A Sioux Falls non-profit organization that is the target of legislation compelling it to make data about its refugee resettlement operation public says that it is willing to comply.
More than that, Lutheran Social Services says that it has been drafting reports about its refugee resettlement program since a law requiring those reports expired several years ago.
That’s according to LSS President and CEO Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen, who shared the organization’s report for federal fiscal year 2024, which began on Oct. 1, 2023 and ended last Sept. 30. LSS is the most prominent refugee resettlement organization in South Dakota.
The organization is neutral on House Bill 1106, a measure that passed the state House with broad support requires LSS and all resettlement agencies to report to the Legislature on an annual basis. It would reinstate a similar requirement adopted by the Legislature in 2017. That law “sun-setted” three years later.
In fact, Kiesow-Knudsen said, the non-partisan Legislative Research Council obtained LSS’s report for 2024 in January.
“We’re fine making a report available on resettlement,” she told The Dakota Scout. “We are committed to transparent communication about the resettlement program. I am also happy to talk to anyone who has questions or concerns.”
The report shows that LSS resettled — meaning those that came directly from a foreign country to the state — 386 refugees in the prior fiscal year, up from 206 in 2023. Congolese settlers made up 97 of those, the most of any nationality to move to the Rushmore State through LSS. Of the 14 different nations represented in last year’s report, migrants from Venezuela, Somalia, and Sudan round out the top four.
Slightly more of those arriving were male compared to female, while 163 of the total were under the age of 18.
LSS maintains its headquarters in the state’s largest city. It also has a staff presence in Huron, Rapid City, and Yankton to help support those who arrive by way of secondary migration — refugees who first settle in another state and then move to South Dakota after entry into America.
South Dakota’s upward trend in the number of refugees arriving corresponds with the uptick seen across the nation in 2024. From fiscal year 2021 to 2024, federal acceptance numbers rose by 88,623.
“The president of the United States makes a determination on the maximum number of refugees that will be accepted into the United States during the coming federal fiscal year,” the report explains. “For FY 2024, that threshold was set at 125,000.”
The American Immigration Council estimates that South Dakota currently has about 11,000 undocumented immigrants living here. They are not part of the refugees who were resettled in the state legally.
LSS’ case management and employment services are available to new arrivals for up to five years. All refugees are legally qualified for employment upon their arrival. Employment services provide adults with opportunities to find their first job, as well as job upgrades. Case management includes assisting new arrivals with benefits enrollment, school enrollment, English language training enrollment for adults, obtaining identity documents, and assistance with housing, among other services.
Both private and public sector immigration attorneys assist refugees who are pursuing permanent residency or United States citizenship through a fee-based program, or grants when possible. Additionally, LSS supports two federal programs, Uniting for Ukraine and the Cuban-Haitian Entrants, which move people from those countries to the United States.
“The programs are not administered centrally like the refugee resettlement program,” the report notes.
While LSS is already providing the information that Sen. Taffy Howard is pursuing with HB 1106, the Rapid City Republican who is a main sponsor of the bill argues her measure is still necessary.
“The bill is still needed to ensure it is done, versus them doing it they choose to,” Howard said in a statement.
AUSTIN GOSS -SDBA