The Alaska labor department said Tuesday that it is reopening a long-closed office to assist refugees and immigrants seeking employment in the state, spurred by an influx of refugees from Ukraine.
The Office of Citizenship Assistance will provide job placement services for legal residents of Alaska who are not citizens of the United States. The office was already previously established under state law, but closed in 2008 “due to lack of funding,” according to a department announcement at the time.
Interim Labor Commissioner Cathy Muñoz, who assumed the post after the former commissioner abruptly left earlier this year, said she decided to reinstate the office after meeting with Issa Spatrisano, refugee assistance and immigration services director for Catholic Social Services, in response to a sharp rise in the number of refugees coming to Alaska.
More than 500 refugees moved to Alaska in 2022, and hundreds more are expected this year, compared to what Spatrisano said was an average of 130 refugees coming to Alaska annually in preceding years.
“She and I were talking and thinking about ways that the Department of Labor could support individuals as they’re getting their feet on the ground and getting resettled in Alaska to be successful,” said Muñoz, describing her conversation with Spatrisano. Muñoz then discovered such an office already existed in state law.
“I thought, ‘this is great. I have the framework in law for this type of work.’ I see a lot of opportunity, using...
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