Refugees, asylum-seekers overwhelm Michigan shelters. Officials fear numbers will only grow

Detroit — Shelters and groups supporting asylum seekers and refugees in Metro Detroit say they are working overtime with little support and not enough beds as winter takes hold, a situation some worry could grow into a local crisis.

State officials anticipate a 40% increase in refugees coming to Michigan next year — as many as 1,100 more people than this year — and that number doesn't include those who will come to Michigan non-traditionally after seeking asylum at a United States port or border. State officials can't track those seeking asylum because they don't have a structured system to do so.

Wayne State University Professor Hayg Oshagan has seen the increased number of those needing help firsthand in the Detroit area. A member of the city's Immigration Task Force, Oshagan was preparing to speak to 30 asylum-seekers in Detroit earlier this month and instead was shocked to see more than 400 gathered in Khadim Rassul Foundation Hall, begging for assistance.

"We knew this was an issue, but not to this depth," Oshagan said. "Where do they go? Where do they sleep? They have no way of seeking or receiving help. Freedom House (a program that supports refugees) has quadrupled its capacity. All around, it’s difficult, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen and what the solution is."

The Black Migrant Townhall, where Oshagan spoke, was hosted by the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs. The turnout didn't surprise its executive director Seydi Starr. She said for the last year, there has been an outcry for support services for those seeking asylum, everything from housing and food to legal services and work permits. But now people may notice they've overflowed to the streets.

"We've been calling on administrators. ... We have seen the lack of supportive services for that specific community primarily working with Black immigrants," Starr said. "... We have been working to secure the understanding that these people are here, and something needs to be done about it."

Oshagan said many asylum seekers spoke about their hardships — winter is approaching and they lack shelter, work permits, licenses or any mode of transportation. Many also worry that immigration and medical services are costly, especially when families are fleeing their countries with next to nothing.

A refugee is a person who has fled their own country because they are at risk of serious human rights violations and persecution there. An asylum seeker is the same, but someone who hasn’t yet been legally recognized as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on their asylum claim. They are released near the border they entered after background checks and rely on community agencies for food and shelter.

The state has no way to track the migration of those seeking asylum, and programs that support refugees and asylum-seekers get limited, if any, federal support.

"We do not have beds for all that need them," said Elizabeth Orozco-Vasquez, executive director of Freedom House Detroit, which works with more than 100 asylum seekers, providing temporary housing, medical and English classes. More than double show up at Freedom House's doorstep a month and have to be transferred elsewhere, she said.

A 42% increase in refugees

This year, 2,583 refugees arrived in Michigan, according to the Department of State Refugee Reception. The majority — 642 refugees were placed in Kent County, 540 in Oakland County, 451 in Wayne and 300 each in Ingham and Kalamazoo counties. Next year, the state anticipates 3,675 new arrivals, a 42% increase.

Of approved refugee arrivals, 36% are from Syria, 30% from the Democratic Republic of Congo and 7% are from Iraq. However, the majority of the influx, officials say, are asylum seekers who the state cannot track. For all populations eligible for refugee benefits or programming, the state anticipates helping around 9,000 in Michigan in 2024.

"There are no federal resources coming to Michigan to support most asylum seekers," said Poppy Hernandez, executive director of Global Michigan, the state office that supports economic and community development, and leads newcomer integration initiatives. "The state is working with local partners to support a response and resource."

Hernandez, who started with the state two years ago the week there was an unprecedented number of Afghan arrivals, said there's a "dramatic difference this year" because more migrants with asylum status are traveling to Michigan for opportunity.

"Historically, when refugees come through the resettlement system, they're coming with a lot of resources that are coordinated beginning in their country of origins and continues in whatever state they are settled in," Hernandez said. "But with asylum seekers, it brings us another challenge because we don't know the numbers because they're not coming through the traditional system. There's literally no way for us to track them, even though they are documented with asylum status, they aren't connected to resources."

