California may give refugees state jobs and in-state tuition

May 19, 2017

Faced with an influx of refugees in the Sacramento area, California lawmakers are pushing a legislative package that would help new arrivals with integrating in the education system and workforce. [Sac Bee]

Assembly members Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), Lorena Gonazlez Fletcher (D-San Diego) and Adrin Nazarin (D-Sherman Oaks) co-authored a pair of bills called the “California Welcomes Refugees” package, which passed the Assembly on Monday.

AB 343, which passed on a 65-0 vote, would make all refugees eligible for in-state tuition at community colleges immediately upon their arrival in California. AB 349, which passed the Assembly on a 41-30 vote, would give preference for state government jobs to holders of Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) who worked with the United States military in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Sacramento region is the top landing spot in California, as well as the country, for SIVs from Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 2,000 SIV refugees arrived in Sacramento from October of last year through this march, according the state Department of Social Services. About 6,000 SIV holders arrived over the last five years — more than any other region in the United States.

So far this year, refugee arrivals have decreased nationwide by 21 percent. However, arrivals are increasing in the Sacramento area.

The Trump administration has tried to suspend the entry of visitors and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq. Federal judges, though, have blocked the implementation of Trump’s orders.

Some of the refugees arriving in the Sacramento area are reported to have worked for the United States Embassy or had professional experience in Afghanistan in the fields of business, medicine and engineering. But, they are struggling to get credentialed and/or transition into the workforce in California.

Assemblyman McCarty said many refugees, particularly Special Immigrant Visa holders, would qualify as data analysts, accountants and administrative and support personnel working for the state.

“Not only are SIVs extremely brave, but they’re really talented, educated people who served with Special Operations, the State Department and the CIA,” McCarty said. “They have tremendous skills and we’d be fools not to get these individuals integrated and working in California, especially through state government.”

McCarty says he is now working on an appropriation in the state education budget that would allocate $5 million to California school districts that are highly impacted by refugees. The funds would be directed first to Sacramento schools, and they would “help these kids succeed,” McCarty said.