1. 1
“The Town That Loves Refugees”: Utica, New York as the Human Rights City
Verjine Adanalian
Abstract
This work evaluates the city of Utica, New York, in terms of the “Human
Rights City” framework. Through standards established by international
instruments, Utica’s human rights-oriented infrastructure is praised and
criticized. Since the majority of Utica’s population consists of refugees
and foreign-born people, Utica will serve as an example of how human
rights standards can be adopted by local cities in the United States to
accommodate diversifying populations and, more specifically, modern
refugee crises.
Introduction
Activist Dorothy Q. Thomas argued that in the United States, human rights have
come to be constructed as “foreign” to the nation’s internal life1
and that there was a split
within the world of social justice activism: “civil rights on one side, human rights on the
other. The one was domestic, the other foreign.”2
It may be because of this national
psyche, which has tied human rights activism to being “un-American,” that has
undermined domestic efforts to connect civil and international human rights advocacy.
Keeping this disconnect in mind, examining the history of Utica’s Mohawk
Valley Resource Center for Refugees (Resource Center) is increasingly interesting.
Despite the Resource Center being an excellent example of bringing human rights to the
domestic arena, it did not start off as a domestic effort. In the 1970s, Roberta Douglas
became concerned about the treatment of Amerasian children in Vietnam. With help from
Catholic Charities, she led the effort of resettling Amerasians in the United States and
1
Dorothy Q. Thomas, Against American Supremacy: Rebuilding Human Rights Culture in the United
States, in BRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS HOME: A HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES, 151
(Cynthia Soohoo, Catherine Albisa, & Martha F. Davis, eds., 2009).
2
Id. at 152.

2. 2
establishing the Resource Center. Since its inception the Resource Center has assisted
refugees from more than 34 countries.
The Resource Center, pictured below, continued to resettle refugee groups
throughout decades of various international crises. From the aftermath of the Vietnam
War to the Bosnians escaping destruction in the former Yugoslavia, the Resource Center
has relocated thousands of refugees to Utica, New York. Even though this response was
primarily an international effort to extend aid to suffering refugees, somehow the
Resource Center has transformed its work to that of domestic importance.
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the types of effort this Resource Center
and the local government have extended to Utica, New York’s significant refugee
population. By examining the triumphs and shortcomings, Utica poses as the focus city
that has attempted to apply the “human rights city” framework to its political and social
infrastructure. Key aspects that will be examined include how Utica has managed to
uphold fundamental human rights socially, economically, and culturally. Utica’s efforts
to welcome refugees and integrate them successfully into American society shows that it

3. 3
is possible to reconnect the separate spheres between domestic civil rights advocacy and
the so-called international human rights approach. The analysis of this work will
hopefully help other cities study and emulate Utica in order to successfully accommodate
new waves of refugees in the future, particularly the current refugees fleeing Syria.
Brief History of Utica, New York
The first settlers arrived in the Mohawk Valley Region of what is known as
Oneida County in 1798.3
The land was originally cultivated for farming but as the area
population grew, so did the amount of commercial enterprises. The success of Oneida
County can be rooted to its important location. The county strategically had the Mohawk
River, the Erie, Chenango and Black River canals, and later railroads. This access to
transportation was vital because Oneida County was located within easy reach of New
York City, Boston and other major markets.
Oneida County, and specifically Utica, experienced a boom of manufacturing
with textile mills dominating the local economy. However, the industry crashed
following World War II after fluctuating levels of supply and demand. Suddenly, the
textile industry that had once dominated the county’s economy for decades had halted
and when its mills left town, there were not many major, non-textile industries to absorb
jobs lost. All was, however, not lost. By the 1950s other manufacturing industries,
primarily electronics, began operating in the county.
This history is important to understanding Utica and why there have been such
dramatic changes to the area’s population numbers. Utica experienced a sharp population
3
This information and further history concerning Utica, NY, is provided by the Oneida County Historical
Society, available at http://www.oneidacountyhistory.org/MomentsInTime/ExploringHistory.asp.

