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Orange County Health Department reports 45 refugees resettled in 2024–25 and flags funding pressure
Summary
Public Health Nurse Chinyere Ekenna told the board 45 refugees arrived in fiscal year 2024–25 (mostly from Syria and Myanmar), described changes in federal screening procedures, and warned that reduced arrivals and lower reimbursement rates are shrinking funding for refugee services.
Chinyere "Chi" Ekenna, Public Health Nurse II, presented the Orange County Health Department's annual immigrant and refugee health update on Jan. 21.
Ekenna reported that 45 refugees arrived in Orange County during the 2024–25 fiscal year; the majority were from Syria (22) and Myanmar/Burma (15). She said there have been no new arrivals in the county since April 2025 and that reimbursement rates and available funding for refugee health services have declined.
Ekenna described how international screening is coordinated through the International Organization for Migration in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control's Division of Global Migration Health, with local health departments completing follow-up screening and referrals. She said recent updates to screening include changes to tuberculosis and STI screening procedures and that lead testing for all children under 18 has been added.
The Health Department assisted 49 refugees with I-693 immigration medical forms in 2025, Ekenna said, and she corrected a slide typo to report eight refugees from Venezuela and four from Iran assisted with those applications in 2025. Quintana Stewart noted that if state-allocated refugee funds go unused, future allocations to the county could be reduced.
Ekenna warned the board that reduced arrivals and tighter federal policies are constraining services and reimbursement; no formal action was taken at the meeting.
