Commissioners table decision on POTUS refugee resettlement order

Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken came before the Cook County commissioners on December 17 to discuss the President of the United States (POTUS) executive order on refugee resettlement.

Hicken said that prior to the president’s September 26, 2019, Executive Order, consent by local governments before a refugee could be resettled in its jurisdiction was presumed.

Now, said Hicken, because of the POTUS executive order, state and local governments must provide written consent to the federal government before refugees can be resettled in their jurisdiction.

While there is no deadline for counties to submit a plan, Hicken said the concern was that if not enough counties submitted a proposal to the state by January 31, 2020, the few who had agreed to accept resettlement could be significantly impacted.

Saying he was compassionate about the plight of refugees, Commissioner Dave Mills asked about the opportunities and the responsibilities Cook County could face by agreeing to a refugee resettlement plan.

“We recognize the issue we (Cook County) have with housing, and also recognize the issue we have in finding enough employees,” he said, asking attorney Hicken if she knew of any federal housing subsidies for areas that accepted refugees.

Hicken said she would look into Mills’ questions.

Commissioner Myron Bursheim suggested another option for housing new people to the country. “I attended a church in Anoka County years ago,” he said, adding that when refugees came to the area, and there was a lack of housing, people in his church took in the newcomers to live with them until they could be settled.

Ginny Storlie, county board chair, asked Hicken to come back on January 14 with an update about the resettlement program, and Hicken agreed to add to the information she had submitted to the commissioners.

As far as the financial implications for turning down resettlement, Hicken noted in a memo to the board that the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Resettlement Program Office supports the statewide resettlement of refugees and their effective integration into Minnesota communities. The office’s activities are 100 percent federally funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement.

“DHS Resettlement Programs Office receives approximately five million dollars in federal funding,” wrote Hicken.