North Dakota county votes to accept refugees in spite of Trump's executive order allowing otherwise

Daily Kos Staff

Tuesday December 10, 2019 · 7:29 AM PST

2019/12/10 · 07:29

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On Monday, Dec. 9, one North Dakota county commission voted on whether or not to continue accepting new refugees. In a move that surprised many, the commission voted 3-2 to continue accepting new refugee resettlements, though they’re capping the total number of new refugees for 2020 at 25 people. An estimated 400 people appeared at Monday night’s meeting, held in a middle school cafeteria. An impressive number for any local government meeting, but especially so given that the entire population of the county rings in at 95,000.

“In my own mind, we would basically be writing a blank check, and somebody in Washington, D.C., or elsewhere would make a decision on how many people would come to Burleigh County and we’d have to respond,” Chairman Brian Bitner, who voted against the measure, stated at the meeting. “And that’s simply not a good way to govern.”

While Republican Gov. Doug Burgum clarified that the state of North Dakota would continue working with the federal government to place refugee resettlements where local jurisdictions accept them, Donald Trump’s executive order gives local governments an enormous amount of power—if they don’t want to accept new refugee resettlements into their jurisdictions, they don’t have to. In fact, local and state governments have until Dec. 25 to give the White House written consent that they will continue accepting refugee resettlements.

In 2019, Burleigh County received just 24 refugees. In 2018, it received only 22. If Burleigh County had voted against accepting new refugees, it would have been the first county to do so under Trump’s executive order. “People think we are lazy and just sit at home and get the government money,” Tresor Mugwaneza stated at the meeting, as reported by the Associated Press. “We are not in this country just to take your government money. We are here to work and be successful in life just like all of you.”

“We are just talking about 25 people tonight,” a business owner shared at the meeting. “We need 25,000.”

Talking about refugees in light of workers is nuanced; ethically, people deserve safe homes whether or not they contribute to the local workforce. One’s humanity doesn’t hinge on their ability to keep a job or contribute to the local economy. That said, some advocates at Monday night’s meeting argued that their local economy does, in fact, rely on immigrant labor.

“Tonight, when you leave here, go to Walmart,” one woman originally from Cameroon said. “See how many of them are stocking shelves at Walmart when you sleep. Then you will know what we are talking about.”

“This vote is being watched by the whole world,” Clay Jenkinson, a North Dakota historian, said. “It will tell us who we are.”

Here is a clip of the vote and people speaking both for and against the issue.

YouTube Video

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