Orange County using Social Justice Funds to support local refugees and immigrants

The Orange County Board of Commissioners approved using $79,628 to go toward El Centro Hispano, the Refugee Community Partnership and the Refugee Support Center.

The money will be taken out of the board’s $350,000 Social Justice Fund, which is used as a safety net for people in need of assistance, said Orange County Commissioner Mark Marcoplos.

Orange County Commissioner Penny Rich said Orange County residents — documented and undocumented — were missing doctor and prenatal care appointments because they were afraid of leaving their house. The worst part, she said, was that they did not want to go to a government building to get help.

“Right now, the government feels like the enemy for both documented and undocumented immigrants,” Rich said.

El Centro Hispano Chief Executive Officer Pilar Rocha-Goldberg said immigrants and refugees in the community deserve to be led through the immigration system and have their cases reviewed.

El Centro Hispano is getting $54,168 to grow its immigration services and Faith ID program, which provides people with a form of identification other than a driver’s license.

“Part of our job is to build bridges and advocate for the Latinos in the Triangle so they can access these services,” Rocha-Goldberg said.

Rocha-Goldberg said it’s important to work with mixed families so they don’t get separated.

The Refugee Community Partnership will be receiving $14,120 to broaden its employment and support opportunities for refugees.

The Refugee Support Center will receive $11,340 to expand its citizenship and ESL classes, legal services and space.

Flicka Bateman, director of the Refugee Support Center, said the money is a profound way to welcome refugees on the part of Orange County’s elected officials.

“Right now, we have people that are donating diapers, and it’s limited to the space under my desk,” Bateman said. “This way, when people have donations, we can say ‘Awesome, come on over.’”

Though some people spoke against the fund at the April 4 Board meeting, Marcoplos said the board explains that almost all of these people have documentation and are a part of the community.

The majority of Orange County’s 1,200 refugees are from Myanmar, and others are from Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq.

“We just explain to these (individuals) that they’re misunderstanding the situation, these people are not illegal,” Marcoplos said.

Rich said this is an important issue because, under the Trump administration, immigrants and refugees are not being treated with respect.

“If we forget about humanity, we’re just doomed,” she said.

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