The Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) released a report, Opportunities for Welcome: Lessons Learned for Supporting People Seeking Asylum in Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Portland, Maine, on November 30. As part of a multi-city project, WRC evaluated how the four cities are responding to the needs of people seeking asylum or other forms of protection in the U.S. The report finds that those seeking protection in the U.S. face myriad challenges as they navigate the immigration process. While each of the four cities had different processes for welcoming people seeking asylum, the WRC report identifies key best practices and challenges in supporting newcomers.
In 2023, WRC interviewed stakeholders in Chicago, Denver, New York City, and Portland, Maine, to learn more about how cities were responding to people seeking asylum. Stakeholders included community-based organizations; federal, state, and local government officials; legal service providers; shelter providers; grassroots advocates; and people seeking asylum, among others.
The report highlights promising best practices for welcoming people seeking asylum. Portland, for example, provided on-site access to medical and social services, including services to help individuals with their asylum cases. New York City’s partnership with the Archdiocese of New York’s Catholic Charities Community Services helped people in the asylum process settle in their new communities. The report identifies additional best practices, including community-led case management support services and rental assistance programming tailored to the needs of people seeking asylum and private hosting programs that catalyze community involvement and integration. Access to legal representation emerged as a critical factor in helping newly arriving people navigate their immigration proceedings and move out of transitional shelter and into permanent housing. Importantly, the report highlights that safe and secure housing plays an essential role in facilitating asylum seekers’ ability to settle in their new communities while complying with their immigration obligations.
WRC identifies several common challenges for welcoming people seeking asylum, including the lack of affordable housing, the limitations of emergency shelter, and community disinvestment and tension with new arrivals. Communities – including New York City, Chicago, and Denver – have also faced challenges in operating shelters for people seeking asylum, particularly related to concerns about transparency and the reliability of for-profit companies contracted to operate the shelters. Finally, the lack of a national coordination strategy and incomplete support from the federal government emerged as one of the most consistent challenges across all four cities.
Given the identified barriers, the report recommends a fundamental shift in framing and targeted policy changes at the federal, state, and local levels. WRC recommends that the U.S. move beyond a crisis response to design and implement sustainable policies to help people seeking asylum and other people in need of shelter and basic services. At the federal level, Congress must prioritize and substantially increase flexible and responsive investment for state and local governments and community organizations providing housing and services in destination communities. WRC also calls on the Biden administration to lead an all-of-government approach to coordinating a safe and dignified reception of people seeking asylum. States and localities should promote collaboration among government agencies, non-profit organizations, and community-based organizations, as well as establish and expand programs and funding for services, benefits, and support for people seeking asylum and other protections. Finally, the report recommends that philanthropy ensure that funding for direct services provides flexibility to respond to shifting needs.
Read the WRC report at: http://tinyurl.com/53ndb9r8
Read a fact sheet on the report at: http://tinyurl.com/238escff