NY Governor Awards US$20 Million to Help Refugees Find and Maintain Employment

NEW YORK, New York – The Governor of New York Kathy Hochul, has awarded US$20 million to 17 community-based organizations that help refugees become employed while adjusting to their new homes in New York. 

Many of the migrants arriving in New York, after crossing the southern border of the United States, are nationals from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Honduras. 

Hochul said the Refugee Support Services Program, which is funded by the US federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, continues to be “a fundamental part of the state’s successful efforts to resettle refugees in communities across New York. 

“New York State has a proud history of welcoming those displaced by violence or fleeing persecution with open arms,” she said. “These investments will lift up refugee communities, and represent our unwavering commitment to the possibility and promise they bring to our state.” 

Hochul said the Refugee Support Services Programme provides services including addressing barriers to employment, such as social and cultural adjustment, job search skills, work experience and English proficiency. 

She said transitional services are also provided to ensure continued employment and to enhance opportunities for advancement. 

The governor said New York’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Refugee Services bureau is responsible for the implementation of programs and services to assist refugees in New York State. 

She said federal resources are directed to local entities that help refugees and their families, as well as others in a similar immigration status, to achieve economic and social self-sufficiency. 

Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance Commissioner Barbara C. Guinn said, “New York’s heritage is heavily influenced by our willingness to accept and help people fleeing persecution, violence, and intolerance abroad. 

“As we recognized World Refugee Day this week, we continue that proud tradition by providing a safe haven for these individuals and families, along with the support they need to start life anew in our state,” she added. 

New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley said the state “has always been a safe haven for individuals fleeing violence and persecution. 

“We recognize the significant contributions of our refugee and immigrant populations, and through the Department of State’s Office for New Americans, we work to support and uplift these individuals as they transition to a new life here in our state,” he added. “This US$20 million award builds on those efforts and will help provide refugees with the tools they need to succeed and thrive in today’s job market.” 

Hochul said 17 not-for-profit refugee services providers across the state were awarded funding to provide employment and transitional support services to help recently resettled refugees and their families adapt to life in the US. 

The governor said New York State welcomed nearly 4,200 refugees or individuals on Special Immigrant Visas between October 2022 through September 2023, with most of these individuals resettling in communities upstate. 

She said refugees are the most scrutinized and vetted individuals to travel to the United States. Prior to resettling, they undergo numerous security checks by intelligence agencies, including bio-metric tests, medical screenings, and in-person interviews with US Department of Homeland Security officials.

“Refugees living in New York make significant contributions to the state’s economy as earners, taxpayers, and consumers, according to a study by the New American Economy,” Hochul said. “Refugee households earned an estimated US$6.2 billion annually and contribute roughly US$2 billion in federal, state and local taxes.” 

Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams welcomed US President Joe Biden’s executive order expanding work authorization for longtime undocumented immigrants. 

Biden recently announced new actions that would support the ability of undocumented immigrants to work and remain in the United States with their families without fear of deportation, while they pursue a pathway to legal status.  

On Tuesday, Adams thanked and congratulated Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration as a whole for the “bold, compassionate leadership they have shown over the past few weeks.”

“New York City is a city of immigrants, and, over the past two centuries, millions have come to our city, and our country, in pursuit of the American Dream. They didn’t expect it to be handed to them — they came to work for it,” said Adams, stating that Biden has “brought that dream a step closer to reality for so many once again. 

“The executive orders the president has issued over the past few weeks will bring order to the border, relief to cities across the country, and opportunity to millions who have had to work under-the-table, far too often in dangerous jobs that don’t pay living wages because the employees were not able to work legally,” he added. 

Adams said immigrants helped by Biden’s executive order on Tuesday are “our neighbors, our community leaders and our parents. 

“They have been in the United States for years, paying taxes and enriching the fabric of our country,” he said. 

But the mayor said, while President Biden’s executive orders over the past weeks will be “a tremendous help, the fact remains that extreme Republicans in Congress have refused to pass any form of comprehensive immigration reform or appropriate the funding that cities like New York need. 

“The time for Congress to put politics aside and reform our immigration system is now,” he said. “Millions of immigrants, thousands of businesses, and a nation built by those who came to our shores ready to work for a better life demand it.” 

In making the announcement on Tuesday, Biden said this new process will help certain noncitizen spouses and children apply for lawful permanent residence – “status that they are already eligible for – without leaving the country.”

“These actions will promote family unity and strengthen our economy, providing a significant benefit to the country and helping US citizens and their noncitizen family members stay together,” he said.

In order to be eligible, Biden said noncitizens must – as of Jun. 17, 2024 – have resided in the United States for 10 or more years and be legally married to a US citizen, while satisfying all applicable legal requirements.

On average, he said those who are eligible for this process have resided in the US for 23 years.

The president said those who are approved after Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) case-by-case assessment of their application will be afforded a three-year period to apply for permanent residency.

“They will be allowed to remain with their families in the United States and be eligible for work authorization for up to three years,” Biden said. “This will apply to all married couples who are eligible.”

He said this action will protect about half a million spouses of US citizens, and about 50,000 noncitizen children under the age of 21 whose parent is married to a US citizen.

Biden said the new policy will allow immigrants, including DACA recipients and other Dreamers, young people who were brought to America as children, who have earned a degree at an accredited US institution of higher education, and who have received an offer of employment from a US employer in a field related to their degree, to more quickly receive work visas.