Hernandez said she's proud of Michigan, which has one of the highest rates of accepting refugees in the nation. According to the Immigration Research Initiative, only Texas, California and New York have accepted more refugees over the last 10 years.

There are opportunities to volunteer and sponsor refugee resettlement here. Michigan collects donations for refugee resettlement, and there is a newcomer rental subsidy through the state to assist with housing.

"When the Afghans arrived, we thought about it as an emergency response, but now we're thinking in terms of how can we stretch the framework to be more inclusive?" Hernandez said. "It's highly politicized, and it's becoming more part of public awareness ... in some ways, the impetus of this, the previous presidential administration, who sort of ended our immigration system and then this administration is trying to be responsive with various legal mechanisms."

Detroit is seeing a sharp escalation over the migrant crisis

One way Detroit has opened its doors more to newcomers, including migrants, to the city is through more warming and emergency shelter beds.

In November, the city extended the contracts with nonprofit shelters for 100 warming center beds through the spring. Another 94 emergency shelter beds were added on Dec. 1 and another 140 shelter beds will be added over the next six weeks, said David Bowser, chief of housing solutions and support services at Detroit's Housing and Revitalization Department. Bowser added the city is receiving assistance through the State of Michigan to fund the expense.

"Based on our projections, we expect the added 334 warming center and shelter beds will be an adequate supplement to our long-term network," Bowser said. "We believe we are prepared to handle the demand for emergency shelter both for Detroiters as well as migrants. As always, we continue to monitor the demand daily and have contingency plans ready to quickly add additional shelter beds if the need requires."

Staff document if a person is experiencing homelessness for entry into city shelters and identification is not required. Bowser said all federal and state-funded emergency shelters are required to report bed vacancies every business day to Detroit's Coordinated Assessment Model, commonly known as CAM. There are 835 shelter beds in the city and they are constantly filled, he said.

When there is a space available, CAM receives calls from households who need emergency shelter. From these calls, households are referred to the providers who reported vacancies. If by chance there is a shelter bed still available at the end of the day, those bed vacancies are communicated to street outreach teams who operate during the evenings, who will then transport any unsheltered resident. 

Still, Oshagan wonders if enough is being done.

He compares Detroit to the beginning stages of the tent crisis in New York and Chicago. In September, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city was being destroyed by an influx of 110,000 asylum seekers from the southern border and said that he did not see a way to fix the issue. Migrants and asylum seekers who've stayed in New York City shelters for more than 60 days could be evicted because the system has been overwhelmed by those seeking help.

"Too many people are coming here without facility, and it’s not clear how the city is responding," Oshagan said.

But Bowser doesn't see it as an issue in Detroit. He says the city touches base daily with agencies on the migrant issue, working mostly with Freedom House Detroit, which has received the lion's share of migrants to Detroit.

"And we stay in daily touch with our homeless outreach agencies to manage Detroit’s homeless population," he said. "Despite occasional dire predictions, these efforts have continued to successfully prevent Detroit from experiencing tent cities popping up as has been seen in other communities."

Starr, the head of the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs who has worked with 30 African asylum-seekers daily since September, disagrees.

"The only reason tents aren't lined up along Woodward Avenue is because of community members who have been stepping up to help," she said.

"Community members have been picking people off the street and taking them into their own homes. Whether it is a Senegalese community, Mauritania folks, Haitian whoever ... some people have 12, 18, 20 people in their homes. Every day, we'll get a call from a driver who picked up someone at the airport, and the driver tells us the man hasn't eaten in two days and doesn't have a place to stay. It's on us to find out who has space."

Starr's African Bureau of Immigration and Social Affairs has a group of eight case workers who work with African migrants on a range of services, explaining to them the steps of the applications, connecting them with pro bono legal services, providing translation and interpretation services and transportation to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for case review.

Starr and other experts who work with migrants say Michigan and Detroit have a unique opportunity to fuel population growth by providing more direct services that will benefit the working class and ensure residents stay, but the current structure can't accommodate the influx.

