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County’s immigrant population spiking
Study’s predicted influx could strain resources
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Encarnacion Pyle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Foreign-born residents will make up nearly 12 percent of Franklin County’s population by 2010 if current trends continue, according to a new study.

Eight percent of the county’s residents now are foreign-born, but an average of 9,000 immigrants make Franklin County their home each year, said the Community Research Partners study.

What’s unclear is whether the city, county and social-service groups that serve immigrants have the money and other resources they’ll need to serve the expanded diversity.

An estimated $6.8 million was spent by a variety of groups on immigrants and refugees in 2004, mostly on education and employment programs.

But officials think the county needs $1.7 million more a year for the administrative costs on Medicaid alone to keep up with the increasing population.

That doesn’t include the money that’s needed to provide cultural adaptation courses, English as a second language classes, interpretation services and medical treatment. This year, the county will spend $3.4 million on these kinds of services.

Many programs that receive federal funding aren’t allowed to serve undocumented immigrants, who are estimated to make up as much one- quarter of the country’s foreign-born population. The county also doesn’t receive money for immigrants who moved to the area on their own after being settled in other parts of the country.

Without access to food stamps, public housing, Social Security and other benefits, more immigrants land in emergency rooms, food pantries and homeless shelters.

"It’s cheaper to help people when they’re starting to have problems instead of when they’re in crisis," said Roberta Garber, executive director of Community Research Partners.

The Franklin County commissioners asked Community Research Partners to review the county’s refugee-assistance programs in June 2004.

Last year, the county refined its request to find out what it would cost and what services are needed to help the 85,000 immigrants who live here become independent as quickly as possible.

One solution might be to tap into businesses that could benefit from immigrants eager to work.

"It’s time to be creative and look beyond the government and Columbus Foundation for money to help our new residents," said Inna Kinney, president and founder of the Economic and Community Development Institute.

Businesses could hire more foreign newcomers, provide money for training programs and be mentors to smaller immigrant-run businesses, Kinney said.

"Having people from other countries not only builds a rich community fabric, but global economy," county Commissioner Paula Brooks said.

Most immigrants arrive in the prime of their working years. About 70 percent are educated abroad. And many have been shoehorned into jobs below their capabilities because businesses don’t recognize their college degrees, said Rachel McIntosh, who works with the Capacity Building Initiative: Immigrant and Refugee Organizations, a nonprofit group that is working to help immigrant groups expand.

"We have people who were business professionals, scientists, physicians and lawyers in their countries working menial, low-paying jobs, which makes no sense," McIntosh said.

Like most new residents, immigrants often have to find jobs, housing and other services to support their families. But they have the added burden of learning a new culture, language and way of life, especially if they have lived in refugee camps or escaped wartorn countries.

"Seventy percent of the asylees, refugees and other immigrants admitted to the United States for political and humanitarian reasons in the state are in Franklin County," said Lance Porter, spokesman for the Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services.

Half moved here from other cities in the United States to join relatives, be part of a larger immigrant community or search for cheaper housing and entry-level jobs.

They include refugees from Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan, many of whom endured beatings, rapes and psychological abuse before moving to the county.

Despite the hurdles they face, immigrants have the same goals as people born in the United States, advocates say.

"We want our children to thrive in school, (have) food on the table, a roof over our heads and the opportunity to work hard, give back and make our lives better," said Maryan Omar, who founded the Somali Women and Children’s Alliance and Complete Home Health, which provides home care to elderly Somalis.


epyle@dispatch.com