Congratulations to Oballa Oballa on receiving this year’s Young Leader Award from the Resettlement Programs Office of the Minnesota Department of Human Services! The Resettlement Programs Office “recognize[s] that there are many Minnesotans with a refugee experience who are making a positive contribution in Minnesota. Every year [they] honor local leaders and citizens with Outstanding Refugee Awards to recognize former refugees who are making Minnesota a better place for all of us.”

Oballa and his family arrived in the United States in December 2013. Initially, they lived together in Maryland before Oballa moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for Job Corps training. His mother moved to Austin, Minnesota, and Oballa joined her there after completing his Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate. Oballa worked with ILCM staff attorney Sara Karki and in December 2019 became a United States citizen. Oballa has long been a public voice and leader, even before becoming a citizen.

“Oballa was appointed by Mayor Tom Stiehm to Austin’s Human Rights Commission, and elected by his fellow students as president of the student senate at Riverland College. [He] is passionate about eliminating food insecurity, and he founded his school’s first ever food pantry. Oballa is also president of LeadMN, which represents 180,000 community and technical college students across the state of Minnesota. He’s garnered statewide, bipartisan support for ending food insecurity on college campuses, resulting in the Minnesota Legislature passing the Hunger Free Campus Act in May 2019.” (Minnesota Department of Human Services)

(To read more about Oballa’s immigration story, click here.)

Only 10,200 refugees were admitted to the United States during the fiscal year ending September 30, by far the lowest number in the history of refugee admissions. The year ahead may be even worse.

Call your Senators. Call your Congressional Representative: Tell them to urge the Trump administration to restore the U.S. refugee program.

Each year before September 30, the president is required to consult with Congress about the number of refugees the Administration plans to admit in the upcoming year. Over the past four years the Trump administration has greatly shrunk the U.S. refugee program, decreasing planned annual refugee admissions from 110,000 in 2016, under the previous Administration, to just 18,000 this year.

The U.S. has historically resettled more refugees annually than all the other countries in the world combined, welcoming an average of 95,000 refugees per year. Last year, for the first time, the United States was no longer the leader in refugee admissions. When the U.S. closes its doors, other wealthy nations follow its example, and refugees remain stuck in camps and dangerous situations around the world.

Call your Senators. Call your Congressional Representative: Tell them to ensure that the Administration revitalizes the life-saving U.S. refugee program. 

Refugees are our neighbors, colleagues, and community members. In this time of crisis, over 300,000 of them have been working in front-line industries. Refugee admissions can be done safely and are a vital component of helping the world recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

 

 

The government has proposed a new rule that would strip many due process protections in deportation proceedings. The government claims the new rule would increase “efficiency.” In fact, that means speeding up deportations, and limiting the power of immigration courts. You can file a comment opposing this rule.

The government is required to allow the public to read and comment on proposed rules. Comments are public records that anyone can read. The agency proposing a new rule must read all the comments and consider. The agency may make changes to the rule after considering comments. If a large number of comments are submitted, it will take longer to publish the final rule.

The comment period for this rule ends on Friday, September 25. You can make a comment by clicking here and entering your comment. Just click on the “Comment Now” button on the right side of the page.

Here are some details about the proposed rule:

Administrative Closure: Immigration courts use administrative closure to stop a deportation case from moving forward. They can use this tool when an immigrant has an application for a visa pending. That stops the deportation case, and allows time for processing the application.

For example, an immigrant may have an application for a visa as a crime victim. These visas are called U-visas. Only a small number of U-visas are allowed each year. So someone may be approved for a U-visa, but may have to wait for years to receive it. Administrative closure puts the deportation case on hold. This allows the U-visa applicant to wait in the United States until a visa is issued. The proposed regulation would eliminate administrative closure and allow the deportation of immigrants, including crime victims, who have been approved for visas but are simply waiting for them to become available.

Reduced Fact-Finding: Right now, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) can send a case back to the judge for more fact-finding. For example, an immigrant might not have a lawyer at first. That might mean that important facts are not presented to the court. So the BIA can send the case back for more fact-finding. The regulation would prevent the BIA from making most fact-finding orders.

This new rule is very long and very complicated. These are just two of many changes that the new rule would make. Overall, the rule changes immigration court procedures to favor deportation and handicap defense against deportation. It reduces the authority of immigration judges and the BIA to make fair decisions.

The comment period for this rule ends on Friday, September 25. You can make a comment by clicking here and entering your comment. Just click on the “Comment Now” button on the right side of the page.

