Congressman Dennis Cardoza
18th Congressional District of California

In a letter to President George W. Bush, Cardoza said that it is the responsibility of the Administration officials who chose to resettle the refugees to implement an effective policy to aid their transition.  If that is not done, he said, communities in his district – already facing economic hardships and some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation – will suffer the consequences.

Cardoza noted that “the federal government has an obligation to consult with and provide significant resources to the areas affected by U.S. refugee resettlement policy” and expressed his disappointment that “to date, there has been no coordination or consultation with my office concerning the Hmong refugee resettlement.”

“Quite simply, the small amount of transitional aid offered by the federal government to affected communities is not nearly enough to meet the long-term demand refugees will place on local social service agencies,” Cardoza said. “Since the Administration has wide discretion on refugee placement, I believe it has an obligation to provide more than piecemeal assistance to affected communities when hundreds, and in some cases thousands of refugees are directed to communities for permanent resettlement.”

Cardoza formally requested more long-term aid and transitional assistance to ensure that the federal policy of refugee resettlement can actually work and enable immigrants to succeed.