4. 4
decline from 100,410 in 1960 to 60,651 in 2000.4
This can be attributable to the stagnant
availability of jobs and industry. To aid this population crisis, among other reasons, the
Resource Center has resettled over 15,000 people since 1981 to stabilize the population
and reverse a half-century of continuous population decline.
According to the United States Census, which reported data between 2010-2014,
the percentage of foreign-born persons in Utica was 18.2% and the percentage of people
that spoke a language other than English at home was 27.0%.5
After calculating the
percentage against the reported 61,332 people living in Utica, approximately 11,163
people are reported foreign-born. This is critical for understanding and evaluating life in
Utica.
I. Social Rights
A. The Right to Education
It would surprise many Americans to learn that the United States Constitution
does not technically guarantee a fundamental right to education. In fact, the Constitution
does not explicitly provide that there is a right to education at all. The responsibility for
providing education has traditionally been left to the states to regulate. This is not to say,
however, that the courts have not intervened in certain cases involving education,
specifically cases of discrimination by educational institutions. The question is why has
the United States been hesitant to adopt international standards when it comes to
education?
The international community has almost universally accepted the right to
education. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), every
4
See Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, available at https://www.mvrcr.org/about/history/.
5
United States Census, available at http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/3676540.

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person has a right to education, free of charge at least in the fundamental and elementary
stages.6
Other United Nations bodies have also declared that education is a fundamental
human right. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is universally ratified
except, to this nation’s utmost chagrin, the United States.7
The CRC Articles 28 and 29
detail that the right to an education is fundamental. Critics of the ratification of this
convention by the United States have expressed concerns that seem misguided.8
One of
the major complaints that Professors John Witte Jr. and Don S. Browning outlined
concerned parental and religious rights.9
Critics worry that these freedom rights of
children will restrict the rights of parents to educate their children the way they want to.
They insist that no political body has power to dictate “liberal” educational agendas to
any parent when it comes to education and discipline. These concerns seem more like
political rhetoric than actual legitimate concerns. International conventions like the CRC
can only be enforced by consent of the state. These conventions act as persuasive tools
and the power to enforce them on a domestic level could only really come from
Congress’s legislative enforcement. This touches back to Thomas’ description of
international human rights being viewed as “un-American” and thus, American
exceptionalism prevails. What is ironic is that American nongovernmental organizations
and officials participated heavily with the construction of the CRC. The fact that the
United States still has not ratified the convention remains, at the very least, embarrassing.
6
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 10 Dec. 1948, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. GAOR, 3d
Sess., art. 26, U.N. Doc. A/RES/3/217A (1948).
7
Somalia has also not ratified because they technically do not have a central government at this time so
they are unable to make this decision.
8
See John Witte Jr. & Don S. Browning, Christianity’s Mixed Contributions to Children’s Rights:
Traditional Teachings, Modern Doubts, 61 EMORY L. J. 991 (2012), the authors review and evaluate the
main arguments against the CRC that conservative American Christians in particular have marshaled.
9
Id. at 999.

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Currently, the best way to enforce human rights seems to be with local
governments. The State of New York, like the rest of the states in the United States, is
responsible for handling needs such as education for its citizens. The Constitution of the
State of New York Article 11§1 provides that “[t]he legislature shall provide for the
maintenance and support of a system of free common schools, wherein all the children of
this state may be educated.” The Utica City School District (UCSD), the largest and most
predominate one in Utica, offers rights to students and parents in its official Code of
Conduct.10
Among many rights, a student has the right to “[l]earn in an environment free
of discrimination and harassment based on actual or perceived race, color, weight,
national origin, ethnic group, religion…[and][p]articipate equally in all school
activities.”11
Despite these safeguards and the overall “refugee friendly” reputation that Utica
has, the city’s school district has recently been faced with class action lawsuits. The first
class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court of Northern District of
New York on April 27, 2015.12
The complaint challenged UCSD’s practice of excluding
limited English proficient (LEP) immigrants aged 17-20 from attending and receiving
their high school diplomas from Thomas R. Proctor High School. The plaintiffs argue
that this practice is a direct violation of New York Education Law §3202(1) which
provides that “[a] person over five and under twenty-one years of age who has not
10
Utica City School Code of Conduct, available at
http://www.uticaschools.org/Code%20of%20Conduct%202013-14.
11
Id. at §III.A.4-5.
12
Amended Class Action Complaint, Patrick Tuyizere et al., v. Utica City School District Board of
Education, No. 15-cv-00488-TJM-TWD (April 27, 2015), available at
https://www.scribd.com/doc/293374717/NYCLU-LAWSUIT.

