As Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine grinds on, more than 100,000 refugees have arrived in the United States, many of whom are uncertain when, if ever, they’ll be able to return.While businesses may be motivated by altruism to help displaced Ukrainians, there’s also a strong incentive to hire immigrants who are eager to work – […]
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As Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine grinds on, more than 100,000 refugees have arrived in the United States, many of whom are uncertain when, if ever, they’ll be able to return.
While businesses may be motivated by altruism to help displaced Ukrainians, there’s also a strong incentive to hire immigrants who are eager to work – especially as the U.S. faces its own struggle with an ongoing labor shortage.
Russia’s invasion that began Feb. 24 has displaced 10.4 million Ukrainian residents, about 6 million of whom have fled to European countries, but with a growing number landing in the U.S. and specifically Connecticut.
Dana R. Bucin, chair of Murtha Cullina’s immigration practice in Hartford and honorary consul of Romania to Connecticut, has organized a pro bono matchmaking service to help Ukrainians secure jobs in Connecticut that fit their interests and skills.
“We have everything from electricians to welders, construction workers to teachers, to HR professionals, healthcare workers, IT workers, engineers, a lot of cooks and chefs,” Bucin said. “There’s a wide range of skill sets that I believe are going to help us just as much as we help them.”
Businesses are not allowed to sponsor refugees directly, but they can encourage employees to do so, and they can help a refugee obtain housing by co-signing their lease for an apartment.
The federal Uniting for Ukraine program allows displaced Ukrainians to come to the U.S. based on an individual sponsorship from a person with legal status here. So far, Bucin’s group is helping 169 Ukrainian families settle in Connecticut.
“It’s so elegant that [the program] even circumvents the U.S. Department of State, with its consulates abroad …,” Bucin said. “They simply, if approved under Uniting for Ukraine, get a QR code travel authorization, and they just show up at the airport and they’re able to board a plane to the United States based on that QR code.”
Through the program, refugees are granted humanitarian parole, which allows them to stay in the U.S. for at least a year. After that, they can apply for asylum if it is unsafe to return to their homeland.
Many of the sponsors are volunteers, organized by churches and community groups, who allow refugees to live in spare guest rooms or vacation houses.
“This is a way to accommodate large numbers of refugees, because it’s not entirely at the expense of the federal government,” Bucin said. “It’s at the expense of ordinary citizens who are willing to open their homes.”
‘Looking for workers’
Even under normal circumstances, immigrants face challenges acclimating to U.S. laws and culture. But for Ukrainians fleeing a war-torn country amid dire circumstances, the barriers are even greater.
When Ukrainians arrive, they often have little money and lack both a Social Security number and credit history. It takes three months to receive a work permit and a Social Security number, Bucin said.
Also, in a tight housing market, they may struggle to find a landlord who will rent to them without a credit history.
She encourages businesses that want to hire Ukrainian workers to offer housing. Also, employers can give incentives to employees who agree to share their homes with a Ukrainian refugee.
The concept is similar to a trend that began during the Great Resignation in 2021: businesses are offering never-before-seen incentives to attract new employees, from work-from-home and hybrid schedules to signing bonuses.
For Ukrainians, their needs tend to be more rudimentary – help obtaining a driver’s license, enrolling their children in school, improving their English and opening a bank account, among other things.
Despite frustrations with the process, Bucin said the Ukrainians she’s working with are grateful.
“The feedback I’m getting from Ukrainian refugees is that they feel secure,” Bucin said. “They feel safe. They feel like they’re in a place where they can finally focus on building a life.”
She’s advocating for the federal government to drop the work permit requirement, which Europe has done for the roughly 6 million Ukrainian refugees living there.
In the meantime, businesses are filling the gaps.
Asim Etem, owner of A Villa Louisa, a banquet hall and wedding venue in Bolton, is planning to hire a Ukrainian chef. Etem immigrated to the U.S. from Romania when he was 14 with his father and sister. His family was sponsored by an organization in Dallas; now he wants to offer a Ukrainian the same opportunity.
“We are looking for workers, and they are looking for a new start,” Etem said. “That was me and my family 34 years ago.”
Once the refugee arrives, Etem said he’ll provide a job along with room and board.
“Everyone knows there is a shortage of workers in this country,” Etem said. “Is hiring one person going to make a difference? Probably not, but if more companies are able to hire and get back to normal, I am assuming everything else will fall back to normal, like supply and demand and prices.”
‘Need for an infusion’
Christopher Ball, associate professor of economics at Quinnipiac University and director of the Central European Institute, said the U.S. has a relatively flat population, so the country needs immigrants to drive growth. With Baby Boomers retiring and some regions, especially the Northeast, experiencing a population decline, “there’s definitely a need for an infusion,” he said.
Connecticut’s unemployment rate stands at 3.7%, but recent statistics show there are still 105,000 job openings in the state.
“On the labor market side, there’s been a trend in general of more and more people not entering the labor market,” Ball said. “It’s a bit of a mystery. There’s a lot of debate. Where are these people and who are they?”
The labor shortage creates problems for businesses and consumers. When a business has to cut its hours because it can’t find enough workers, the livelihood of the business is at stake.
“We want them to be able to stay in Connecticut,” Ball said. “With an influx of immigrants that are willing to work in these jobs, and are benefiting from them, it helps those companies stay here. They want to stay here and that helps keep Connecticut’s economy vibrant and offering a whole portfolio of jobs, from factory jobs to accounting and marketing.”
There’s especially strong demand in Connecticut for skilled workers in professional fields that do not require a college degree, such as manufacturing, he explained.
Professional licenses often aren’t transferable from country to country, but the skills to operate machinery are similar everywhere. Ball said Ukrainians are likely to take jobs, at least temporarily, that U.S. citizens don’t want.
“They tend to be very good citizens and there’s tremendous evidence that a lot of entrepreneurs come from immigrant populations who arrive and see opportunities where maybe people locally don’t see them,” Ball said.
For Etem, whose catering business serves international cuisine, the upfront costs of hiring a Ukrainian didn’t factor into his decision. He wants to help someone get a new start to their life.
“I will help with room and board, help him get his license, all his documents and all basic needs,” Etem said. “I will also help him learn to become a good citizen and hopefully one day he could pay it forward.”
