Archive for the ‘Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire’ Category
Posted by Christopher Coen on February 20, 2012
Con artists continue their evil ways with our refugee population, looking to victimize those who are the most vulnerable. Scams include selling immigration forms (these forms are free), and taking money for green cards, 1-94 cards and the immigrant lottery (and then disappearing with the money). Refugees may report scams anonymously, by using the website uscis.gov, or by calling 1-877-382-4357. An article in the Union Leader explains the various cons and how refugees can report them:
…Scams…are occurring daily across New Hampshire and other states, according to local Immigration officials…
“There are people out there that are victimizing members of [the refugee and immigrant] community because they think they won’t be a good witness,” said Alfred Rubega, assistant U.S. attorney for New Hampshire. “I think they are going to find out pretty quickly in New Hampshire that is not at all a good idea.”
On Wednesday, authorities held a news conference to explain the Unlawful Practice of Immigration Law Initiative, a program intended to help catch con artists. The initiative is a joint effort among the USCIS, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
The initiative is built on three pillars: enforcement, education and collaboration. It is intended to stop scams and prosecute those responsible; educate immigrants about scams and how to avoid them; and inform immigrants about the proper, legal immigration process and where to find legitimate legal advice and representation…
…Different cons
One of the more popular scams uses websites to advertise immigration services or pertinent forms for a fee. One clue a website is phony is when it ends in anything other than the “.gov” tag.
“We’ve heard reports that people have fallen victim to these bogus websites,” said Simon Abi Nader, field office director for USCIS’ Bedford branch. “The simple reason is that the general public does not know the difference between ‘.gov’ and ‘.com,’ which is a public domain. The government owns .gov, and no one can imitate that. All USCIS forms are free.”…
…Community groups helping to prevent scams say immigrants in New Hampshire have been fleeced out of thousands of dollars. Cathy Chesley, director of Catholic Charities Office of Immigration and Refugee Services, said she has seen many victims.
“I know one family that’s out $7,000,” said Chesley. “Just gone.”…
…One example
One man accidentally let I-94 cards — temporary visas — for his entire family go through the laundry in his jeans, said Amy Marchildon, director of Services for Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire. “He paid someone $2,000 to replace one card, and nothing happened,” she said. The legitimate cost of replacing an I-94 is $365.
One immigrant applied for the State Department’s lottery visa program, Nader said.
“This person worked with someone who said they would help her get the papers for the lottery. For months down the road, she received this email saying that she won the lottery and that the next step is you send me $2,500 money order and wire it this way,” Nader said…
…The person disappeared, and her $2,500 disappeared with them.”…
…Nader said individuals could report scams anonymously, by using the website uscis.gov, or by calling 1-877-382-4357… Read more here
Posted in USCIS, New Hampshire, immigration services, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, safety, immigration documents, visa lottery, Catholic Charities (Manchester), scams | Tagged: refugees, catholic charities, resettlement, USCIS, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, green card, 1-94 card, immigrant lottery, Unlawful Practice of Immigration Law Initiative | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on February 3, 2012
A University of New Hampshire Law professor told a state House committee that a bill for a proposed one-year moratorium on refugee resettlement is probably unconstitutional. He said that the moratorium provision raises constitutional questions because it singles out a particular class of legal residents. He contrasted the bill with another that became law in Tennessee last year. A Union Leader article has more
CONCORD — A bill allowing communities to impose a one-year moratorium on refugee resettlements is probably unconstitutional, a law professor told a House committee Thursday.
House Bill 1405 had both its supporters and detractors at a public hearing Thursday before the House Municipal and County Government Committee…
…The bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Laura Pettengill, R-Glen, told the committee the legislation is similar to one passed in Tennessee…
But University of New Hampshire Law professor Albert Scheer told the committee the moratorium provision raises constitutional questions because it singles out a particular class of legal residents.
He cited a 1941 U.S. Supreme Court case involving a California law forbidding indigent residents from other states from settling in California.
He also said states cannot pass laws that conflict with the “federal framework.” The refugee resettlement program is under the direction of the State Department.
Scheer said the Tennessee bill did not include the moratorium provision when it finally passed…
…Representatives of Lutheran Social Services of New England and the International Institute of New Hampshire spoke against the bill. Read more here
Posted in International Institute of New Hampshire, legislation, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, moratorium / restriction, New Hampshire, State Department, Tennessee | Tagged: bill, International Institute of New Hampshire, legislation, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, moratorium, New Hampshire, refugees, resettlement, State Department, unconstitutional | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on November 15, 2011
Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas seems to have a take no prisoners approach to his ongoing war against the International Institute of New Hampshire. Mr. Gastas is now trying to cut refugee support services statewide. In the past he and another City of Manchester city alderman claimed they were concerned that refugees were not receiving adequate services by the International Institute – which is something that concerns me as well. Yet, how would that square with cutting more services? An article in the Concord Monitor has the story:
Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas has been lobbying members of the Executive Council to vote against contracts for agencies that work with resettled refugees.
