Arizona is a Haven for Refugees?

[The Northerner]

PHOENIX — Here in Arizona, illegal immigrants get the boot. But refugees get the welcome mat.

Even as officials rage at what they have called the “invasion” of illegal immigrants, mostly Mexicans, Arizona has welcomed thousands of legal immigrants from such grief-torn lands as Somalia, Myanmar and Iraq, and is known for treating them unusually well.

Indeed, the scorched expanse of the Phoenix valley can seem like a giant resettlement lab. Bosnians trim the watered lawns of the Arizona Biltmore, and Karenni speakers have their own prenatal class at St. Joseph’s hospital. A Sudanese goat farmer is thriving in a desert slaughterhouse built with a micro-enterprise loan. (He is glad to demonstrate his skill in turning goats to goat meat.)

Hai Doo, a laundry worker from Myanmar, got grants to buy his first home. Yasoda Bhattarai, a new mother from Bhutan, credits 10 weeks of free hospital care for saving her daughter, who was born with tuberculosis. “Whenever people ask me about Phoenix, I tell them it is the best place,” she said.

Only three states accepted more refugees on a per capita basis over the past six years. Arizona took nearly twice as many refugees per capita as its liberal neighbor, California, and more than twice as many per capita as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

“In the degree of welcome and receptivity we see, I would certainly put Arizona at the top,” said Robert Carey, a vice president at the International Rescue Committee, which resettles refugees in a dozen states.

The work contrasts with the state’s renown as the scourge of illegal immigrants, whom critics blame for driving up crime, stealing jobs and burdening hospitals and schools.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/us/09refugees.html?pagewanted=all

[thunder rising]

1. Just carry your papers at all times.

[dkf]

2. As is required by law.

Green cards must have docs on them at all times.

[mwrguy]

6. Federal law

iirc

[dkf]

9. Breaking federal laws are worse than breaking state laws.

The Feds are harsh.

[struggle4progress]

3. I can't imagine states get any say in whether or not a refugee can settle there:

the public resettlement programs are funded with federal dollars, and local cost of living may determine where agencies steer people. Arizona is less populous than New York City and the cost of living in Arizona is probably much lower, so an agency trying to stretch limited funds would prefer Arizona resettlement

It would be interesting to know how Arizonans reacted to the wave of legitimate refugees from Reagan's wave of terror in Central America in the 1980s, because the refugees really were refugees, but they were also "illegal" because Reagan's State Department always pretended there wasn't really any state terrorism in Guatemala or El Salvador

[leveymg]

4. The Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s was centered in TX and CA, not AZ

There were several Sanctuary Churches that received Central American refugees in Harlingen and other border towns that served as first destinations and transit points. One of the most famous was Casa Romero, run by Jack Elder and Stacey Merkt. From there, many Salvadorans and Guatemalans went on to LA and some others to communities in NY and the DC area, where they are now well-established.

I am proud to have had a role supporting the Movement.

[marybourg]

5. "In the degree of welcome and receptivity

we see, I would certainly put Arizona at the top,” said Robert Carey, a vice president at the International Rescue Committee, which resettles refugees in a dozen states". from the article cited by the OP.

By the way, this is an organization which I (an Arizonian) have supported for many years, and which I would recommend to anyone seeking to help the cause of political refugees.

[struggle4progress]

7. I don't doubt there are many very fine people of goodwill in Arizona. And if IIRC one of the IRC

national offices is in Phoenix

If you would like to shed further light on Arizona politics, I'm certainly interested. I consider SB1070 as self-evidently racist legislation, and the fact that it passed informs me somewhat about overall views in Arizona -- but (of course) a state is always a complicated mix of communities, and I wouldn't be surprised if many Arizonans were confused in their thinking about immigrants, willing to adopt racist views in some social contexts and unwilling in others. And it is certainly possible that enough resettlement in Arizona could contribute to a climate of tolerance

[marybourg]

8. Keep in mind that the Phoenix metro is th 5th (or 6th, depending

on source)largest metro area in the country and that a very large percentage of current residents are migrants from other U.S. locales. So we are as diverse a group of people as can be found anywhere in the U.S.

Keep in mind also that we have the largest # of illegal migrants traversing our state of anywhere in the U.S. Our state and national parks and even rest stops have become somewhat problematic for us peace-loving folks because of it. So is it any wonder that peoples' heads can be messed with by even a small # of opportunistic self-serving politicians and wanna-be? Don't forget that we did elect a Dem governor (Gov Janet) and a Dem Atty Gen'l, now running for gov and closing in on the Publican. Thank you for being open minded and remember -- we are you!