Office of Global Michigan
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), in coordination with Cherokee Federal, and in partnership with the Office of Global Michigan (OGM) will host an Afghan/Newcomer Support Center in Michigan. The event will take place at Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, Ambassador Ballroom (400 Renaissance Dr. W, Detroit, MI 48243) from February 14th to February 17th. The Afghan Support Centers are a follow-up to the Welcome Centers created during the initial phase of Operations Allies Welcome (OAW) and act as a “one-stop-shop” with a wide variety of information, service connection, and direct services supporting the Afghans in our community. Services available may include health services, education, legal assistance, employment, social services, and housing.
Although the direct USCIS support is intended exclusively for the Afghan population, OGM and its partners will be supporting a response and outreach for all newcomer populations.
A representative of Cherokee Federal may reach out to you to invite your organization or your local partners to be a part of this event, and provide on-site services and referrals to participants. We hope that you will support this initiative and participate in this event. For additional information, please reach out to our Community Engagement Coordinator, Carmen Bordea (bordeac@michigan.gov), or visit https://centersforafghansupport.org/detroit/. OGM will be meeting weekly with USCIS and Cherokee during January and will be reaching out with more information on your participation.
Please also see attached flyers below (additional translations are forthcoming). As stated above, USCIS is authorized to support the Afghan Support Center, but in partnership with OGM, no newcomer needing the available assistance will be turned away. Therefore, there is an official Afghan Support Center flyer from USCIS translated into Dari and Pashto, but we have also included a flyer for all populations. Translations in Spanish, Ukrainian, and Haitian-Creole at minimum will be provided soon.
Thank you-
Ben Cabanaw
(He/Him)
Deputy Director, Office of Global Michigan
MI State Refugee Coordinator
cabanawb@michigan.gov | 517.512.5668
