COLUMBUS – The agency that assists immigrants as they try to find new homes in Columbus is gearing up for an influx of refugees from the Syrian conflict without knowing how many it will have to deal with.
Scrambling to address a growing crisis, the U.S. will significantly increase the number of worldwide migrants it takes in over the next two years, though not by nearly the amount many activists and former officials have urged.
Some of those will probably be sent to Columbus, though the number will not be known for some time.
“We’ve got to look at this proactively to see if there are any gaps anywhere or any issues that are different from previous refugees that have come in to the Syrian refugees that could potentially come in,” said Napoleon Bell, director of the city’s Community Relations Commission, in an interview for “Perspective” Sunday.
The commission helps new arrivals navigate city and county government agencies.
Any refugees who are sent to Columbus will first meet with officials from Community Refugee and Immigrant Services, a non-governmental agency founded in 1995.
Under the new plan, the American limit on refugee visas would be increased to 85,000 in the fiscal year 2016 and would then rise to 100,000 the following year, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday.
That represents a significant increase over the current limit of 70,000.