If you do not want your name to appear on the public comment document, just enter your name as “anonymous anonymous.”

Here is a very short sample comment. The best comments use your own words and experiences.

SAMPLE COMMENT:

I oppose the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) rule, EOIR Docket No. 19-0022, (the “Proposed Rule”).

This proposed rule would reshape the entire immigration court system. It would restrict immigrants’ abilities to appeal decisions. It would take away second chances.

This proposed rule would eliminate many protections. It would stop immigration judges from exercising their good judgment in administrative closure. It would prevent the BIA from ordering more fact-finding in most cases.

The appeal process takes time. There is a good reason for that. Immigrants and attorneys need time to prepare evidence.

This proposed rule says it is about efficiency. Due process is a higher value than efficiency.

Do NOT remove Immigration Court due process protections. Please withdraw this proposed rule.

 

Note: As of Sept. 28, 2020 CASPER, the COVID-19 Community Survey Study, has been cancelled, and the household surveys have been discontinued.

Printable PDF of COVID-19 CASPER Survey: Frequently Asked Questions

Printable COVID-19 CASPER Survey Flyer – English

የማህበረሰብ COVID-19 የዳሰሳ ጥናት – Amharic

Kev Ntsuam Xyuas COVID-19 Hauv Zej Tsoom – Hmong

Qu’annoo COVID-19 Hawaasaa – Oromo

Sahanka COVID-19 ee Bulshada – Somali

Encuesta comunitaria sobre COVID-19 – Spanish

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is conducting a modified Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) to understand the impact of COVID-19 on Minnesota communities. A CASPER survey is a quick way for public health workers and emergency managers to understand the needs of a community.

The information collected from a community helps:

• Make informed decisions.
• Initiate public health action and identify information gaps.
• Facilitate disaster planning, response, and recovery activities.
• Allocate resources, and assess new or changing needs.

What are the goals of the COVID-19 Public Health Survey?

Through this modified CASPER (Public Health Survey), MDH hopes to:

• Understand how COVID-19 has spread in Minnesota communities.
• Understand what factors influence COVID-19 infection in areas with community transmission.
• Explore how COVID-19 transmission and infection rates differ among regions in Minnesota.
• Identify what percent of the population is infected with COVID-19, but do not have symptoms.
• Improve health messaging and prevent COVID-19 spread.

Why should you participate?

• Free COVID-19 Tests: You and your household members can have free COVID-19 tests to know if you have had or currently have COVID-19.
• Learn more about COVID-19: Your participation helps us better understand how COVID-19 is spreading across Minnesota. Thank you for participating! We could not do it without you. You are contributing to stopping the pandemic.
• Let us know your concerns: You can speak to a public health worker about your COVID-19 concerns and its impact on your household.

What to expect during MDH’s CASPER survey:

The MDH CASPER teams plan to sample six regions. Within each selected census block, teams will systematically survey selected households. Team members will be wearing vests with nametags identifying them as part of the MDH CASPER teams. Their vehicles will also have magnets that say “COVID-19 Survey Team” on the side.

Teams will be comprised of public health workers who will conduct a survey on COVID-19 and a healthcare professional who will complete two tests:

• A nasal swab test: a healthcare professional will swab the inside of your nose to see if you currently have COVID-19.
• A serology test (blood test): a healthcare professional will collect a few drops of blood from your finger to see if you have previously been infected with COVID-19. This is done through a finger prick with minimal pain.

Each household will be asked to complete one survey. All household members will be asked for permission to conduct a blood and nasal swab test, and have the right to refuse both tests. Tests will be sent back to the MDH lab for analysis and individuals will be notified of their results if they choose to participate. If your test results are negative, a health care professional will send you a text message with your results. If either of your test results are positive, a health care professional will call you with your results and provide further information.

Why a COVID-19 Public Health Survey is important:

Information is key for decision-making. Information sent to the right people, at the right place, at the right time, is optimal for any successful response. A modified CASPER addresses this by providing valid information rapidly about the health needs of a community to decision-makers.

The survey results will provide information for:

• Study participants on their COVID-19 infection status
• MDH and local public health leadership to understand the spread and inform prevention efforts
• Governor’s office to provide context for decision-making
• MDH-University of Minnesota modeling team to inform COVID-19 modeling efforts
• Media to educate the public

Privacy

All health information collected during the survey will remain confidential. Positive test results will be shared with the health department case investigation team to follow up.    

MDH Contact Information

Please contact health.serosurvey.c19@state.mn.us if you have any questions.