"Most often, people misunderstand the process of integration and we have to change the lens. This is not something that's going to go away. These people are here, they are not going to vanish," Starr said. "We may get more people, and what are we going to do?"

74 people sharing an 8,000-square-foot house

At Freedom House Detroit, the influx of those in need shows in the cots that line the hallways.

Asylum-seekers are curled up in blankets from the American Red Cross. The 8,000-square-foot one-level home made for 50 people currently has 74 inside. Another 43 seeking asylum have been placed in hotels and 76 have been transferred to other shelters this month due to over-capacity, said Orozco-Vasquez, the executive director.

Freedom House Detroit primarily serves those seeking asylum from the African diaspora, Columbia and South America. Before this year, asylum-seekers would be under their care for 12 months, but most people in their care have surpassed 18 months.

Orozco-Vasquez says it's essential to help those seeking asylum over others because there's a high rate of exploitation. She said 70% of their clients are victims of torture and all undergo a thorough medical assessment where there is proof of such violence.

"We do not have beds for all that need them," she said. "We don't do any outreach. People show up on our doorstep, mainly from word of mouth, Customs and Border Protection, ICE, Detroit police or people sleeping at the Greyhound bus station will be dropped off. Sometimes, we just see little ones arriving with a bag of bread."

A man seeking asylum and staying at the Freedom House spoke to The Detroit News but did not want his identity disclosed because he is a victim of torture and fearful about others knowing his location. The 30-year-old fled Africa and first arrived in Houston before seeking assistance in Austin. When in Austin, he could not obtain shelter but met others who said there is an organization in Detroit that is providing shelter, legal assistance and food. He said an unknown service paid for a plane ticket to Detroit.

"As soon as I landed, I took a taxi straight to Freedom House. I learn English twice a week, and I do chores here. They help me with medical, dental, eyeglasses, and we go to the YMCA for fitness. I have been here for 18 months, and I'm happy to be here," he said. "I have dreams to complete my medical certificate and one day work in hospital."

Meanwhile, two young boys from South America were in awe of seeing snow for the first time on Dec. 18, stretching out their hands to catch snowflakes.

Freedom House Detroit is the only migrant shelter in the city providing medical and some legal assistance. It is not the same as resettlement agencies like Samaritas, which helps resettle refugees through federal allocation.

"We're always bracing for new arrivals," Orozco-Vasquez said. "There is a finite amount of government assistance for this population, and we find ourselves applying for more homeless funding and survivor of torture assistance to get by. We're not the only ones seeing this crisis; we're just the only ones that provide housing."

Still, both refugees and those seeking asylum are struggling to find shelter with overcapacity and few resources to fill the need. The greatest needs are affordable housing and monetary expenses, said Kelli Dobner, chief advancement and strategy officer at Samaritas.

Samaritas expects double or triple intake numbers next year, depending on the state department's approval; the majority from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Venezuela. In Flint, they're working with an influx of Cuban families.

"We are low on housing inventory across the state," Dobner said. It's hard to put a percentage on it, especially when the number of arrivals changes significantly from week to week. People are just now starting to talk about refugees as a group that needs to be highly considered for affordable housing funding options."

Dobner said when there isn't housing available, Samaritas works closely with hotels to ensure that refugee families have a safe, warm place to live.

"It is not ideal as we want our clients in a permanent home upon arrival, but we do our best to move them out of that hotel situation as quickly as possible. Our goal is 45 days or less," she said.

Oshagan has called on Detroit to repurpose abandoned housing to create further shelters and follow models established by Philadelphia.

"I always hope Detroit increases its population base. It’s a strategy to be welcoming and find ways to accommodate, and it creates a pipeline for population growth, but it needs to be thought through, and we’re not there," he said. "We have so many empty spaces, and other cities have rehabbed abandoned homes and provided English Second Language classes ... we should, too."

srahal@detroitnews.com