The contracts allow the Department of Health and Human Services to give federal funds to Lutheran Social Services and the International Institute of New England for work the groups do with refugees resettled in New Hampshire by the U.S. State Department.
Earlier this year, Gatsas - who could not be reached for comment last week – had asked the State Department to stop sending refugees to his city, so officials there could establish better services to help them.
The International Institute works primarily with refugees in Manchester, and has resettled more than 1,380 there. Lutheran Social Services works in Concord, Laconia and Nashua.
The two state contracts with Lutheran Social Services total $175,000, one for school-related services through August 2012, and one for preventive health services through August 2014, according to Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick Toumpas.
The contracts represent about half of Lutheran Social Services’ refugee program budget, Lutheran administrator Amy Marchildon said.
“It’s certainly a concern for us that the mayor of one community would try to exert influence on operations outside of his community,” she said… Read more here
Posted in International Institute of New Hampshire, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, moratorium / restriction, New Hampshire, State Department | Tagged: concord, International Institute, Lutheran social services, manchester, refugees, resettlement, State Department, Ted Gatsas, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, USCRI | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on September 25, 2011
Neighbors and supporters of African refugees families in Concord held a rally in response to the racist graffiti scrawled on the families’ homes last weekend. The rally was in support of the immigrant families in Concord, and throughout New Hampshire. Gov. John Lynch was also in attendance. The Union-Leader gives the details:
CONCORD — Lyn Betz of Bradford had a message for New Hampshire’s refugee community yesterday: “You are not refugees anymore.”
“You are home,” said Betz. “And your neighbors love you.”
Betz is part of a coalition that organized a “Love Your Neighbor Celebration” yesterday in response to racist graffiti scrawled on the homes of three African families last weekend.
Punctuated with music, speeches and prayer, the event drew an estimated 300 people from the city and surrounding towns to a small park in the south Concord neighborhood where the vandalism took place.
“We are here to express our outrage at what happened here in Concord, New Hampshire,” Gov. John Lynch said, to cheers from the crowd. “But even more, we’re here to express our commitment, our love and our support for our neighbors here in Concord, and in New Hampshire.”
Betz called the event, hurriedly organized through social media, emails and leaflets distributed throughout the neighborhood, “a beautiful expression of Greater Concord’s loving heart.”
“We’re not here to complain, and we’re not here to vilify that one person who committed a hateful act,” she said. “We’re here to show that person who used that pen to attack our neighbors, and to show our neighbors who are hurt and frightened by what happened, that we will not stand by and allow this to happen unchallenged.”… Read more here
Posted in Somali, Congolese, New Hampshire, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, safety, hate crimes | Tagged: refugees, concord, New Hampshire, resettlement, vandalism, xenophobic, racism, graffiti, hate crime | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on September 24, 2011
Last May Nancy Lee wrote a post suggesting the need for a handbook or manual for refugees to have as a guide through resettlement. Finally one refugee resettlement contractor is preparing one – albeit only for Nepali-Bhutanese refugees resettled in New Hampshire. The handbook will focus on the difficulties faced by refugees as they adapt to their new life in America. This effort comes three years after the US began resettling 60,000 Nepali-Bhutanese refugees here. An article on PRWeb explains:
Lutheran Social Services (LSS) Services for New Americans will develop and publish a bi-lingual guidebook for Bhutanese refugees resettled in New Hampshire.
Funded by a grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Nepali/English Handbook for Living in the USA will focus on the difficulties faced by refugees as they adapt to their new life in America. LSS will subcontract with S & T Communications to produce the handbook.
S&T Communications, located in Manchester, NH voluntarily publishes Aksharica Nepali Newsletter (www.aksharica.com) for Nepali speaking refugees and immigrants living in the US. On behalf of S&T Communications, Rajesh Koirala, the editor of Aksharica will write the handbook. Rajesh has over 15 years of experience in writing and journalism.
The U.S. Government began resettling Bhutanese refugees in March 2008. Since that time, more than 1,200 Nepali speaking refugees have made New Hampshire their new home in America.
