Shrinking small towns in U.S. see hope in refugees
Newcomers would help fill housing, aid the local economy.
RUTLAND, VT. — Mayor Christopher Louras sees trouble ahead for this small city of about 16,000 at the foot of the Green Mountains.
“I t ’s a s t r o n g , v i b r a n t community but unless we do something to stem the population decline, we’re going to be in big, big trouble,” Louras said. “And it’s not just Rutland. Rutland is a microcosm of the state and small towns around the country.”
But the mayor sees a quick fix. He’s asked Vermont’s resettlement agency to send refugees to Rutland, and says they would help fill vacant housing and entrylevel jobs to keep the economy moving.
It’s an approach small t owns f ro m Mont a n a t o Georgia are increasingly considering as they grapple with shrinking and aging populations.
The mayors of Central Falls, R.I.; Clarkston, Ga.; and Haledon, N. J., joined big- c it y mayors last year in signing a letter saying they had accepted Syrian refugees and would take more. And as some governors and members of Congress c alled for a halt to the arrival of refugees from Syria, the mayors of Normal, Urbana and Evanston in Illinois; Socorro, Texas; and Clearfield City, Utah, signed a letter that noted “the importance of continuing to welcome refugees to our country and to our cities.”
Few refugees have resettled in Montana since 1991. But with Missoula Mayor John Engen’s suppor t , a branch of the International Rescue Committee opened its doors and the group has arranged to help settle 100 Congolese refugees, who are expected to start arriving this month.
The decision to seek refugees, especially Muslims from Syria, can be a political lightning rod. The mayor of Sandpoint, Idaho — population 7,800 — proposed welcoming Syrian refugees when he was sworn in, in January, but withdrew the idea the same month after raucous protests.
B u t t h e r e ’s a g r owi n g sense among local officials, especially in small towns, that refugees have something to offer the economy, said Eskinder Negash, a for- mer director of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.
“Ever y t i me a re f ugee rents an apartment, every time a refugee shops for food, there’s some income coming in for the city and going into the tax base,” said Negash, now a senior vice president of the U.S. Committee for Refugee s and Immigrants, a network of groups that help resettle refugees around the country. “There’s a new realization that refugees can be an economic engine for some of these small communities.”
Small towns and rural areas across the U.S. have been losing population since 2010, though the losses have shrunk to 4,000 a year in 2 015 from an average of 33,000 a year earlier in the decade, according to a May report from the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture. was too low. And local busi
In many areas, refugees nesses say they have a hard have hel ped t o of f s et or time recruiting entry-level reverse the losses. workers.
About 350 refugees set“We don’t have enough tled in Fargo, N.D., last year, employees,” said Tyler Richmostly from Somalia, Iraq ardson, an assistant direcand Bhutan. And they have tor of the Rutland Economic contributed to strong popuDevelopment Corp. “There’s lation and economic growth, a desperation as to what’s said Fargo’s mayor, Dr. Tim the next step, how to attract Mahoney. people to this region, how
“Our refugees have come we fill these positions.” in and brought a lot to our Louras says refugee famcommunity,” Mahoney said. ilies would help fill vacant “They opened a mosque, housi ng a nd e nt r y- l eve l and people c ame in and j o b s , a n d p rov i d e more said, ‘Oh, this i s just like diversit y that could help a Lutheran social. There’s attrac t young families to food.’ ” an aging, overwhelmingly
About 70,000 refugees white community. were resettled in the United After considering other States last year. Iraq and cities in the state, the VerB u r ma were t h e l a r ge s t mont Refugee Resettlement sources, with a combined Program, the local affiliate 31,000 people. About 1,700 of the USCRI, recommended were from Syria; the Obama that 100 Syrian refugees be administration announced sent to Rutland. The group is last year it wants to ramp awaiting approval from the the number up to 10,000 U.S. State Department, and this year. the refugees could begin to
Across Vermont, a shrinkarrive in November, said Staing and aging population, cie Blake, director of govlow unemployment, and ernment and community a struggle to find workers relations for USCRI. are hinder ing economic A vo l u n t e e r o r g a n i z a - pro gre ss, according to a tion, Rutland Welcomes, report this year by the Verhas sprung up, with more mont Chamber Foundation’s than 700 volunteers who Vermont Futures initiative. have broken into commit“Vermont will need to find tees to learn Arabic and plan a way to attract and retain for welcoming and cultural qualified workers,” another exchange events, said Marreport found. sha Cassel, a high school
Rutland has lost more French teacher who is part than 100 people every year of the volunteer group’s this decade, according to informal leadership. census estimates. But not everyone in town
The median age in Rutagrees that refugees are the l a n d C ount y i s 4 6. 2 , u p answer. from 44.3 in 2010 and more Seven of the 11 members than eight years above the on the Rutland Board of national median age of 37.8 Aldermen signed a letter last year. aski ng t he St at e Depar t -
Unemployment was 3.6 ment not to send refugees. percent in the area as of Val e r i e Fusco, 76, has May, whi c h L o u r a s s a i d lived in the area since she was 9 years old and raised three children who did well in Rutland. But that was the last generation that stayed here, she said.
“The young couples, if t hey ’ re l ucky, go t o c ol - lege and move on because t here’s nothing here for them. Where are the jobs we’re going to give these new people? I have nothing against them, but we should take care of our own first,” Fusco said.
Small towns don’t always have to actively seek refugees. Around 2000, Lewiston, Maine, found itself a preferred destination for Somali Bantu refugees who were initially relocated in more urban areas around the country.
“They were searching for something that felt a little smaller and more intimate, a little more manageable,” said Catherine Besteman, an anthropolo gy professor at Colby College who has written about the Lewiston refugees.
Alarmed by the pace of arrivals, then-mayor Laurier Raymond Jr. wrote a letter in 2002 asking Somalis to stop coming, sparking demonstrations and counter-demonstrations. But a subsequent mayor, Larry Gilbert, said at a U.S. Senate hearing in 2011 that the Somalis had brought “new life and energy” to Lewiston. Besteman agreed.
“Lisbon Street (in Lewiston) had a lot of empty storefronts, and now it’s full of Somali cafes, translation agencies, a mosque,” B e s t e man s a i d. “Pe o pl e think of large urban areas when they think of immigration and refugees, but I think small towns may be where we should be looking.”