people to work, and we'd love to have refugees in our community,’” said Thielman. “For careers in construction, we can't produce students fast enough for that industry.”
Recent surveys of business owners by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts found a majority of employers are struggling to fill open positions even with a statewide unemployment rate of 6.6 percent.
“There’s no question there’s an appetite for hiring right now despite daunting unemployment rates,” said Chris Geehern, a spokesman for the business organization.
In 2019, the last year the state reported its refugee data, Massachusetts counted 694 refugees with the greatest numbers coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Haiti and Afghanistan. The Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants runs health assessment programs, language and job training, outreach to youth and elders and a project to support local schools educating children of refugee families.
