Speech #970191176

When they arrived. the agencies encouraged them immediately to go on welfare. even though their first questions to us were as to when they could start work and where they would be working. Mr. Chairman. we send refugees and immigrants into our society without their understanding. and having an ability to handle our language and our monetary system and our economic system. It seems to me there is a great deal of culture shock involved. It is unfair to the refugee family and unfair to our country. What we are doing now we are not doing very well. 50 to 70 percent of refugees become dependent upon domestic cash assistance. A recent GAO study showed that 71 percent of employableage Indochinese refugees registered for cash assistance in our country. 88 percent of them within 30 days of their arrival. Mr. Chairman. I am aware of the refugee processing centers that our country maintains in Indonesia and the Philippines and the good. if limited. work they do on acculturation. But the study I have in mind. Mr. Chairman. would consider the benefits and costs of establishing and conducting refugee centers in various locations in the United States along the model that has been used so successfully in Israel. It is a program that is there called "Ulpan." When I visited Israel a year and half ago I first learned of this program. an intense study plan aimed at helping newcomers to the country to integrate into and absorb the nations life primarily through language training. The Ulpan program. which orients and trains newcomers not only in language but also in civics. geography. economy. and security. has been very effective. Immigrants and refugees there may choose between intensive Ulpan programs at absorption centers. city Ulpans for those with high school backgrounds. intensive external Ulpans where they may still work. and Kibbutz Ulpans. A similar program of mandatory orientation and education adapted to the language and customs and legal and economic structures of our country would go a long way toward relieving the anxieties of newcomers. insure their broad civic participation in our society. and avoid the instant dependency that characterizes our present program. I would urge the Director of the ORR to look particularly at the cost effectiveness of such a program. the length of time needed to sufficiently orient and educate refugees. how and where centers should be set up. and any particular problems endemic to the United States. Mr. Chairman.