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received a high school diploma is entitled to attend the public schools maintained in the
district in which such person resides without the payment of tuition.”
Not long after, the Attorney General of the State of New York filed a complaint13
against UCSD on November 17, 2015, further alleging that the school district had
deliberately deprived the immigrant students the equal educational opportunity to which
they were entitled to by law. The Attorney General claimed violations of the Equal
Educational Opportunities Act of 1974,14
the Civil Rights Act of 1964,15
the New York
Education Law,16
the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, and the New
York State Constitution’s Due Process Clause.
What makes the situation in Utica much more shocking is contrasting how
accommodating the city has been in every other regard to refugees. The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees has even reported Utica as “the town that loves
refugees.”17
These lawsuits are disappointing especially because of the work that the
Resource Center seems to be doing through UCSD. The Utica Adult Learning Center,
coordinated through UCSD with the Resource Center, offers free English classes and
literacy programs to all non-native English-speaking adults in Utica. The Adult Learning
Center services include English classes during weekdays or evenings offered to beginners
through advanced leveled students. There are “study at home” options and even family
literacy programs for students who have children enrolled in ESL programs at UCSD.
This program is important especially for immigrants and refugees for a variety of reasons.
13
Complaint, People of the State of New York v. Utica City School District, (November 17, 2015),
available at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/293374184/Attorney-General-Lawsuit.
14
20 U.S.C §1703.
15
42 U.S.C §2000d et seq.
16
New York Education Law §3202(1).
17
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, The Town That Loves Refugees, 138 Refugees 1
(2005), available at: http://www.unhcr.org/publ/PUBL/426f4c772.pdf.

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According to the New York Language Learning Center, some of the most important
reasons for taking ESL classes are to help immigrants find work, alleviate poverty, and
cope with native speakers.18
The city of Utica prides itself for having five colleges and
universities within its city limits.19
Despite all of these possibilities for refugees, it is clear
from the lawsuits against UCSD that Utica still has work to do to ensure that the
fundamental right to education is afforded to all students.
B. The Right to Work
Finding a job is difficult enough for a person born and raised in the United States.
The expectation that a refugee, who has escaped and resettled, will quickly be able to
secure a job and work is quite ambitious. However, despite the difficulties that refugees
have faced, their interest in securing a job is of utmost importance.
Besides the costs that one would naturally assume would be associated with
moving to another country, refugees are held to additional financial responsibilities.
When refugees are admitted, the International Organization for Migration arranges their
travel under a loan program. Refugees then must sign a promissory note stating that they
will repay the interest-free loans to cover the cost of airline tickets over a period of time.
As if resettling into a new country is not stressful enough but the urgency of repaying this
loan also looms nearby.
The concept of the right to employment can find its roots in history but a
significant international move to define that right on paper did not really happen until the
1950s. There were several questions that the United Nations had to face when debating
the idea of the right to employment. According to Richard Lewis Siegel, “[w]ith divisions
18
New York Language Learning Center, 10 Benefits of ESL Classes, available at http://www.learnenglish-
nyc.com/blog/10-benefits-of-esl-classes.
19
City of Utica, available at http://www.cityofutica.com/community/education/index.

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exacerbated by East-West and North-South rivalries, the formulation of the right to work
in the adopted International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights rather
accurately reflected the limited U.N. consensus on this issue in the 1950s.”20
Siegel
emphasized that there were many questions that made establishing this right very
difficult. Some questions included: “who has the right to work? To what degree is the
state obligated to assure this right? What particular steps should states be obligated to
take?”21
The struggle to define the right to work in the practical sense carries on to the
twenty-first century. At the Fifth Colloquium on Challenges in International Refugee
Law, convened between November 13 and 15, 2009 by the University of Michigan Law
School’s Program in Refugee and Asylum Law, guidelines were produced to reflect the
consensus of the participants as they discussed the international legal norms and state
practices relevant to refugees’ right to work.22
The Colloquium participants noted that
“[t]he ability to engage in decent work empowers refugees, enabling self-reliance and
contribution to the economy and society.”23
The dangers that may result if refugees
cannot secure employment include but are not limited to: returning to the original place
of persecution, engaging in unauthorized work in dangerous conditions, risk of people
smuggling and human trafficking.24
20
RICHARD LEWIS SIEGEL, EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS: THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION 69
(1994).
21
Id.
22
Colloquium on Challenges in International Refugee Law, The Michigan Guidelines on the Right to Work,
31 MICH. J. INT’L L. 293 (2009), available at
http://www.law.umich.edu/centersandprograms/refugeeandasylumlaw/Documents/Michigan_Guidelines_o
n_the_Right_to_Work.pdf.
23
Id. at 295.
24
Id.

