Each year, a maximum of 70,000 refugees enter the United States, according to Jeff Guo at the Washington Post. On Thursday, President Barack Obama announced the nation would welcome 10,000 refugees from war-torn Syria in the coming year. According to the newspaper’s analysis, between 2013 and 2014, Kentucky ranks high in terms of absorbing this new population. The Commonwealth is listed in the top 20 percent of states, with more than 68 refugees per 100,000 residents over that two year span.
Following up on a recent map that charted the geography of immigrant populations in Louisville and across the nation, this news helps to explain the human element beyond dots on a map. Guo is careful to note that the term refugee has some semantic nuances, and certainly does not represent the entire scope of immigration. According to the Post:
“refugee” is a technical term that applies to people who apply for protected status from outside of the U.S. This can be a long and frustrating process. People fleeing crises in their home countries can also try to first come over on a tourist or business visa, and then apply to stay permanently — to seek asylum. These people aren’t considered refugees, bureaucratically speaking. Rather, they are counted separately, as asylum-seekers.
Speaking about the Syrian crisis in particular, the BBC this week profiled Louisville and the Kentucky Refugee Ministries for its work in helping find homes, jobs, and a sense of community for Louisville’s newcomers. The report followed one refugee named Mohamad Alkenss who now works in a car factory here. Watch the video report below (or here if the video doesn’t load):
In January, the Courier-Journal‘s Chris Kenning reported that several dozen Syrian refugees were arriving in the city. The newspaper noted that since the onset of violence in Syria, some 3.8 million people have been forced to leave the country. According to the report:
Kentucky, home to two Louisville resettlement affiliates, has taken in 6,428 refugees since 2011, including 1,113 from Iraq, according to the State Department figures. That has left the area with resources and interpreters that could make it a landing spot for Syrians, Koehlinger said, though exact numbers are unknown.
Find out more about Kentucky Refugee Ministries on its website. Among its many programs, the Kentucky Refugee Ministries administers the Pedal Power Project that fixes up donated bikes to give to refugees in need of sustainable transportation. You can learn more about Alkenss’ story in in a recent newsletter from KRM.
Well that’s nice
We DONOT want any more refugees here at ALL !!!!!
Oh, so a refugee has taken the job at a plant. And what is Kentucky’s unemployment rate for US CITIZENS???? Oh, and donated bikes. How many homeless would love to have that bike, or what about the impoverished children in Eastern Kentucky needing a bike?
Kentucky barely cares for it’s citizens that need help. How can we take care of another 6000 people. Raise our taxes? We can’t afford that.
Wow, screw you people and your broken hearts. I’m happy as hell our great city is this welcoming. Why don’t y’all gtfo then.
One has to admire the resilience and tenacity of these folks – escaping tragic situations, going thru a process taking several years before being admitted to the US, settling in a new environment and culture. Not to mention being subjected to the vitriol of some US citizens. These are out future Americans and I welcome them.
I hope anyone reading this knows that “we” doesn’t include all Louisvillians. Louisville is a model for compassion and has earned this recognition.
I dont even live in Lou or the state but think this is wonderful and makes me feel more wanting to relocate to your wonderful city minus the hatred spewed by the few posters above ^^^^
Unless you are a native American Indian we are all the descendants of immigrants and refugees. I am proud of Kentucky accepting these refugees.
Louisville is a shit hole, before any refugees came, we have so many other issues to worry about, our kids dont have books for school or take care of its own people, but we can take people who wouldnt fight for their own country, how can you respect a coward?
Our homeless vets and US citizens are more important than these illegals.
Over the past 25-30 years, as a Girl Scout Leader, I have seen “immigrants” go to the head of the line over and over. Ex: one girl in our troop, from Viet Nam. Her family lived in a nicer house than ANY other kid. Can we say “Subsidized, much?” She had EVERY new electronic gadget as soon as it hit the market. No one else did. She was constantly being “feted” here, there, and everywhere. She ended up going to an IVY LEAGUE college. No one else did. I knew this girl. She was no more smarter, or talented, or special than ANY other girl in the troop, but it made some bleeding heart “feel better” to do so much for “her and her poor family.” Real Americans of EVERY stripe are sick to death of this. No asked us and we didn’t buy in for this. Its being shoved down our throats. These do-gooder heartstrings want to tell us all about how much immigrants paid in taxes. How about you list the crimes they committed? Huh? Where are THOSE numbers?! Yeah, right. In a blue moon you say?