Be Informed: Setting The Record Straight On Refugee Resettlement

Sorry, this video is no longer available

It’s a topic making headlines across the country and right here in the metro as more and more refugees continue to make the United States, home.
 
A local refugee expert talked to local business leaders about the impact on our area.

There are a lot of questions when it comes to refugee resettlement and Lutheran Social Services wants to answer them.
 
Refugees in North Dakota are being resettled in four North Dakota cities, and 70% make their home in Fargo including Helen Batrcik, who came from a refugee camp in Syria.
 
“Fargo is a better place, a safer place. I love the people, everybody is helpful. I really appreciate that. They’ve helped me a lot,” says refugee, Helen Batrcik.
 
“Lutheran Social Services wants to debunk the myths associated with refugees. One of them being that they’re responsible for more crime. Which they say is simply untrue.”
 
The process to even be declared a refugee is quite a rigorous one. It can take anywhere from 5 to 25 years. And that’s not including the time it takes to get to your new home.
 
“It’s about two years once you have found out you’ve been selected to move to the United States,” says Lutheran Social Services CEO, Jessica Thomasson.
 
Helen moved to Fargo 10 years ago. She’s a cashier at the International Market Place.

It’s a misconception local refugees are being financially supported.

“They need to pay their rent and they get at most a four month bus pass,” says Thomasson.
 
The average wage for a refugee in the area is about nine dollars. Another reason why Thomasson says Fargo is a good place for refugees to call home.
 
“The proportion of our work force are lower skill and lower wage jobs and filling those jobs is a challenge,” says Thomasson.
 
And while the issue dominates news headlines both in the metro and across the nation Helen has one wish.
 
“I wish everyone to be happy and successful in the United States. God bless America,” says Batrcik.
 
Another North Dakotan, thankful to call Fargo home.
 
Lutheran Social Services is open to answering any questions community members may have about refugee resettlement.