10. 10
The Resource Center in Utica assists, rather impressively, with job placement for
resettled refugees. What makes this effort remarkable is the quality of work that the
support staff works to secure. The Resource Center coordinates with employers and the
refugees to find the best placement. The specialists at the Resource Center go as far as to
assist refugees to obtain better paying jobs that utilize their native skills. This effort is not
just a public service; it is fundamentally creating a sustainable workforce that is meant to
improve the local economy and society. This is an excellent example of bringing the
“human rights city” framework to the local level. The Resource Center does not act alone
with its assistance; this service is funded in part by United Way, which is a massive
nonprofit organization that supports, and often funds, charitable organizations.
Organizations such as the Resource Center and United Way work to address
problems on a local level. Every community is naturally different with varying needs.
After the economic downfall and population depletion that Utica has faced in the past
decades, improving and supplementing the lost workforce is necessary if the city wishes
to survive. Utica’s Mayor, Robert Palmieri, has said that refugees are “willing to work
and they work extremely hard. It’s the rebound for our great city.”25
This sentiment is
contrary to the conservative political rhetoric that has been shuffling through the
country’s main stage. The problem is not a purely American one; the current migrant
crisis in Europe is the contemporary dramatic example of the clash between humanitarian
and resistant nationalist ideals.
This rhetoric does not seem to apply to Utica or New York. On August 20, 2015,
the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance announced that
25
Paul Solman, “How Refugee Resettlement Became a Revival Strategy for This Struggling Town,” PBS
NewsHour (Apr. 7, 2016), available at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-refugee-resettlement-
became-a-revival-strategy-for-this-struggling-town/.

11. 11
$50,000 in state funding is being awarded to the Utica City School District to help
refugee youth and young adults prepare to enter the workforce.26
This suggests that there
is an effort not only from the City of Utica but the entire state itself to invest in what
refugees have to offer the workforce. Not only are these endeavors ensuring rights, but
also simply smart economics.
II. Economic Rights
A. Right to Adequate Housing
As with the right to education, the Constitution of the United States does not
explicitly provide a right to housing. The regulations and provisions for housing in the
United States have been left to federal, state and local laws to decide. If the United States
simply looked to international instruments, it would find that the right to housing is
protected in multiple treaty bodies such as the UDHR,27
CRC,28
International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,29
International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,30
and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women.31
The City of Utica Section 8 Program (HA) administers the Federal Housing
Choice Voucher rental subsidy program to assist very low-income people to “rent decent,
26
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, “State Announces $50,000 to Help Refugee Youth
Prepare For Workforce,” (Aug. 27, 2015), available at https://otda.ny.gov/news/2015/2015-08-27.asp.
27
UDHR, supra note 4, art. 25.
28
Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted 20 Nov. 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, U.N. GAOR, 44th Sess.,
art. 27, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989), 1577 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 2 Sept. 1990).
29
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, G.A. Res. 2200
(XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., art. 11, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 23
Dec. 2010).
30
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted 21 Dec.
1965, G.A. Res. 2106 (XX), U.N. GAOR, 20th Sess., art. 5, 660 U.N.T.S. 195 (entered into force 4 Jan.
1969), reprinted in 5 I.L.M. 352 (1966).
31
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted 9 Dec. 1948,
G.A. Res. 260 (III), U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess., U.N. Doc. A/RES/3/260 (1948), 78 U.N.T.S. 277 (entered into
force 12 Jan. 1951)(entered into force for U.S. 23 Feb. 1989).

12. 12
safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.”32
This mirrors the federal programs
offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). What makes
Utica’s housing assistance programs more intriguing and affective is how community-
based they are. Utica’s example for going beyond the standard measures for housing is an
important effort toward the “human rights city” ideal.
One program offered by Utica is the Family Unification Program. This program
offers vouchers to families “for whom the lack of adequate housing is a primary factor in
the separation, or threat of imminent separation, of children from their families or in the
prevention of reunifying the children with their families.”33
This housing program differs
from the standard HUD voucher program in that its specific purpose is to provide
families housing when they need it the most. A family being torn apart solely because
they lacked housing seems unacceptable in a country like the United States. This program
is not the first of its kind designed to keep families together through housing. The
Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) uses housing as a platform for services to
improve the lives of people to maximize public resources and build healthy communities.
CSH, headquartered in New York, specifically designed an innovative program called
“Keeping Families Together.”34
The program is constructed to use supportive housing as
a way to keep families together and prevent child welfare involvement. For example, “29
units of permanent supportive housing were made available to homeless families at
highest risk of having a child removed.”35
What may not be obvious from the surface is
32
City of Utica, The City of Utica Section 8 Program, available at
http://www.cityofutica.com/departments/section-8/general-information/index.
33
City of Utica, Family Unification Program, available at http://www.cityofutica.com/departments/section-
8/family-unification-program/index.
34
CSH, Keeping Families Together Brochure, available at http://www.csh.org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/12/Tool_KeepingFamiliesTogetherBrochure.pdf.
35
Id. at 3.

