Refugee arrivals up 64 percent in San Diego County

By Kate Morrissey, The San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS)

Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016 | 1:02 a.m.

San Diego County continues to take in higher numbers of refugees than in recent years, with a 64 percent increase in arrivals in October and November compared to the same months last year, according to data from the county Health and Human Services Agency.

In those two months, the first of the federal fiscal year, 822 refugees resettled in the county. In the same time period in 2016, 502 refugees arrived, and in 2015 the number was 544.

For this budget year, President Barack Obama increased the annual cap on refugees the United States would take in, to 110,000 from 85,000 in the year before, a 29 percent increase. The country is on track to reach the new cap if it continues to take in about the same number of refugees for the rest of the year -- a trend that may well change under President-elect Donald Trump.

San Diego County took in about four percent of the 18,299 refugees who arrived in October and November. The county has about 1 percent of the U.S. population. Historically, the county has taken in the most refugees of any county in California.

Throughout the holiday season, San Diegans have been organizing to help the new arrivals adjust. Churches, community organizations and businesses across the county hosted Thanksgiving and holiday parties for refugee families.

Several local groups joined forces to create the Refugee English Assistance Directive, which plans to meet for the first time on Sunday to pair refugee families with English teachers.

"People were very motivated and wanted to do something right away," said Doris Bittar, who is organizing the new group. "If this community is left hanging, the more time that passes and they don't learn English, they're prey to other people taking advantage of them."

Other organizations are encouraging American families to "adopt" a refugee family to foster friendships and help the family feel settled.

Nationwide, the largest group of refugees in the new fiscal year has come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the state department. In San Diego County, the biggest group is from Iraq, according to county data. Arrivals from Syria and Afghanistan round out the top three for the county, and those from the Democratic Republic of Congo are the fourth largest arriving group.