Refugee resettlement in western Wisconsin sparks backlash

The resettlement of 75 refugees in Eau Claire has generated a backlash in western Wisconsin from those who want more control over the arrival of foreigners who have fled persecution.

St. Croix County supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to pause refugee resettlement, following the lead of Chippewa County. Several other counties are pursuing similar efforts. A bill that recently passed the Wisconsin Legislature requires much wider notification about the prospect of refugees coming to a community.

While Minnesota has been resettling refugees for decades, the events in western Wisconsin offer a window into the political consequences of bringing refugees into new places, and the concerns of locals that they should have the right to say no.

“I am more convinced than ever that we need a pause. ... The whole process has just been horrible,” said St. Croix County Supervisor Mark Carlson at a March 5 meeting. He noted a shortage of affordable housing, seniors struggling to pay rent and high poverty rates in some towns. “But then we’re telling people we’re going to take more of your money and give it to people from a foreign country to come in. ... We’re not protecting the people when we do that.”

President Joe Biden raised refugee admission limits to 125,000 a year following record lows under the Trump administration, though the program struggled during the pandemic. After refugee pathways opened up again, resettlement agency World Relief looked into starting a new office in western Wisconsin.

Eau Claire City Manager Stephanie Hirsch reached out to the organization a year ago and helped set up a meeting with representatives of government, churches and employers.

She described inviting a resettlement agency as a step toward promoting the region as an attractive place to live. Half of Wisconsin’s towns have lost population since 2020 while Eau Claire is one of the fastest growing. Hirsch noted that it’s common for her to meet with those relocating to Eau Claire and not something that requires approval from officeholders, so there was no need to notify the Eau Claire County supervisors and every elected official.

“Our role was just saying we would love to have people move here and we are a fantastic place to live,” she said.

After World Relief met with others in Eau Claire over the next few months, the federal government approved the nonprofit’s plans. Local news reports revealed those plans in October, and World Relief began holding public meetings.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican from western Wisconsin, was among many who complained that the community never had a chance to weigh in before the plans were set. Most refugees for now are expected to be Karen people from Myanmar and the two Congolese nations. But a billboard went up in Eau Claire claiming taxes were funding an organization to traffic Somali refugees and questioning why the plan was hidden for months.

Citizens organized opposition and packed meetings, complaining that Hirsch had struck a deal with World Relief without giving local taxpayers any say on a program that would cost public money. The federal government supports refugees for the first 90 days, but they typically rely on local and state support for the first few years as they transition to self-sufficiency.

Matthew Bocklund, former chair of the St. Croix County GOP, and other critics say their concern is not rooted in racism or xenophobia, but about taxation without representation.

“The citizens have to ask themselves, where is the representation if we’re going to be hit with these taxes?” Bocklund said. “We look at this as a 1773 moment, like the Boston Tea Party.”

Federal law requires resettlement agencies to consult with local governments about plans to bring in refugees. A World Relief official said the federal government provided the agency with a list of stakeholders to contact about opening an office and for regular meetings about the arrivals.

The Eau Claire City Council unanimously voted to welcome refugees. An Eau Claire County resolution to pause resettlement until World Relief completes an economic impact study failed 18-9.

Emily Crane Linn, World Relief’s director of initial refugee resettlement, said she attended a meeting last month with a large group of stakeholders and leaders from the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services.

“I tried to be conciliatory to [convey] that sincerely our desire is to be collaborative, to be good neighbors, good partners, and if anyone feels as if they’ve been left out or not consulted enough, we want them to ... be involved going forward,” she said.

The controversy spurred the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly recently to pass a bill requiring that if a local official contacts or is contacted by a nonprofit or federal agency about proposed placements of refugees then it must be reported to every municipality, county and school district in a 100-mile radius. Each local government entity must put it on a meeting agenda and hear public comment.

World Relief officials said that could mean half of Wisconsin would have to be notified about just one meeting, and they and Hirsh describe it as a significant barrier to the resettlement process.

Meanwhile, Tiffany recently joined other GOP members of Congress in sponsoring a bill barring resettlement in any locality that takes legislative or executive action to disapprove it, saying that the federal government has not been consulting and coordinating with local municipalities, adequately vetting newcomers and considering the cost of services.

In 2020 in Minnesota, Beltrami County voted to bar refugee resettlement based on an executive order issued by President Donald Trump allowing local governments to do so. A federal judge blocked the action.

None of the Wisconsin actions have derailed World Relief’s plan. The organization moved in 21 refugees to Eau Claire starting in February from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

World Relief said it has no plans to resettle refugees in St. Croix County, but public comment has remained heated. Overflow crowds have packed several recent meetings in Hudson, an hour west of Eau Claire, to speak on the issue. One commenter in January declared, “I don’t want to live in a third-world hellhole,” to applause from the audience.

At another meeting last week, Bocklund stood before the 50 citizens gathered and told them, “We have the opportunity to stand up for America.”

Resident after resident stepped forward to voice concern that the government didn’t adequately screen refugees, that they would not properly assimilate, that struggling taxpayers could not bear more costs and that citizens had not been given proper say. Several immigrants also spoke in favor of pausing refugee plans, noting they had endured an expensive and lengthy process to come to America and questioned whether residents could afford to support the newcomers.

Some speakers, however, lamented the message that St. Croix County was sending.

“Most of them are just like us,” Teresa Chandler said to the board on Tuesday night. “I’m just heartbroken that we’re going to make a resolution that officially says you’re not welcome.”

As she walked out the door, one resident told her, “That’s a lie.”