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Immigration
Study: Illinois Refugee Services Near Collapse




 
 
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United African Organization head Alie Kabba calls federal funding for refugees inadequate. (Chip Mitchell/WBEZ)

Pioneering efforts in Illinois to resettle refugees are in danger of collapsing, according to a new study by a pan-African coalition based in Chicago.

The United African Organization this summer surveyed scores of local refugees and service providers, then followed with interviews and focus groups. The findings aren’t rosy.

The United States is allowing in fewer African refugees despite a proliferation of crises on that continent. And the organization’s Alie Kabba says that’s not the only problem.

KABBA: Because the federal government is not providing adequate funding, the state is not providing adequate funding as a result of the budget crisis we’re in. And community-based organizations have access to fewer and fewer resources to do the work that they really want to do.

That means resettlement agencies, religious congregations and host communities are having a harder time meeting refugee needs.

The report says those needs are increasingly complex. Today’s refugees include more unaccompanied minors, human trafficking victims, and survivors of torture, genocide and sexual violence.

The feds have also suspended a program to help refugees bring their families over.

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