As the summer season continues, refugees who have resettled in the Fargo area are watching their vegetables and fruit grow in a new community garden.

Organizers say it helps New Americans establish self-sufficiency as they carve out a new future.

The one-acre community garden, which opened this spring, replaced an old hockey rink at Fargo's Village West Park.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service of North Dakota is spearheading the project, and the Coordinator of the organization's Refugee Agriculture Partnership - Eric Hegg - said New Americans often face culture shock and language barriers when trying to get settled and gather basic necessities.

"Navigating shopping at a grocery store - as well as just figuring out what foods, how to cook them," said Hegg, "because everything is so completely different."

He said while a lot of refugees and asylum seekers have farming experience, many also spent years in refugee camps where they were reliant on others for food.

Operators with the garden teach these individuals fruit and vegetable growing, soil health, harvesting techniques and other methods.

Hegg noted that participants have opportunities to grow varieties that meet their cultural needs.

And Hegg said the project also gives New Americans a chance to channel their entrepreneurial spirit by selling the food they grow at places such as farmers markets. He said that gives them extra income to cover needs in other areas.

"Get a little more money to buy school supplies for the upcoming start of school," said Hegg, "or buy bikes for their kids so they can ride bikes with the other kids that have been here."

The organization says all of these benefits help New Americans build better relationships with their new communities, as well as the food they consume.

Data gathered by the American Immigration Council show that refugees get initial assistance upon arrival to the U.S. - but eventually make contributions through steady incomes they earn while also paying taxes.

Meanwhile, Hegg said the garden is being accessed by New Americans from places like Sudan, Iraq and Southeast Asia.




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From construction and hospitality to business creation and consumer spending, a new report shows the oversized contributions immigrants are making to the labor force in New Mexico. The report shows that immigrants to Santa Fe County made up more than one in seven workers in 2019.

Asma Esa, manager of state and local initiatives with the American Immigration Council, explained their contributions cannot be overvalued in creating the area's vibrancy.

"Even though immigrants made up 11.1% of the county's total population, they actually made up 15% of its employed labor force, as well as 15.2% of the working-age population," Esa said.

The report, released by the American Immigration Council, also shows immigrants in Santa Fe County paid more than $122 million in taxes and held over $365 million in spending power in 2019.

Marcela Diaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido - a statewide group founded in 1995 to promote worker and racial justice, said Santa Fe, like other cities, has an aging workforce and needs to employ and recruit younger workers - while also figuring out how to maximize the contributions of immigrants.

"And to be fully integrated into the city's economic development plans - we want to have more access to workforce development opportunities, and really be a part of the city's long-term vision, Diaz said.

According to the report, the 16,000 immigrants living in Santa Fe County in 2019 mostly arrived from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Roughly 93% reported they had lived in the United States for more than five years.


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A new survey found immigrant students need better help in school.

The YouthTruth, Re-Imagining Migration survey was designed to examine the perspective of immigrant students as to how they are doing in school. The survey showed immigrant students do not feel they can be themselves there. There were also middling scores when asked if they feel like part of their school's community.

Adam Strom, executive director of the nonprofit Re-Imagining Migration, described the importance of an immigrant student's native language to their education.

"If you're in a school where folks are encouraging you to speak your own home language when appropriate, your school experience is much better," Strom asserted. "You have a much stronger sense of belonging. You have a much stronger sense that your peers like you. You see yourself in textbooks more, you see yourself in the classroom more and what's being taught."

He noted if schools take the opposite approach, it can increase a students' sense of isolation. While there has been more attention paid to immigrant student's mental health, cultural and attitudinal barriers like stigma were a factor. Strom argued schools being more inclusive of immigrant students and their families can improve their education.

Though there are ways to ensure immigrant students feel included, there are some challenges to making the strategies work. Along with anti-immigrant sentiments flooding the country, teacher shortages mean educators cannot be one-on-one with their students.

Jimmy Simpson Jr., director of partnerships for YouthTruth, said another factor is immigrant students are more than immigrants.

"Thinking that there are migrant students also part of the LGBTQ community, Black immigrant students or brown, BIPOC immigrant students," Simpson outlined. "They have very different types of experiences than a migrant student who may be white."

Simpson added seeing people beyond just being immigrants goes a long way to creating a welcoming environment for immigrant students in schools.

Colorado's Omni-Salud program - which allows low-income undocumented Coloradans and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients to enroll in affordable health insurance plans with financial assistance - saw a surge in demand at the start of the state's open enrollment period.

Raquel Lane-Arellano - communications manager with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition - said the rush to enroll shows that word is getting out about the program, now in its second year.

"It also shows us that there is such a great need for the program," said Lane-Arellano, "given that the capacity - which is currently at 11,000 for the Silver Enhanced Savings Program insurance plan - filled up in two days, which was absolutely a record."

Lane-Arellano said the strong demand should move lawmakers to expand investments in Omni-Salud - which aims to reduce costs to taxpayers, including expensive emergency room care when patients without insurance can't pay their bill.

Critics say the program forces Colorado taxpayers to subsidize undocumented immigrants' health insurance against their will, and have called it a violation of the Affordable Care Act.

Undocumented Coloradans are also taxpayers, paying nearly $273 million in federal taxes, and $156 million in state and local taxes in 2018.

Lane-Arellano said as the pandemic made very clear, it's important to ensure that everyone - including front line low-wage workers - can access health care.

"Our communities are healthier and stronger when everyone can get the care that they need," said Lane-Arellano. "A lot of the folks who are here have been a part of our communities for decades, paying taxes, working, and contributing to our state and local economies."

Undocumented residents can still enroll for coverage through Omni-Salud. But unlike some other low-wage workers in Colorado, they will have to pay market prices without financial assistance.

Lane-Arellano said she worries that people may put off seeking care if they can't afford insurance, which can lead to a cascade of bad outcomes.

"They're forced to take leave from work," said Lane-Arellano. "They may need to seek emergency services, which costs more. And they may also end up in crushing medical debt due to the severity of the progression of their illness which in a lot of cases is preventable with early treatment."




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