U.S. News

If anyone has ever worked or talked with a refugee or asylum seeker, none of this is surprising. The US gives so little assistance to resettling refugees that it’s truly embarrassing.

They get three months of bare minimum help - often through religious “resettlement” groups who receive the funds. After three months, they are expected to get a job, pay their own rent, navigate life in the US (including driving), and speak English well enough to do all of that.

They get almost no extra healthcare, rent assistance, food assistance, trauma therapy, or anything else beyond that point unless they are able to navigate the systems to do so. And to be honest, that is difficult enough for someone born here. It’s almost impossible for a new refugee. What little assistance they do get after the first 90 days is often due to community and church groups, not the US government.

Theoretically, they have case workers etc. through the resettlement agencies, but it’s a total mess. It’s an absolute disgrace, and we can and should be doing better to support refugees and asylum seekers. Especially if they are going to get dumped in a small town with no resources. I really understand residents’ frustrations, but I also hope this ugly episode teaches people how woefully inadequate our refugee program is - and helps them advocate for change! We can do better.

Exactly eight years ago this week, Trump campaigned in Miami and spent some time at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, stressing the “common values” he shared with Haitian Americans.

“Whether you vote for me or not,” the then-candidate said at the time, “I really want to be your biggest champion.”

A year later, he scrapped temporary protected status for Haitians who were allowed entry to the U.S. following a devastating earthquake in 2010. A year after that, the Republican hosted a White House meeting and referred to Haiti as a “s---hole” country.

And now, Trump is lying to the public about Haitian immigrants — the same people he told, “I really want to be your biggest champion” — betraying a community he vowed to look out for.

Source: Trump betrays a community he previously vowed to ‘champion’

Now, Trump says he's going to deport Haitian immigrants from Springfield, Ohio, even though they're there legally.

We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We're going to get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela [sic]. [Edit typo.]

I must say that I think the city government makes a reasonable point: those of use who want to offer foreign visitors safety and dignity in American must also demand that our government takes responsibility for helping them relocate to a town in which is expecting their arrival and has been aided in making that arrival successful.

Agreed. It just makes sense.

But there are lots of things we do differently than the rest of the world for no good reason. That's America for you.

My biggest worry with all this attention on Springfield, Ohio is that some chucklehead neckbeard in podunk nowhere is likely already planning a mass shooting there.