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that programs like this one and Utica’s Family Unification Program all work to break the
“intergenerational cycle of poverty, homelessness and abuse.”36
In terms of refugee resettlement, one of the first important arrangements to be
made for incoming refugees involves housing. The Resource Center includes pre-arrival
arrangements for securing and furnishing housing for refugees. It is undoubtedly one of
the most important services that the Resource Center could provide. This service makes
Utica a “human rights city” because of the community involvement it requires. The
Resource Center provides a Rental Listing Form where landlords can provide housing to
newly arrived refugee families.37
One of the clearest and most obvious benefits that Utica has seen from the
resettled refugees is the rejuvenation of once disintegrating neighborhoods. Many
Bosnians that were resettled in Utica came to this country with skills specializing in
construction engineering.38
Some created small businesses that have bought cheap and
crumbling houses and rehabilitated them for families. The Bosnians have essentially
“spruced up” neighborhoods that were in dire need of highly motivated workers.39
Thus,
housing not only played a role as a fundamental necessity but also an avenue of feeding a
struggling economy.
This unified effort to provide refugees with the right to housing is a commendable
example of bringing the human rights framework to the domestic level despite the lack of
federal ratification of the international instruments that already ensure those rights. This
36
Id.
37
Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, supra note 2, available at
http://www.mvrcr.org/services/refugee-resettlement/mvrcr-rental-listing-form/.
38
PBS NewsHour, “How Refugee Resettlement Became a Revival Strategy for This Struggling Town,” 7
Apr. 2016, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2VTM7_Fvs0.
39
Id.

14. 14
effort will also diminish the risk of resettled refugees becoming wards of the state and a
burden on taxpayer dollars.
III. Cultural Rights
A. Right to Religion
Islamophobia is no stranger to the contemporary American political arena. The
attacks of September 11, 2001, increased the rhetoric and anti-Islam sentiment in the
country. For a country that has foundational roots in religious freedom, most of this
rhetoric seems contrary to traditional American values.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits impediments to
the free exercise of religion. Schoolbooks depict the U.S. as a safe haven for those who
escaped persecution because of their religion. From the Pilgrims of the Mayflower to the
Puritans, American history has religion on the forefront of foundational policy. However,
it is important to note and recognize that “deep religious discord has been part of
America’s social DNA”40
and that freedom of religion has sometimes only been an ideal,
not a constant reality. Most Americans would like to forget that religious freedom might
only have been a privilege for the few; the oppression and destruction of the Native
Americans is an easy example, not to mention the difficult relationship between Catholics
and Protestants.
With this historical understanding in mind, any other religion would seem “un-
American.” The most prominent contemporary example would be the presence of Islam
in the United States. Despite the determined advocacy of protecting religious freedoms in
modern courts, an uncomfortable majority holds despicable views when it comes to non-
40
Kenneth C. Davis, America’s True History of Religious Tolerance, SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, Oct. 2010,
available at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-true-history-of-religious-tolerance-
61312684/?hc_location=ufi&is_pocket=1&page=1.

15. 15
Christian religions. The Gallup Poll Results shown below emphasizes that the freedom of
religion sentiment may be strong but may not apply to all.
Gallup Poll Results from 201041
International law provides plenty of instruments that ensure the freedom of
religion.42
More relevant to the discussion concerning Utica would be the Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees.43
The Convention provides that the “Contracting
States shall accord to refugees within their territories treatment at least as favourable as
that accorded to their nations with respect to freedom to practice their religion and
freedom as regards the religious education of their children.”44
This provision is
especially important when applied to Utica. Refugees have settled in Utica for a variety
41
Gallup, “Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West,” available at
http://www.gallup.com/poll/157082/islamophobia-understanding-anti-muslim-sentiment-west.aspx.
42
See UNESCO, MOST Clearing House: Religious Rights, “International Legal Instruments,” (1994-
2003), available at http://www.unesco.org/most/rr2int.htm. This webpage offers a list of the international
legal instruments that ensure the freedom of religion.
43
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted 28 July 1951, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.2/108 (1951),
189 U.N.T.S. 150 (entered into force 22 Apr. 1954).
44
Id. art. 4.

