This week Cook County Commissioners voted 5-0 to allow the county to remain a place where refugees can resettle.
The vote came on Tuesday, January 14, and was made because of President Donald Trump’s September 2019 executive order requiring counties and states to declare whether they would keep their doors open or closed, to people fleeing from oppression, natural disasters, or war.
During the public comment period, about a dozen people spoke, with most in favor of the resettlement option. The ones who were opposed mentioned that the county is very short on housing and worried that the county doesn’t have enough resources to take care of displaced peoples properly.
Commissioners also received a letter of support from the Cook County Public Health and Human Services Advisory Committee.
“The committee discussed this issue at length, and the members, to a person, are supportive of the board preparing the necessary written consent. The members are in agreement that Cook County is home to diversity in its residents and that they want this to continue without having to bar persons seeking refuge here because of the executive order.”
Roger Linehan, chairman of the committee, and Alison McIntyre, Cook County Public Health and Humans Services director and a member of the PHHS advisory committee signed the letter.
Before President Trump’s executive order, “Consent by local governments before a refugee could be resettled in its jurisdiction was presumed,” said Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken. “Now, state and local governments must provide written consent to the federal government before refugees can be resettled in their jurisdictions.”
Attorney Hicken, who presented information about the county board’s options, said there was low risk for the county to be selected as a place for resettlement. She also told commissioners that, “The Minnesota Department of Human Services’ (DHS) 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’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).”
The DHS’s Resettlement Programs Office receives approximately five million dollars in federal funding, added Hicken.
According to the DHS, “Unlike some states, Minnesota does not currently spend state dollars on refugee resettlements.”
Since 1980, Minnesota has accepted more than 100,000 people from more than 100 countries through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Refugees annually pay more than $227 million in state and local taxes and contribute to Social Security. They also fill needed jobs throughout the state, open their own businesses, and foster intercultural connections in their communities. In 2012, Minnesota refugees accounted for 7.5 percent of the state’s gross domestic product, spending $1.8 billion in the state.
In December, Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz announced that “The inn is not full,” and declared that Minnesota would continue to be a place welcoming refugees.
In 2019, Minnesota resettled 775 refugees. The governor said he rejected the intent of the president’s executive order requiring local governments and states to issue a decree approving or denying refugee resettlements.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and another dozen state attorney generals have issued a lawsuit seeking to halt the consent requirement.
As of January 7, the Association of Minnesota Counties reported Kandiyohi, Blue Earth, Sherburne, Clay, Otter Tail, Nicollet, Mower, Olmsted, Rice and Steele counties had consented to allow refugee resettlement.
Minnesota has five local resettlement affiliates: Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota, Arrive Ministries, Minnesota Council of Churches, and the International Institute of Minnesota.
Cook County now joins those Minnesota counties who have filed a consent letter with the federal government. On June 1, 2020, the ban on accepting refugees goes into effect. Local resettlement agencies must submit next year’s placement strategies to the U.S. Department of State by January 31, 2020.
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