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Refugees testify on resettlement challenges, urge licensing and integration support
Summary
Refugee coordinator Holly Trisca Dolly and four resettled residents told the Appropriations — Human Resources Division about housing, licensing, employment and credit barriers and volunteered to participate in legislation on international physicians and workforce support.
Holly Trisca Dolly, North Dakota’s state refugee coordinator, brought four recently resettled residents to the House Appropriations Committee’s Human Resources Division to share personal accounts of arriving and rebuilding lives in North Dakota.
"These are all individuals that went through The US Refugee Admissions Program," Holly Trisca Dolly said, explaining the witnesses had undergone months of screening and obtained legal refugee status prior to resettlement. The panel heard testimony from Donald Moncada, a physician from Nicaragua now working as a certified nursing assistant and health navigator; his son Samuel Moncada; Natalia Ostapchak, a long-time Bismarck resident who described home-buying and family hardships; and Joy Quicero, an integration specialist and emergency-room nurse.
The witnesses described barriers that affect workforce integration and community stability: licensing recognition for foreign-trained professionals, lack of…
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