Welcome to the Motor City (Detroit): Exploring How Social Workers from Resettlement Agencies Supported Newly Resettled Afghan Parolees in Michigan

Background: In August 2021, the United States completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan with the Taliban quickly taking control of the country. The Taliban’s ascension to national power displaced nearly 1 million Afghans—nearly 182,600 Afghans crossed regional borders in search of refuge, and more than 777,000 became internally displaced, increasing their risk of becoming refugees in the future. The Biden Administration evacuated around 76,000 Afghans to U.S. marine bases via the Kabul airport, where most were processed and then granted humanitarian parole—a temporary status designated by the Department of Homeland Security with limited rights.

The refugee resettlement landscape changed drastically during the Trump administration due to the slashing admissions by 86 percent and continues to be at historic lows despite President Biden’s promise to reverse the harsh immigration policies of the previous administration, including rebuilding a refugee program. The state of Michigan has served as a major refugee resettlement site, and state officials vowed to resettle large numbers of Afghan parolees. Therefore, refugee resettlement agencies were expected to rebound quickly from resettling low numbers of refugees to now accommodating large numbers of Afghan parolees in a short period of time. This phenomenological study seeks to understand how social workers across refugee resettlement agencies in Michigan adapted to and supported the influx of Afghan parolees. Moreover, this paper seeks to explore the best practices and challenges social workers encountered while resettling Afghan parolees.

Methods: Data collection consisted of four (4) focus groups with up to 40 staff members across refugee resettlement agencies in Michigan. Focus groups were conducted at local organizations or via Zoom and lasted no longer than 90 minutes. Verbatim transcripts of all interviews were generated, transcribed, and later coded using MAXQDA. A phenomenological hermeneutic (interpretive) approach (IPA) was used to analyze the data.

Results: First, staff members offered commentary on how difficult it was to resettle Afghan parolees due to the unrealistic expectations parolees had around integration, the staff members’ inability to offer comprehensive orientations to the parolees, and the lack of resources (e.g., affordable housing, employment, therapy) available to newcomers. Second, staff members described increased levels of mental health challenges yet acknowledged a lack of outlets to process their current mental states. Third, staff members described the potential merits and drawbacks of the Welcome Corps Program, the newest change to the U.S. refugee resettlement program that draws on U.S. citizens to play a critical role in welcoming refugees. Many participants noted the potential burden this initiative will have on social workers who are expected to oversee the vetting and certify its citizens and groups.

Conclusion & Implications: This study anchors the experiences of social workers who have been resettling Afghan parolees over the last two years. This study has policy and programmatic implications to inform local refugee resettlement agencies and policymakers on how to better support social workers and other stakeholders supporting forcibly displaced people and how to prepare agencies for the potential influx of refugee groups.