OC Administrative officials and local residents gathered in Santa Ana for a press conference to address a proposal to establish a new office to help local refugees and immigrants on April 26.
With over 500 Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan and relocating to Orange County, the refugee flow has revealed long-existing disparities within the county’s current immigration and refugee support systems. Orange County officials present at the press conference asserted that the infrastructure of this system has “decreased significantly since the arrival of Vietnam War refugees almost 50 years ago.”
OC’s main agenda is to form an independent office to run refugee assistance services for displaced individuals. According to a Twitter post by Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee, the office will be called the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs (OIRA). Chaffee is an original proposer of this plan, along with First District Supervisor Andrew Do.
The proposal to form the office was passed unanimously by the OC Board of Supervisors. Currently, the proposal is subject to deliberation and discussion.
Notably, a majority of the proposal’s supporters were the county’s immigrant population. According to ABC7 news, supporters include Doug and Bolivian-American Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento. The Voice of OC notes that most of the speakers at the press conference had supported establishing the new office. The support of establishing this office was represented by Iranian-American immigrant, Masih Fouladi.
“From the Health Care Agency, from the Social Service Agency — there are so many different needs. And the reality is that without an independent office with a director to lead it that serves all immigrants, we would be doing a disservice to our communities,” Fouladi said.
Local Orange County NGOs additionally welcomed the new plan, as stated by Afghan Refugee Relief board member, Zoleika Ebadi.
“While the amazing OC community and community organizations have stepped up to fill the gaps,” Ebadi said, “I firmly believe that creating an office that focuses on these issues would help our new neighbors tremendously.”
Apolonio Morales, Director of External Affairs of The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) — an LA NGO aiming to protect immigrant rights — emphasized the state many refugee families find themselves in a state of disorientation, fear and uncertainty. In order to accommodate them, Morales calls for assistance from support organizations and agencies.
“When I heard that 5-0 vote, it really, really struck me because it is entering into a new phase here in Orange County and in recognizing and providing that respect and dignity to the immigrant community in a way that is going to be laser-focused on helping and supporting,” Morales said to ABC7.
However, a separate community of attendees was in opposition to the agenda. Many worry that the new funding needed by the office will result in more taxes on local residents, and lead to a welfare state. The tensions during the conference were high. The Voice of OC reported that a speaker attempted to confiscate a microphone after a speech.
Orange County officials who attended this conference, including Sarmiento, considered the community’s disputes and he believes these scenes of disputation will serve as a reminder to the Orange County government to establish the plan of establishing this new office with precaution.
“The last thing we want is [for it to be] a hollow effort,” Sarmiento said to Voice of OC, “I think there’s some good faith in bringing this, but I do think we have to measure and make sure it’s being done effectively. I think we need to serve, as the name states, refugees — but immigrants as well.”
Ukrainian-American refugee Iryna Sobianina and many others within Orange County’s immigrant population believe that the dispute won’t impact their excitement after hearing news of the agenda for office.
“It helped us to keep [motivated] to do something more. Now I’m proud to say that I’m a part of a public charity organization,” Sobianina said to ABC7. Deng Liu is a City News Intern for the spring 2023 quarter. He can be reached at dengnl@uci.edu.
