Drop in refugees threatens program

PORTLAND – The primary refugee resettlement program in Maine may be forced to close because of a sharp drop in the number of refugees entering the country since last September’s terrorist attacks.

State and federal funding of resettlement programs is based on the number of refugees they serve. With numbers down, some programs in Maine and elsewhere have been forced to lay off staff.

Matt Ward, director of the resettlement program run by Catholic Charities Maine, said that if the slowdown in refugees persists for another month, it will seriously consider closing down.

“I don’t want to be an alarmist, but it’s a very serious issue,” he said.

Catholic Charities had accepted about 125 refugees by this time last year, Ward said, but only 10 refugees have arrived in the state since Sept. 11.

The drop-off dates to Oct. 1, when the annual federal authorization for taking in refugees lapsed. All Immigration and Naturalization Service agents were removed from offices deemed potentially unsafe. All agencies in Africa were closed.

Even after President Bush signed a reauthorization order Nov. 21 and the gates reopened, tightened security has slowed the processing of refugees, according to resettlement officials.

Catholic Charities already has laid off two of its six full-time staffers and continues to juggle resources to retain those still on the payroll, Ward said.

Staff members handle tasks in the resettlement process, such as meeting new arrivals at the airport, finding permanent housing, enrolling their children in schools, helping them find resources to learn English, and searching for jobs.

Those hardest hit by the slowdown include families waiting to be reunited.

A Sudan native living in Portland, Florence Otti, 30, said she and her family have been awaiting the arrival of several family members, including two brothers, two sisters and several of their children. Those family members have been living in a refugee camp in Uganda for two years.