Trump lets states, cities refuse refugees for first time in U.S.

SAN DIEGO >> When President Donald Trump dramatically slashed the number of refugees allowed into the U.S., he also gave state and local governments the authority to refuse to accept them for the first time in history.

Last week’s move could further undermine a program that has seen an 80% drop in the number of refugees allowed in under Trump, who has pushed to limit both legal and illegal immigration. If governors or lawmakers want to close the door, it could hurt towns with aging populations that have come to rely on young refugees to revitalize their economies.

While conservative states such as Texas and Tennessee have sued to halt refugee resettlement or demand compensation for the costs, the mayors of more liberal cities such as Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Nashville have publicly welcomed more people fleeing danger in their home countries.

Trump’s executive order again thrusts states and cities into immigration policy, willingly or not, like when they had to decide whether to work closely with federal deportation officers or become “sanctuaries” that limit cooperation.

The change was announced at the same time Trump cut the number of refugees to 18,000 next year, the lowest level since Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980.

Trump’s order says the federal government and local officials were not coordinating well and the administration was respecting communities that can’t take in refugees. Refugees have the right to move anywhere in the United States once they’re resettled.

But the new authority for state and local governments could lead to disruptions, disputes and delays, further chipping away at the U.S. resettlement program. The program has long enjoyed bipartisan support and was considered a model for protecting the world’s most vulnerable people because of close coordination with communities that welcomed refugees, advocates say.

“This order is in effect a state-by-state, city-by-city refugee ban and it’s unAmerican and wrong,” said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a Maryland-based Jewish nonprofit group that helps refugees worldwide find safety and freedom. “Is this the kind of America we want to live in? Where local towns can put up signs that say, ‘No Refugees Allowed’ and the federal government will back that?”

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney, a Democrat, said he hopes North Dakota’s Republican governor keeps the door open. He said his city has 500 job vacancies and needs refugees to grow the economy.

The city was receiving as many as 600 refugees annually until Trump’s restrictions. Last year, Fargo got fewer than 100.

“I think a lot of mayors will tell you that we’re on the front lines and we need people in our communities,” Mahoney said.