16. 16
of reasons. With respect to religion, Pentecostal Russians, for example, came to Utica to
escape religious persecution by the late 1980s.45
Perhaps the most intriguing example of religious freedom assurance is the case of
the Bosnian Muslim population of Utica. Not so long ago, the American public
experienced a spike in Islamophobia when there were protests for the mosque that was to
be built near Ground Zero in New York City. Protest groups such as “Stop the
Islamicization of America” quoted that “‘[b]uilding the Ground Zero mosque is not an
issue of religious freedom, but of resisting an effort to insult the victims of 9/11 and to
establish a beachhead for political Islam and Islamic supremacism in New York…
Ground Zero is a war memorial, a burial ground. Respect it.’”46
With this kind of
response, one would assume that a similar reaction would take place if an old Christian
church was turned into a Muslim mosque. That did not seem to be the case in Utica.
45
Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, supra note 2.
46
CNN Wire Staff, “Protesters Descend on Ground Zero for Anti-Mosque Demonstration,” (7 June 2010),
available at http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/06/new.york.ground.zero.mosque/.

17. 17
The old United Methodist church of Utica has been turned into a mosque, catering
to the significant local Bosnian population. This transformation was not met with the
extreme protests that other mosques have faced. Instead, it has been reported that “the
mosque has been welcomed by, among others, former church members grateful that the
old building will be saved.”47
Utica continues to be an example by working with the
Muslim community to save the old church building, which would have cost the city over
$1 million to demolish.48
Journalist Teri Weaver reported that the “crosses came down,
the minarets went up, and the overall reaction was gratitude.”
B. Right to Language
It can be safely generalized that as a society, particularly in the United States,
when prioritizing the protection of rights, the right to language is not very high on the list
of serious concerns. In fact, compared to the rest of the world, particularly to Europe, the
American public education system hardly prioritizes learning foreign languages. Unlike
other countries that mandate learning foreign languages, the United States does not apply
the same severity or vigor to making foreign language mandatory for its students. Of
those who know a second language “43% said they can speak that language ‘very well.’
Within this subset of multilinguals who are well-versed in a non-English language, 89%
acquired these skills in the childhood home, compared with 7% citing school as their
main setting for language acquisition.”49
Some may argue why this is relevant.
Americans have the luxury of growing up with a language that has become the lingua
47
Peter Applebome, In This Town, Open Arms for a Mosque, N.Y. TIMES, 18 Aug. 2010, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/nyregion/19towns.html.
48
Id.
49
Kat Devlin, “Learning a Foreign Language a ‘Must’ in Europe, Not so in America,” (13 July 2015),
available at http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/13/learning-a-foreign-language-a-must-in-
europe-not-so-in-america/.

18. 18
franca of the modern day. However, language is more than the ability to communicate
with other humans.
The Universal Declaration on Linguistic Rights is the manifestation of the
numerous concerns of losing language to other powers. This instrument considered many
of the international tools that was available at the time but noted that enough was not said
about the right to language. Historically, language communities have had to combat
imperialism, economic or social subordination through the direct imposition of a foreign
language, and distorted perceptions of the value of languages that “give rise to hierarchal
linguistic attitudes which undermine the language loyalty of speakers.”50
There are many ways to view the right to language. If the Universal Declaration
on Linguistic Rights and other international instruments are taken into consideration, one
would assume that the right to language diversity is fundamental and critical. The
declaration notes that respecting the dignity of minority languages and cultures is crucial
against the tyranny of the majority. Others, like notable linguist Noam Chomsky, would
argue that there is one human language and all other languages are just evolved variations
of that one language that have changed for a variety of reasons.51
Either way, language is
a critical component of the human condition and it cannot be ignored, especially when
examining Utica.
American society is no stranger to diversifying populations and the challenges
associated with differentiating groups of people. This challenge, which may not be a
serious concern for some parts of the country that are more homogenous, is definitely a
50
Universal Declaration on Linguistic Rights, World Conference on Linguistic Rights in Barcelona, Spain,
2 (9 June 1996), available at http://www.unesco.org/cpp/uk/declarations/linguistic.pdf.
51
Noam Chomsky, “The Concept of Language Interview at the University of Washington,” (1989),
available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdUbIlwHRkY.

