Communities across the metro area are making it clear that they are open to foreign refugees seeking a new start in America, with Aurora, Centennial, Littleton, Arvada and Arapahoe County among those acting on resettlement resolutions this week.
The moves come in response to an executive order issued by President Trump in September that requires state and local governments to provide written consent for resettlement to take place in their jurisdictions. Without that consent, according to Executive Order 13888, federal officials assume the state or local government is closed to refugees.
Golden, Denver and Jefferson County passed resolutions last month, according to Nina Zelic, interim vice president of refugee and community services for Lutheran Family Services. More cities and counties are expected to take similar votes next week.
Jan. 21 is the deadline for resettlement agencies to notify the U.S. State Department of communities that are open to the program.
“It’s a reflection of the spirit of welcoming in the United States,” Zelic said. “Colorado is certainly leading that spirit of welcoming.”
On Dec. 16, Gov. Jared Polis wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying “Colorado will continue to assist and resettle more refugees in our communities as long as people around the world are displaced from their home countries.”
“Having a robust refugee program ensures that we are upholding our American values of humanitarianism, freedom, and opportunity,” Polis wrote.
Jennifer Wilson, executive director of International Rescue Committee Denver, said the votes being taken at city councils and county commissions this month across the Front Range tell her that “people recognize the contribution that refugees make — culturally, socially and economically.”
That was one of the main drivers for the Arvada City Council, which on Monday passed its resolution stating it would continue to accept refugees. The suburb northwest of Denver has only taken in 15 refugees over the last two years, mostly from Russia, Belarus and Eritrea.
City Manager Mark Deven said the data the city received about refugee resettlement convinced him that there’s a net positive to the program.
“We didn’t see it as anything that would put an unreasonable stress on our resources,” he said. “We have seen that these refugees have been able to find employment, especially in construction and in industrial operations.”
According to the Colorado Department of Human Services, an average of 1,650 refugees per year have been resettled in the state since 1980. The department says that for every dollar spent by the state on refugee assistance, $1.68 is generated in industrial activity and $1.23 is returned in taxes generated by the new residents.
The bulk of refugees — 80% — settle in metro Denver, while most of the rest head to Greeley and Colorado Springs. The top countries of origin for refugees coming to Colorado in 2018 were Burma, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Congo, according to state data.
Trump’s executive order, like many of his immigration policy decisions over the first three years of his administration, is being challenged in court. Opponents say that refugee resettlement is not a local issue but rather a federal one.
The president defended his order at a rally in Minnesota in October, according to a story from National Public Radio.
“You should be able to decide what is best for your own cities and for your own neighborhoods,” the president said. “And that’s what you have the right to do right now. And believe me, no other president would be doing that.”
In addition to the executive order, Trump last year announced plans to reduce the number of refugees allowed in the United States this year to 18,000. In 2019 the cap was 30,000.
Zelic, with Lutheran Family Services, said it’s unfortunate that the president issued the executive order.
“It’s an attempt to politicize an issue that is at its heart a humanitarian issue,” she said.
