Photos of Arrive Ministries staff holding up county consent letters
Counties that have given approval:
Blue Earth County, Brown County, Clay County, Cook County, Dakota County, Dodge County, Goodhue County, Hennepin County, Kandiyohi County, Mower County, Murray County, Nicollet County, Nobles County, Olmsted County, Otter Tail County, Pipestone County, Pope County, Ramsey County, Rice County, Sherburne County, Steele County, Washington County, Watonwan County
Counties that have not given approval:
Beltrami County
Counties with the issue on a future agenda:
St. Louis County, Stearns County
Excerpts from Star Tribune’s 1/7/2020 publication
By Maya Rao, Star Tribune
Communities across Minnesota are still debating whether to accept refugees after a Trump administration executive order issued last fall required local approval before any resettlement.
The Trump administration’s executive order has sparked tense discussion across the state among local officials, who have voiced frustration at finding themselves thrust into the national issue. Commissioners in Kandiyohi County in western Minnesota voted 3-2 in December to accept refugees after heated debate.
Trump issued the executive order in September. Resettlement agencies must submit their placement strategies to the U.S. Department of State by the end of January, based on the letters of consent they receive. Those decisions take effect June 1. If local jurisdictions do not take action, refugees may not be placed there. But the law only applies to the initial settlement of refugees; those who have already settled in the U.S. can still move anywhere they wish.
Gov. Tim Walz, a DFLer who has spoken out against Trump’s immigration policies, submitted a letter consenting to refugees being resettled in the state, saying, “The inn is not full in Minnesota.”