Most refugees have spent a considerable part of their lives in refugee camps. New Hampshire offers them a safe haven, but an entirely new set of rules, customs and systems. Coping with this culture shock can prove difficult. The handbook will provide an easy reference allowing Bhutanese refugees to receive information about their new communities at their own pace… Read more here
Posted in community/cultural orientation, cultural adjustment, cultural/community orientation, post arrival, language, Lutheran, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, Nepali Bhutanese, New Hampshire | Tagged: bhutanese, guidebook, Handbook for Living in the USA, LSS, Lutheran social services, Nepali, Nepali-Bhutanese, refugees, resettlement | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on August 10, 2011
New Hampshire Public Radio’s The Exchange show recently interviewed several of the key players in the refugee moratorium debate, including William J. Gillett, chairman of the board of the International Institute of New England, Pat Long, Alderman from the city of Manchester, and Larry Bartlett, Director of the Office of Admissions; Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration at the U.S. Department of State. Here is a blurb explaining the topic of the program:
From Burundi to Burma, from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan, refugees from around the globe have been placed in New Hampshire to start their lives anew. Here they find new freedoms and far less dangers but new challenges as well. Many have to learn English, the American laws, become educated and find work. Federal programs help a lot but so do the cities and towns in which they are placed. Now Manchester wants to put a moratorium on any new refugees resettling here. City officials worry that they currently don’t have enough resources to assist its current residents and with tight budgets getting tighter, the problem could become worse. Today we’ll look at New Hampshire’s current refugee populations, what’s being done to get them settled, the challenges they face and look at both sides of this Manchester moratorium debate. Listen to the program and read more here
A couple of things struck me about what doesn’t make sense in each side’s position. Alderman Pat Long claims the bathtub is full – in terms of Manchester’s ability to accommodate any more refugees – yet when the host asked him for specifics he claimed that new refugee arrivals don’t have an opportunity to “thrive”. But refugees’ first goal is simply to survive, so how would it help by instead leaving them marooned in dangerous conditions in refugee camps simply because they might not thrive here during hard economic times? Long favors a total moratorium on new refugees, so apparently he doesn’t even want to let in that percentage of refugees who become self-sufficient. Why not? Something tells me he’s not fully revealing his motives.
Long also asked why the State Department classifies refugees on publicly subsidized housing or TANF as economically self-sufficient. (I know that early self-sufficiency is the goal, but I’ve never heard it to include those on welfare.) Long also pointed out that due to state cutbacks there were 86 families in Manchester – 36 of them refugee families – who had no way to pay for food or rent in the month of August, and said he has asked the International Institute of New Hampshire, unsuccessfully, for some plan for the City and community groups to come up with to keep new refugee arrivals out of the soup kitchens and off the street.
On the other side of the debate was William J. Gillett, chairman
of the board of the International Institute of New England, and the State Department’s Larry Bartlett. In light of Pat Long asking for a plan to at least feed and house refugees William Gillett ultimately could only state that, “it takes time”.
In addition, Gillett and Bartlett claim that the refugees they’re resettling to Manchester and Concord are only those with ties to the area, e.g. family reunification cases. Yet they also claim that the International Institute bases its annual proposal on the number of refugees they will resettle in the coming year on the local area’s capacity to absorb new refugees. Well, which is it? Both of those answers cannot be true. Or, are they saying that Manchester’s capacity each year is coincidently the exact number of refugees with local ties that need resettlement each year? Not probable. Gillette also explained that the lead paint poisoning of a large number of refugee children seven years ago, as well as the long ongoing bedbug infestation problem, are not “refugee-specific” concerns. True, but resettlement agencies should not place refugees into apartment complexes with these problems, and if the problems later arise, then they should at least help the refugees to work with the landlords to arrive at solutions. With refugees’ struggle with the language barrier, lack of renting experience, and fear of authority, they are more likely to suffer from these problems than other low-income populations.
Posted in Burundian, capacity, economic self-sufficiency, International Institute of NE, International Institute of New Hampshire, Iraqi, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, moratorium / restriction, New Hampshire, PRM, secondary migration, refugee | Tagged: capacity, concord, International Institute, Larry Bartlett, manchester, moratorium, New Hampshire, Pat Long, refugees, secondary migration, William J. Gillett | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Christopher Coen on June 2, 2010
The state of New Hamshire has uncovered quite a bit of incompetance in a state agency responsible for refugee benefits (here).
According to a recent audit the state improperly gave refugees cash or health insurance benefits that the individuals were not entitled to.
The auditors also discovered that refugees who lived in housing they pay for privately have been getting shortchanged in cash benefits since 2002
CONCORD – The state improperly gave refugees cash or health insurance benefits that the individuals were not entitled to but underpaid to compensate for housing costs, according to a critical audit of the state Office of Energy and Planning.
The audit, released Tuesday, blamed the problem on a lack of worker training and understanding of state law.
“Lack of effective training and oversight of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services employees responsible for the determination of client eligibility and disbursement of refugee cash and medical benefits resulted in benefits being paid to ineligible clients during fiscal year 2009,” the audit concluded.
About 300-400 refugees a year come to New Hampshire having had to flee home countries for fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a social group.
Two nonprofit groups, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire and the International Institute of New Hampshire, process the refugees once they arrive in New Hampshire….
…Auditors found 22 percent of recipients checked for testing purposes were ineligible for refugee benefits.
HHS workers later did their own analysis and determined improper payment of $20,692 in cash benefits and $18,739 of ineligible health care coverage to clients in the budget year that ended June 30, 2009…
…Meanwhile, the auditors also discovered that refugees who lived in housing they pay for privately have been getting shortchanged in cash benefits by small amounts since 2002.
Posted in funding, International Institute of New Hampshire, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, New Hampshire | Tagged: cash assistance, concord, International Institute of New Hampshire, Lutheran Social Services of New Hampshire, medical assistance, medical benefits, New Hampshire, NH, Office of Energy and Planning, refugee, refugees | 1 Comment »
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