If the pledge from the CEO of Starbucks to hire 10,000 refugees made you want to buy a $5 latte, then you should buy your next caffeinated beverage of choice at Spring Cafe on the corner of 14th Avenue and Grant Street across from the Colorado Capitol.
The Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning has been working for 38 years to help immigrants and refugees make the most of the invaluable gift of American visas, residency and for some citizenship.
Refugees work in the Spring Cafe as baristas, gaining critical employment skills so they can find jobs of their own and become self-sustaining members of our community.
The cafe is just one small part of the Spring Institute’s work.
The Denver-based nonprofit serves hundreds working to improve their English, gain employment skills or become citizens. Classes are taught by qualified teachers in partnering schools, churches, libraries and other facilities throughout the Denver metro area.
It’s important work, but perhaps has never been as critical as now.
The worst aspect of President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on all refugees and immigrants traveling from seven countries is the (hopefully) unintended consequence of vilifying our foreign neighbors who must work doubly hard to achieve the American dream. Feeling unwelcome and uncertain of their futures will only make life harder for refugees and immigrants.
Starbucks has faced a small backlash for its announcement. The premise of Trump’s executive order has the support of the majority of Americans, according to several polls.
But for those who work on a regular basis with a population driven and motivated to make the most of their opportunity to start over in the U.S., there is a disconnect.
“I see Denver now as this amazing diverse community with fabulous food and art and culture and so much of that is we now have this amazing diverse population and it just makes us such a better place to be,” Schriefer says.
That positive impact only occurs when immigrants and refugees, some who come here with nothing but the clothes they fled from their home country wearing, get the support they need to join the community.
Schriefer said when doctors and nurses arrive from their home countries they quickly find that almost none of their qualifications transfer to an ability to practice in the United States. It can take five years, she said, for a doctor to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination, obtain U.S. references and redo residency programs. Spring Institute helps them navigate the system.
The institute has a program to help immigrants working in the hospitality sector work their way out of housekeeping into higher-paying jobs. Another program trains refugees and immigrants to be translators, particularly for the medical field.
“The average American knows nothing about the vetting process for any type of visas including for refugees,” Schriefer says.
Colorado took in 1,960 refugees in 2016, mostly from war-torn countries like Burma, with 524 individuals, and Iraq, with 299. Many come from other nations with deep-seated political problems and indiscriminate violence.
The vetting process, from the outside, certainly seems rigorous.
For refugees, the first step is obtaining refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Then, in order to apply, someone must be referred by a U.S. Embassy, the U.N or a qualified relief organization. Homeland Security vets the person based on documentation (which can be limited in many cases), in-person interviews, biometric screenings including facial recognition, and several database checks for fingerprints. The process can take years.
The fear of some coming here intending to do us harm is real. But in a war of cultures, we should be embracing those who have fled from our common enemies with opportunity and compassion.
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