Update October 9: More news here at CDA Press. No refugees planned for N. Idaho at this time.
We received this information from the Director of World Relief in Spokane, Washington. So all concerned citizens can rest easy for now! The controversial resettlement continues in southern Idaho (in Twin Falls), but we have been assured no resettlement is planned for Coeur d’Alene or St. Marie’s or anywhere in that region.
From the Director Mark Kadel:
My name is Mark Kadel and I am the Director of the World Relief office in Spokane, WA that you reference in your website post. I can officially state that our resettlement office has no plans to resettle refugees in Idaho. We are below capacity in Spokane and would have no need to extend resettlement across the State line. If churches or individuals would like to support refugees resettled in Spokane, there are many ways they can help by visiting our website at Worldreliefspokane.org. Before any future plans to resettle refugees in Idaho were to develop, we would need community and local church support before any plans to place refugees in any communities in Idaho.
Our experience with the controversy involving World Relief in Spartanburg, SC tells us that, yes, they do try to get local church support, but don’t inform the wider community until the refugees are actually on the way. We are very happy to hear that Northern Idaho cities will be getting some sort of advance notice as World Relief would seek “community…support.”
Wilson-Fish is not a good thing!
By the way, the other refugee resettlement contractors working elsewhere in Idaho are, in addition to World Relief, the International Rescue Committee, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, and Episcopal Migration Ministries. As a Wilson-Fish state the elected officials in the state have no involvement with the program run by a non-profit Jannus Inc.(formerly Mountain States Group) and the US State Department.
Citizens of Idaho should focus attention on getting your elected state legislature to get some control back for the state. There isn’t much states can do, but it is pretty amazing to think in Wilson-Fish states that an unelected non-profit and the federal government have the right to change your entire state AND commit the taxpayers to enormous extra costs for education and healthcare just to name two areas where the burden is on the taxpayers of Idaho!