19. 19
concern for a place like Utica. During the notable H1N1 flu outbreak, the Oneida County
Health Department attempted to conduct an informational meeting about the illness and
available vaccine.52
However, the meeting was not as successful as the coordinators
would have hoped. There were those who attended the meeting but did not stay long
presumably because they did not understand English, which is no surprise because “Utica
schools have more than 9,000 students and an estimated 42 different languages spoken—
mostly due to the high number of refugees transplanted to the area.”53
State and local
resources have been necessary in order to translate the informational materials into
various languages. Unsurprisingly, one of those local resources have been the Resource
Center.
The Resource Center has placed such importance on language accommodation
that it has branched out to offer “TONE”, which is a new division specifically for
translation services. TONE’s services include: document translation, notarization, editing
and proofreading, transcription, voiceover recording and narration, and cultural
consulting. The fees generated by TONE provides help support for the resettlement,
integration of, and language access for newly arrived refugee families. The Resource
Center also provides interpreters through their Compass Interpreters division. The
interpreters offer over forty languages and new languages are always being added on a
rolling basis.
These services are of technical importance but language is required for more than
business. It was pleasantly surprising to learn that several media outlets provide for
special programming for minority groups and language communities. “Bosnian Radio
52
Rebecca Coniser, Language Barrier an Added Challenge in Utica’s H1N1 Meetings, UTICA OBSERVER-
DISPATCH, 2 Dec. 2009, available at http://www.uticaod.com/article/20091202/News/31029899.
53
Id.

20. 20
202” is a Bosnian radio program that goes on air every Sunday between 8:00-9:00am on
100.7 FM. This program allows for Bosnian music to be aired, local Bosnian businesses
to be advertised, and other cultural expressions that the local population would find
relevant to their community. On the same station, Joe Puetrele hosts the “Voice of the
New Italy”, which has been a bilingual Italian-English radio program in Utica for over
fifty years. This program provides music, entertainment, and culture from Italy. Another
radio program that airs on WIBX 950 AM on Sundays is called “Polonaise with Babcia
Lydia.” This program is said to be “America’s longest running Polish language and music
program.”54
These are only a few examples of how the diverse population has infiltrated
the public local media.
One may wonder why this should be considered so momentous? It is true that
major cities like Los Angeles and New York City have provided television channels and
radio stations to other ethnicities and language communities. But what makes Utica
different is that it is not one of those giant metropolises that could have enough pull to
make these language accommodations easily available. However, this is yet another
example of how Utica has embraced its foreign-born population and given them a place
in society. The city did not try to force assimilation or to hide its foreign-born population
as if they were a burden on their culture.
Conclusion
Utica is a greatly needed local example of how the United States can structure
itself to accommodate the tumultuous world of the twenty-first century. Now more than
ever can Utica pose as a model for other local cities, particularly Cincinnati, to emulate in
the face of the current Syrian refugee crisis. Utica is the proof that human rights advocacy
54
WIBX 950 AM, available at http://wibx950.com/show/polonaise-with-julian-noga/.

21. 21
is not an “un-American” concept that cannot be integrated locally. Perhaps the most
fascinating observation in light of the research done for this analysis is how integral the
Resource Center is in Utica. The Resource Center does not pronounce itself as an isolated
charity organization but a nucleus for many social services. The very infrastructure of
Utica somehow ties in to the Resource Center and this is an incredibly valuable
characteristic of the city. Utica is not just a city that acknowledges human rights; Utica is
a human rights city that structures life around fundamental principles that can be found in
numerous international instruments. The final portion of this analysis includes a sample
letter to the Mayor of Cincinnati proposing to take steps to emulate Utica especially in
light of the current Syrian refugee crisis ravaging Europe and the Middle East.

22. 22
Verjine Adanalian
1095 Pilgrim Place • Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
513-256-1186
adanalvv@mail.uc.edu
May 9, 2016
Mayor John Cranley
801 Plum Street, Suite 150
Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
Dear Mayor Cranley,
My name is Verjine Adanalian and I am a law student at the University of
Cincinnati College of Law. I am writing in response to your Task Force on Immigration
launched in July 2014 and the subsequent comments made about the resettlement of
Syrian refugees in the United States.
The current position that you have been quoted to maintain comes as a sharp
contrast to the positive direction that Cincinnati was set to go. The Task Force that you
formed in 2014 was designed to create a center for new Cincinnatians that help connect
immigrants to services, launch a training program to help companies recruit international
job candidates, train police officers in cultural sensitivity, and many more things.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 15,000 of Cincinnati’s 300,000 residents are
foreign born. This number is not insignificant. You have said that you envision
Cincinnati as a “Statute of Liberty city” and our city would not have to start from scratch
to meet this dream.
An example that Cincinnati can very realistically emulate is that of Utica in
upstate New York. This city is much smaller in size than Cincinnati but still worth
examining for all of the successful work it has done. What makes Utica special is its
population demographics. Utica has resettled over 15,000 refugees for over four decades

