Refugees and immigrants living in Orange County may soon get help from county officials to get into social safety nets and schemes.
It happened after 500 Afghans who ran away from the Taliban in 2021 forced Orange County officials to move quickly to help refugees get health care, benefits, and jobs.
On Tuesday, OC Supervisors voted overwhelmingly in favour of opening an office. This will help refugees and newcomers find housing and health care as they start over in the United States.
And today at 11 a.m., the government and local NGOs will hold a news conference in Santa Ana to discuss the office.
According to a review by county staff, the influx of Afghan refugees in 2021 showed that the “infrastructure” of the immigrant support system had changed a lot since the arrival of Vietnam War refugees over 50 years earlier.
On Tuesday morning, more than 50 people spoke and talked about many different things. Some people wanted the office to be run on its own. Others questioned its need or pushed for it to be connected to federal immigration police.
As an Iranian American refugee, Masih Fouladi, who is the deputy executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations – Los Angeles, spoke in favour of opening the office.
“From the Health Care Agency to the Social Service Agency, there are so many different needs. Fouladi said that we would be doing our communities a disservice if we didn’t have a separate body that took care of all immigrants. This body had a director in charge.
According to a message sent to supervisors by the council and signed by 21 groups that help immigrants and refugees, the office should be independent, its head should be chosen by a taskforce of local groups, and the office should also help people not in the country legally.
But not everyone agrees with this view.
Some people asked where the money for this office came from. They demanded that the county focus on the people who already live there, and worried about the rise of a “welfare state.”
After public comments were over, one speaker stole the microphone. This caused Board of Supervisors Chair Don Wagner to stop the meeting and ask a sheriff’s officer to clear the room for a “civility” break.
After the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2001, the Supervisors passed a motion in 2021 that supported a three-step plan for resettling Afghan refugees in the United States. This led to the creation of the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs.
Nonprofit groups like Afghan Refugee Relief and Access California help the refugees.
Officials asked the federal government to speed up the process while Orange County welcomed Afghan refugees.
Zoleika Ebadi, a board member of Afghan Refugee Relief, says that refugee families come to the United States are scared, confused, and puzzled. They need help from support groups and agencies.
Community groups and the incredibly kind OC community have stepped in to fill in the holes. Ebadi said, “I’m sure that opening an office that focuses on these issues will be very helpful to our new neighbours.”
Before the vote, the county supervisors stated at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday that the proposed agency couldn’t do anything on its own.
Instead, it would be more of a go-between for services already available to the whole community through agreements and the government.
OC Supervisor Andrew Do says that what we’re talking about here is how different departments work together to provide services.
Do, who left Vietnam just before Saigon fell, said that almost a third of the county’s residents are foreigners. He gave the examples of CEO Frank Kim, who was born in South Korea, and County Counsel Leon Page, who was born in Britain, as examples.
He and OC Supervisor Doug Chaffee worked together to build the new office.
Before the vote, Chaffee said that refugees “need food, housing, transportation, education, medical services, and jobs” because when they first arrive, their most basic needs are not met.
Chaffee says, “Many refugees and immigrants have trouble getting the help they need, which can be problematic for these families and for the community as a whole.” This is because of differences in society and problems that have always been there.
Chaffee asked the government COVID bailout fund for $500,000 to help get the upcoming office off the ground.
Wagner says that the board heard more feedback from the community about the office being “way too late” the night before.
Also, he didn’t pay attention to a resident’s claim that “diversity is our strength,” which he called “cliche.”
“That’s not what I thought. I’ve never had that thought. Our country’s strength is that it can take newcomers’ experiences and use them to weave freedom’s fabric.”
Do, on the other hand, didn’t agree with the calls for an independent office. He said that the most effective way to accomplish it would be to work with the county’s Office of Care Coordination. This office fights homelessness.
The county said that the idea that the county wouldn’t do these things without an order from the board was the furthest thing from the truth.
Vicente Sarmiento, a supervisor who used to be mayor of Santa Ana, one of Orange County’s cities with the most immigrants, said, “This office should have a certain amount of freedom and independence.”
“The last thing we want is for it to be a waste of time,” said Sarmiento, who also said that a task force should be set up to help choose the head.
He talked about how he came to America as a one-year-old immigrant and asked that the office report on him in six months.
I think there is some good will behind bringing this up. However, I do think we need to look into it and make sure it is done well, he said.
“I think we should help both immigrants and refugees, as the names suggest.”
