Dear Editor,
America has been good to help people, and more are on the way.
Refugees from Ukraine are coming to America, up to 100,000 would be welcomed as recently announced by President Biden. The population of some communities will grow depending on where the federal government places these people.
Since the passage of the refugee act there are already over 3 million refugees in America. They are located throughout the United States with large populations in some towns and cities.
A refugee is “a person who is unable to return his or her country of origin because of a well- founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.” A refugee legally resides in the country of resettlement and is eligible for federally funded cash assistance for up to 8 months. Refugees are resettled in the United States by the federal government and are afforded specific refugee assistance to help them rebuild their lives in America. This federal funding is limited in both duration and amount. It is important to note that most refugees arrive with very little in terms of possessions, beside a few bags of luggage, and if they are lucky, all of their family members.
All refugees arriving in the United States are entitled to 8 months of Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) from the date of their U.S. arrival. The RCA amounts vary based on the size of the family: Single person ($230/month), Family of 2 ($363/Month), Family of 3 ($485/month), Family of 4 ($611/month), etc. If a family qualifies for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), offered by the State Department of Health and Human Services, they will not receive RCA funds, but will immediately begin receiving TANF funds, which provide the same amounts of funds as outlined above for families (Refugee or American), yet unlike RCA, there is 5-year time limit to their receipt of funds which can be reviewed and extended depending on need.
All TANF recipients must be participating in verified educational courses, volunteer placements, and/or employment searches in order to access these funds.
The Ukrainian people appear to be hard working people. Once they make it to America I would not be surprised if some of our worker shortage will start to disappear. These people have nothing. If you still want a job, you probably should take one and go to work.
At this point we have no choice but to help these people as the economy and infrastructure of the countries surrounding Ukraine cannot absorb them all.
Can you imagine if Russia and China combined to attack America? What if we had to run to Canada to survive? We would appreciate anything anybody would do to help us.
Dr. Glenn Mollette