23. 23
and essentially revitalized a plummeting population. Like Cincinnati, Utica also has a
notable portion of foreign-born people in its population. Local populations of foreign-
born citizens in the United States should not be considered a “political problem” but a
reality of the globalized world of the modern day. This is not a problem for Cincinnati,
but an opportunity. Utica was able to embrace this opportunity with the help of the
Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees (the Resource Center), which has played a
pivotal role in changing the infrastructure of the city to support not only the refugees
populations but of the entire community.
Your Task Force initiative mentions the establishment of a center to connect
Cincinnatians and it would be in the best interests of the city moving forward to design
the center to resemble the Resource Center of Utica. The Resource Center is involved in
almost every aspect of life that a new refugee would need assistance with. It provides
resources to make education, housing, and employment accessible. The purpose of this
Resource Center is to equip the refugees with the necessary knowledge and skills to flow
into productive society.
Your mission for the city of Cincinnati will be equally supported and fulfilled by
implementing the services as offered by Utica’s Resource Center:
• Resources to secure fulfilling employment to refugees that utilize their skills and
background knowledge;
• Collaborates with local landlords to encourage fair housing for refugees;
• Offers language services and English classes; and
• Accommodates and respects the importance of faith and religion.

24. 24
It is vital for the sustainability of our great city that we support a healthy economy
with a strong and attractive workforce. With this proposed Cincinnati Center for
Refugees, refugees will be woven into the economy in a productive and useful way.
Investing in refugees in the workforce is simply smart economics. Creating a sustainable
work force and a stronger economy that attracts business is an investment for the future.
There is an unfounded fear that refugees who will be resettled into the United States will
inevitably become a burden on taxpayer dollars. By integrating refugees and allowing
them to use the skills they already have in a meaningful way, the economy of Cincinnati
will be supported and not burdened. This is an excellent opportunities for local businesses
to expand and attract more investment.
Next, the Cincinnati Center would act as a liaison between local landlords and
refugees in need of housing. The refugees in Utica are responsible for the revitalization of
entire neighborhoods thanks to their efforts. Utica’s aged and broken-down homes have
been renovated and rejuvenated in great part to the local Bosnian refugee population.
Such a thing could very easily happen in Cincinnati too. Some of the more impoverished
neighborhoods of Cincinnati are just waiting for investment and rejuvenation. Inviting
refugee resettlement in Cincinnati could lead to entire neighborhoods becoming
revitalized and useful again.
Even further to sustainability, the Cincinnati Center could also offer language
services to Cincinnatians. These services would not only benefit resettled refugees but
also the increasing diversity in Cincinnati. Not only does Cincinnati need support for
Spanish-speaking Cincinnatians, but a great deal of other minorities go without any kind
of resources readily available to them. The increasing diversity of Cincinnati is much

25. 25
more different now than it ever has been and it is likely that this amount will increase
even more in the years to come. The Cincinnati Center would be equipped and ready to
handle those challenges for the good of the city as a whole.
It is well known that your beliefs and faith is very important to you. The
availability of places of worship is definitely a high priority for you. Cincinnati could
become a hub for the respecting of human rights by offering more places of worship for
the diversifying population of the city. In Utica, there was an old United Methodist
Church that was in absolute shambles. The city had only two options: bulldoze the entire
structure down or make repair it. Instead of sacrificing this historic building, the local
Bosnian community completely fixed up the church and turned it into a local mosque. In
this day and age post-9/11, it is understandable that as mayor you would feel that there
would be severe backlash from the local community for such a move. However, the city
of Utica reacted very positively because this historic building was saved from the
bulldozer. Utica is a place where people of all different backgrounds and faiths come
together to live harmoniously. That is the kind of city I want to see Cincinnati be
transformed into.
The proposed Cincinnati Center would do all that you set forth to do with the
Task Force on Immigration and much more. In this day and age with the current Syrian
refugee crisis, fear mongering and negative political rhetoric is not the reality that
Cincinnati should be embracing. If anything, Cincinnati should be first in line to take
advantage of the opportunities that refugees bring. The success of having refugees to
support smaller cities is exemplified by Utica and proven to be possible. Installing a

26. 26
similar refugee center in Cincinnati would be strengthening this city’s foundation to
withstand future challenges and complexities.
It is my hope that by shining some light on the work that Utica is conducting we
can somehow emulate their successes. By building a stronger, sustainable, and globalized
city to affectively compete economically, we are building the foundation of tomorrow’s
Cincinnati. Instead of seeing refugees and foreign-born peoples as “un-American,” we
should understand the potential and opportunities that our city cannot afford to ignore.
Not only does Cincinnati have the potential to become greater but it also has the chance
to become the beacon of promoting and protecting fundamental human rights.
Sincerely,
Verjine Adanalian