That is nothing new. Leahy has been a longtime advocate of the US Refugee Admissions Program, but what interested me was his remark that local communities needed more money to support refugees, and references Rutland.
But, wait, Rutland mayor Christopher Louras was just in upstate New York telling those citizens that refugees revitalize and bring economic prosperity where they are resettled. Which is it?
Or, is it possible that the only economic benefits a town or city will see is the federal welfare dollars that would come in to the community with the refugees?
Here is the news about Leahy at Vermont Digger:
RUTLAND — Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is calling on the United States to strengthen its commitment to refugee resettlement on the eve of a congressional hearing on the Obama administration’s pledge to take in 110,000 refugees next year, an increase of 25,000 from fiscal 2016.
At the same time Leahy said additional resources need to be allocated to communities that receive refugees. His remarks come as the State Department weighs whether Syrian refugees will be placed in Rutland.
“As we have seen in Vermont for decades,” Leahy said in a statement Tuesday, “refugees can enrich and revitalize our cities and towns, but they also need our help, especially at first.”
When you get discouraged about how this program is so entrenched and impervious to reform, take note of what Human Rights Watch’s honcho says here. Things are changing!
Bill Frelick, director of the Refugee Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, called the recent backlash against refugee resettlement unprecedented. Frelick, who has worked in the field for more than 30 years, said that historically refugee resettlement has been an issue on which both political parties have agreed. That came to an end in November after the terrorist attacks in Paris, when more than 30 U.S. governors signed a letter saying their states would not admit Syrian refugees.
See our Leahy file by clicking here.