̽»¨¾«Ñ¡

Dear ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Midland supporters,

As we begin the new year 2018, we wish to extend our profound thanks to the many community partners that have helped to support refugees and other vulnerable families making a new home in and around Midland. Importantly, we also want to communicate a coming change in ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡â€™s operational structure.  Given the current administration’s reduced cap on refugee arrivals to the US, and the dramatic decreases we have seen in arrivals scheduled for Midland, the ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ intends to formally close our Midland community-based office on March 30, 2018. 

The Midland office was opened in April of 2016, largely in response to a surge in refugees and Cuban Entrant arrivals to the area. In opening the Midland office, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ anticipated that the site would be operational for a duration of 24-36 months, with a primary pipeline of US Tie Burmese Chin refugee cases. The Chin refugee caseload all but dried up in FY2017, and the Cuban Haitian Entrant Program was terminated on January 12, 2017. 

As of today’s date, there are only three new UST refugees that have arrived since October 1, 2017, and only two cases that are destined for Midland in the pipeline.

Midland is approximately 150 miles from Abilene, outside of the 100 mile placement radius for US Tie cases. However, prior to the opening of the Midland office, ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Abilene served hundreds of refugees living in Midland. ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Abilene staff know the community well and are well positioned to serve any new cases from Midland. ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ has created a continuity of service plan that details how ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Abilene will serve refugees resettling in Midland beyond the office’s closure.  This plan is contingent on approval by the federal government. Should the Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) determine an alternate service provision plan, we will notify you of this as well.   The ̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ in Abilene is committed to continue working with its Midland partners. As such, the office would like to offer any training to partner agencies that could help improve capacity. Training sessions may include a general overview of refugee resettlement cultural backgrounders, and working across language barriers. Please contact Susanna Lubanga to schedule any follow up meetings or trainings.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.  We look forward to working with you and other community partners in months ahead to assure that newly arriving or resettled refugee families are provided the support they need to successfully make their home in Midland.

Kindest regards,

Susanna Lubanga, Resettlement Director

̽»¨¾«Ñ¡ Abilene