Since June of 2008, the US State Department has only allowed limited resettlement of certain refugees to Detroit—specifically immediate family members of Iraqis already there. The policy wasn’t working and so in a Memo this week to “Reception and Placement Agencies” and “Overseas Processing Entities” from the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration the restriction has been lifted.
The memo states:
Effective immediately, this placement restriction is modified to allow the placement of any refugees in the Detroit metro region who have ties there.
It appears that social services in Michigan were sinking under the weight of more unemployed people (no kidding!) and thus the original policy by the State Department sought to not add further to Michigan’s troubles. But, what happened is that Iraqi refugees who had been resettled elsewhere were making a beeline for Detroit anyway. After all, as refugee advocates are quick to note, this is a free country and people can move to wherever they wish.
If you would like to learn more (a lot more!) about the subject, we have 474 posts in our Iraqi Refugee Category, here . For more on Detroit, search ‘Iraqis Detroit.’