Our Client Community
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Based on responses to our 2016-2017 client survey, these are the most important challenges and goals for our community:
Client Challenges:
- 80% indicated that they struggled with finding employment
- 76% identified access to ESL services as a primary challenge
- 63% indicated that debt was a primary challenge
- 75% said that their professional skills and education were under-utilized in their current job/search
Client Goals:
- 95% of respondents set a goal for improved health
- 92% of respondents set a goal for increased community involvement and connections
- 88% indicated that they had set personal and professional goals for themselves and their family members
- 79% indicated that they had located an Iraqi or American support network and community for themselves and their family
Client Challenges:
- 80% indicated that they struggled with finding employment
- 76% identified access to ESL services as a primary challenge
- 63% indicated that debt was a primary challenge
- 75% said that their professional skills and education were under-utilized in their current job/search
Client Goals:
- 95% of respondents set a goal for improved health
- 92% of respondents set a goal for increased community involvement and connections
- 88% indicated that they had set personal and professional goals for themselves and their family members
- 79% indicated that they had located an Iraqi or American support network and community for themselves and their family
IMAS's Statement On American Response To Middle Eastern Refugees
IMAS would like to address concerns regarding Syrian refugees which have led to a wave of anti-immigration statements and policies. The Iraqi Mutual Aid Society condemns the recent horrific attacks in Paris, Beirut, Istanbul, and Baghdad. Our organization serves refugees resettling in the Chicago area from Iraq and Syria. Most of those refugees are themselves fleeing terrorism, torture, kidnapping, or extortion by ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates in their hometowns. We always notice our client's eagerness to start a new life in the United States and build a better future for their children. We help them make this transition with educational guidance, employment assistance, and cultural programming.
The U.S. government handpicks the refugees who resettle here, and refugees are the most thoroughly vetted people to come to the United States. All refugees resettled in the United States undergo rigorous security screenings by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Department of Defense and multiple intelligence agencies including bio-metric checks, forensic testing, medical screenings, and thorough in-person interviews. This is a very different situation than the on-site screening of migrants arriving by boat and on foot in Europe.
The United States can definitely welcome refugees while also continuing to ensure national security. We hope that when people understand more about the security process, this knowledge will better inform policy. If there are security concerns, these should be balanced with America's humanitarian traditions as decisions are being made that will drastically impact the lives of Syrian and Iraqi refugees and refugee resettlement in the United States. For more information on refugee background checks, please see this report from USCIR, recent testimony from USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez, and Human Rights First's 2015 Fact Sheet.
IMAS would like to address concerns regarding Syrian refugees which have led to a wave of anti-immigration statements and policies. The Iraqi Mutual Aid Society condemns the recent horrific attacks in Paris, Beirut, Istanbul, and Baghdad. Our organization serves refugees resettling in the Chicago area from Iraq and Syria. Most of those refugees are themselves fleeing terrorism, torture, kidnapping, or extortion by ISIS and Al-Qaeda affiliates in their hometowns. We always notice our client's eagerness to start a new life in the United States and build a better future for their children. We help them make this transition with educational guidance, employment assistance, and cultural programming.
The U.S. government handpicks the refugees who resettle here, and refugees are the most thoroughly vetted people to come to the United States. All refugees resettled in the United States undergo rigorous security screenings by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Department of Defense and multiple intelligence agencies including bio-metric checks, forensic testing, medical screenings, and thorough in-person interviews. This is a very different situation than the on-site screening of migrants arriving by boat and on foot in Europe.
The United States can definitely welcome refugees while also continuing to ensure national security. We hope that when people understand more about the security process, this knowledge will better inform policy. If there are security concerns, these should be balanced with America's humanitarian traditions as decisions are being made that will drastically impact the lives of Syrian and Iraqi refugees and refugee resettlement in the United States. For more information on refugee background checks, please see this report from USCIR, recent testimony from USCIS Director Leon Rodriguez, and Human Rights First's 2015 Fact Sheet.
