wfn.org | CWS network resettles 4,892 refugees in FY 2008

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CWS network resettles 4,892 refugees in FY 2008

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2008 -- Global humanitarian agency Church World
Service resettled 4,892 refugees to the United States from October 2007
through September 2008 (FY 2008), or just over 8 percent of the total of
60,192 refugees who began new lives in the U.S. during the year.

Church World Service is one of 10 agencies that work with the U.S.
Department of State to meet the needs of refugees upon their arrival to
the United States and assist them as they work to attain
self-sufficiency.

The new CWS arrivals ­ from the Near East (1,821), East Asia  (1,724),
Africa (730), Former Soviet Union (231) and Latin America (56) ­  are
resettling in cities across the United States with help from
participating denominations, local resettlement agencies, and
volunteers.

The agencyâ??s community-based program helps newcomers make the
transition to American life.  Many refugee families resettled by CWS are
co-sponsored by local congregations, who act as welcoming communities
and assist the new arrivals with material needs like renting and
furnishing apartments, job searches, school enrollment, and accessing
social services.

Church World Service has helped more than 450,000 refugees begin new
lives in the United States since the agency was founded in 1946.

In FY 2008, top nationalities resettled through CWS were: Karen Burmese
­ 1,164,
Iraqi ­ 978 (including 37 Iraqis with Special Immigrant Visas),
Iranian ­ 442, Chin Burmese ­ 434, Bhutanese ­  â?? 401, Somali  ­
338, Cuban ­ 330, Burundian ­ 149, and Ukrainian ­  â?? 131.

CWS also resettled 112 Vietnamese, 80 Liberians, 37 Congolese, 34
Moldovans, 32 Sudanese, 27 Ethiopians and 27 Russians, with smaller
numbers (from 1 to 19) of each of another 19 nationalities.

In addition to assisting refugees through the U.S. Refugee Admissions
Program, CWS provided cultural orientation and referral services to
another 1,848 Cuban newcomers in FY 2008 through the U.S. Cuban-Haitian
Program.

The latter included 1,745 â??paroleesâ?? joining family members  in the
United States and 107 physicians and their families admitted as Cuban
Medical Parolees.

It also included 227 Cuban Lottery arrivals and 1,501 Border
Patrol/Crosser arrivals.  Of these two groups, 379 were â??free  casesâ??
without family already living in the United States and were resettled to
seven CWS Cuban-Haitian Program sites across the United States.

The cities receiving the most refugees for resettlement under CWS
auspices in FY 2008 were Los Angeles, California ­ 449; Phoenix,
Arizona ­ 329; Atlanta, Georgia ­ 293; Chicago, Illinois is ­ 231;
Columbus, Ohio ­ 204; and Raleigh, North Carolina ­ 202.
.

Others receiving more than 100 refugees for resettlement through CWS
were Syracuse, New York ­ 197; Indianapolis, Indiana ­ ?? 193;  Denver,
Colorado ­ 192; Miami, Florida ­ 188; Louisville, Kentucky ky ­ 181;
Grand Rapids, Michigan ­ 178; Rochester, New York ­ 162; 2; Houston,
Texas ­ 170; Lancaster, Pennsylvania ­ 156; Greensboro, o, North
Carolina ­ 141; Dallas, Texas ­ 127; Omaha, Nebraska ka ­ 123;
Minneapolis, Minnesota ­ 116; Richmond, Virginia ­ 114; 4; and
Harrisonburg, Virginia ­ 112.
Some 40 million people around the world are uprooted from their homes
and communities because of persecution and armed conflict.  There are
three internationally recognized â??durable solutionsâ?? to  their
plight: safe return home when conditions allow, integration into the
life of the country to which refugees first fled, and permanent
resettlement to a third country such as the United States.

> Media Contacts
> Lesley Crosson, 212.870-2676
> Jan Dragin, 781.925-1526

> Church World Service
> 475 Riverside Drive
> New York, NY 10027
> (212) 870-2676