KOR Sources of Arrival

Refugees currently residing in Kentucky arrive into the state through various means of migration. Most refugees arrive through formal resettlement programs, others migrate on their from other states and others are counted as arrivals by virtue of a designation provided to them by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, such as the asylees or the victims of trafficking. The following are descriptions of the various ways in which refugees arrive to Kentucky.

Reception and Placement:

The Department of State manages the Reception and Placement (R&P) program for arriving refugees through funding agreements with ten National Resettlement agencies. The R&P program is intended to welcome arriving refugees, and provide the immediate essential services they need during their first 30 days in the U.S., and provides a link to longer-term services funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement/KOR.

Cuban Entrant Lottery Program:

The Department of Homeland Security manages the Cuban Entrant Lottery Program for arriving Cuban Entrants through funding agreements with USCCB/MRS and Church World Services (CWS), two of the ten National Resettlement agencies. In 1994, the United States adopted a lottery system by which Cubans who do not qualify as refugees or immigrants can seek to enter the U.S. This system is unique to Cuba and separate from the world wide visa diversity lottery for which Cubans are eligible. The Cuban Entrant program is intended to welcome arriving Entrants, and provide the immediate essential services they need during their first 30-90 days in the U.S., and provides a link to longer-term services funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement/KOR.

The formal resettlement programs such as the R & P and Cuban Entrant Lottery programs are managed by the local resettlement agencies. Refugee Resettlement agencies currently managing an R & P Program include Catholic Charities of Louisville, Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM), whose main office is located in Louisville but also has a sub office in Lexington KY, and Western Kentucky Mutual Assistance Association (WKRMAA) located in Bowling Green, KY. Catholic Charities and KRM in Louisville are the only two resettlement agencies in Kentucky that resettle Cubans arriving through the Cuban Entrant Lottery program.

Each year the resettlement agencies in partnership with their National Voluntary Agency and collaboration with KOR, determine the number of newly arriving refugees, including nationalities and/or number of Cuban Lottery clients they will resettle during the fiscal year. Services include airport reception, location and furnishing of new apartments, assistance with application or referral to community services including health screenings and registration for public school. Many resettlement agencies also work with churches, parishes, local ethnic groups and individual volunteers to assist in the welcoming and resettlement of these new arrivals.

Secondary Migrants:

Secondary Migrants are those refugees or Cuban Entrants that move to Kentucky after they had been resettled by an R & P or Cuban Entrant Program in another state. Upon arrival to Kentucky they are eligible to receive services from the resettlement agencies such as employment and English Language Training but they are not eligible to receive services such as location of housing or assistance with the application for community services. Those services are only available from resettlement agencies that assisted them upon their initial arrival to the United States.
Click here for more information regarding Secondary Migration in Kentucky.

Cuban Border Cases:

This is an informal term to describe Cubans that arrive to the United States through the Mexican or Canadian Borders or thru international airports in the United States. Once they arrive into the US, they may migrate to any state, including Kentucky. They receive the same USCIS immigration status as those Cubans arriving through the Cuban Entrant Lottery Program, but are not eligible for the immediate essential services funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Secondary migrants and Cuban Border Cases are not required to register with a resettlement agency upon arrival to Kentucky but may choose to do so to receive assistance with employment, register for English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, or to access other eligible programs managed by the resettlement agency.

Asylees: On June 15, 2000 ORR announced that asylees will be eligible for refugee assistance and services funded through ORR beginning on the date that they are granted asylum. These ORR services include RCA, RMA, refugee social services, Targeted Assistance and Match Grant as well as any services provided by ORR discretionary grants. Under ORR’s new policy, an asylee’s ‘date of arrival’ will be the date that the individual is granted asylum in the United States.

Victims of Trafficking:

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 extends ORR funded services to certain victims of trafficking. The Victims of Trafficking must receive a letter of certification from the Department of Health and Human services and in order to be certified a victim of trafficking must be willing to assist in the investigation and either has made a bone fide application for a T visa and whose continued presence the Attorney General is willing to effectuate trafficking prosecutions. In FY2007, Kentucky did not assist any victims of trafficking through the resettlement agencies, but Catholic Charities of Louisville, Inc, currently has a contract to assist these victims and is working with other Kentucky service providers to outreach to victims who might be residing in Kentucky.

Asylees and Victims of Trafficking may already be residing in Kentucky upon qualification of eligible status but are not required to register with a resettlement agency after they become eligible for services. They may choose to do so only if they need services available to them through the resettlement agencies

Therefore secondary migrants, Cuban border cases, asylees and victims of trafficking reflected as arrivals by the Kentucky Office for Refugees are only those clients that registered with a resettlement agency for services during the year.