Tiffany bill would allow local governments to reject refugee resettlements

Northwoods U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has introduced legislation that would prohibit the resettlement of refugees in any state or local jurisdictions that take action to formally disapprove of those resettlements.

Sponsoring the legislation with Tiffany (R-Minocqua) were Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin), Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee), and Lance Gooden (R-Texas).

The Community Assent for Refugee Entry Act — or CARE Act — would prohibit the resettlement of refugees in any state or locality that takes legislative or executive action formally disapproving the resettlement within their jurisdiction.

Tiffany says the legislation would bring transparency to Wisconsinites in communities, such as in the Chippewa Valley, that were kept in the dark about recent resettlement plans, and he says it would give local jurisdictions, governors, and state legislatures the final word in planned resettlements.

“Local and state governments should not be forced by the federal government to resettle refugees; they deserve a say in the process,” Tiffany said. “The lack of public input and transparency regarding refugee resettlements has already fueled significant controversy in Wisconsin, and this commonsense legislation will give Wisconsinites a meaningful voice in refugee resettlements.”

Under the legislation, the resettlement of any refugee would be prohibited in any state where the governor of that state, or the state legislature, has taken any action formally disapproving of resettlement in that state; or in any locality where the chief executive of that locality’s government, or the local legislature, has taken any action formally disapproving of resettlement in that locality.

In the Legislature, too

While Tiffany has been working on a federal bill, Republicans in the state legislature have been advancing legislation of their own, which has now passed the Assembly and the Senate and awaits the governor’s signature, which isn’t expected to come.

One of the bill’s authors in the Assembly, state Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Fall Creek), has emphasized that the legislation “ensures that elected officials, the people’s representatives at the local level, are part of the consultation process when refugees are being placed.” 

The bill’s Senate lead, Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee), said a large influx of people can crush a small community’s infrastructure and way of life. 

“Wisconsinites should know who is making decisions on their behalf and how they can share their concerns,” Tomczyk said. “This bill is a no-brainer for anyone who values the input of their neighbors.”

More specifically, the bill puts a process in place for refugee resettlement situations.

According to Hurd, federal law requires the federal government to consult with state and local governments before refugee placement; however, she testified at a recent hearing, with whom they consult was not previously spelled out in federal law. Hurd said that creates an environment in which only a small minority of local governments potentially impacted by the placement might know that a placement is being considered or about to take place. 

“Therefore, the federal government could consult with one staff person or one local governmental unelected official despite multiple people and governments being critical stakeholders,” she testified. “The required consultation by the federal government does not ensure adequate public or local government stakeholder awareness and engagement.”

Hurd said the initial motivation for the bill came after Eau Claire city officials unilaterally coordinated with World Relief to resettle 75 refugees in the Chippewa Valley without consulting other local stakeholders or the general public.

“In order to protect the authority, jurisdiction and consultation rights of local governmental bodies in regards to federal refugee resettlement efforts, [the bill] establishes a process of notification that is concise, easy to implement, and manageable,” she testified. “As counties are the primary funding source in local regions for Health and Human Services — services with which the refugees would need to access after the initial 90 day period of federal assistance runs out — the bill establishes a county committee comprised of a selected representative from each affected local governmental body within the respective affected county.”

Due to the infrequent nature of refugee resettlement, Hurd said, a designee/committee is only required once a governmental body has been notified of possible resettlement in their jurisdiction.

“It is important to note that [the bill] establishes a process for communication,” she said. “It does not address nor is it intended to address the merits of refugee resettlement, impact to the economy, impact on law enforcement, schools, or county/municipal services, or pro/con impact on the citizens of the community. Those areas of evaluation are left to the local elected governmental bodies to assess. This bill simply allows elected local governmental officials notification as they are key stakeholders in the refugee resettlement process.”

The vote was party line, with Democrats opposing the measure, which prompted State Rep. Joy Goeben (R-Hobart) to say that Democrats opposed local control and transparency.

“After the debate in the Assembly, it is clear that the Democrats want local leaders, elected representatives, and the locals kept in the dark when it comes to the federal government looking to relocate refugees into Wisconsin communities,” Goeben said. “Common sense dictates that a local community, their leaders, and public safety officers should at least have prior knowledge and input into the plans for relocation.”

At the public hearing on the state bill, Eau Claire resident Fred Kappus pointed out that it was an unelected city manager in Eau Claire who began efforts aimed at resettling refugees. 

“She did not inform the entire city council of her efforts,” Kappus testified. “She did inform the Eau Claire county administrator of the resettlement efforts. The unelected county administrator did not inform any members of the county board of these efforts. Nor did she inform the Eau Claire County sheriff of plans to resettle foreign refugees in Eau Claire.”

For seven months, Kappus said, elected officials as well as the public were not informed of those plans and preparations until a local TV station broke a story about the refugee resettlement efforts in October. 

“World Relief, the non-governmental organization who is working with the city manager, is paid $1,700 per refugee that is resettled,” he testified. “So, for them this is a profit-making venture. World Relief receives federal taxpayer funding of $1,125 to pay living expenses for the resettled refugees for 90 days.”

After that, Kappus said, the refugees will be supported by county taxpayers via the Human Services Department. 

“The complete lack of transparency by these unelected officials is appalling,” Kappus said. “Especially when you consider the social and financial impacts of such resettlement that will impact the county human services budget, costs to the school system, hospitals, health providers, law enforcement and the community as a whole.”

Kappus underscored that the city of Eau Claire has a considerable homeless population, with 227 children in Eau Claire schools that are homeless.

“That number will continue to grow throughout the rest of the school year,” he said. “Homelessness is straining the homeless shelters, food pantries and Human Services budget. We should take care of our own people, especially the children before resettling refugees from the other side of the world.”

Apparently, Kappus said, the unelected city manager and unelected county administrator feel they know better than elected officials.

Opposition

Not everyone was on board with the legislation. Ragen Shapiro, legislative advisor with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF), testified against the bill.

“Resettlement agencies are engaged in the very difficult and emotionally taxing job of managing every aspect of local resettlement and are already required to meet numerous state and federally imposed administrative requirements,” Shapiro said. “DCF/Bureau of Refugee Programs (BRP) mandate is to ensure successful resettlement by helping refugees get jobs, enroll in classes, and provide countless other services.”

Requiring additional consultations would divert time and resources from this crucial work, Shapiro said.

“[The bill] would create a complicated patchwork of community-by-community refugee policies which would undermine the validity of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program,” she testified. “The proposed legislation is reminiscent of Executive Order 13888, which would have allowed state and local governments to deny refugee resettlement in their communities. The order was blocked by a federal judge for violating congressional intent.”

The proposed legislation runs counter to Wisconsin’s long-standing history of honoring and preserving the integrity of the refugee resettlement process that was established nearly 50 years ago, Shapiro said.

“Moreover, many refugees have been separated from their families for extended periods of time,” she testified. “Communities may receive notification months in advance of an individual’s approval for resettlement, but notification of travel arrangements may come with less than a week’s notice, which would not work with the timeline of the consultation process mandated by the bill.”

In addition, Shapiro testified, DCF is concerned that the bill would cause refugees and immigrants throughout the state to fear for their safety and well-being as the bill “could potentially be inflammatory for anti-immigrant and anti-refugee groups in the state.”

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.