Opposition expressed to resettlement of Syrians

A hearing in Ravalli County that drew nearly 500 people to discuss a proposed letter opposing the settlement of Syrian refugees hosted by the Ravalli County commissioners sparked discussion in Mineral County about a similar proposal.

The Ravalli County commissioners drafted the letter in response to another letter that the Missoula County commissioners had signed off on in January which supports bringing a refugee resettlement office to the area. The Missoula letter shows support for a group of volunteers in Missoula called Soft Landing, which is working to bring the International Rescue Committee to area. The IRC stated mission is to provide help for health care, learning and economic support for people in more than 40 countries as they could possibly resettle thousands of refugees in 26 U.S. cities. 

The letter written by the board in Hamilton opposed resettlement. It was addressed to the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the U.S. State Department, and declared that migration of refugees from Missoula to surrounding counties is “inevitable.”

Early last week there was an item on the Mineral County Commissioners’ agenda entitled “draft letter for opposition in regards to relocation of Syrian refugees-possible action item” for the Feb. 26 meeting. However, that item was pulled from the agenda a few days later.

Commissioner Duane Simons said Chairman Roman Zylawly asked for the removal of the issue from the agenda. Zylawly was not at the meeting due to a family emergency and could not reached for comment.

When asked if it will be on the agenda again in the future, Simons said that he didn’t know and that they will need to talk to the chairman.

Commissioner Laurie Johnston  said,“I would like to see it discussed again. We need to consider the outlying communities and the impact that it will have on us. It will stress our housing and food banks, and we already have high unemployment. Our resources are already stretched.”

The Montana Association of Counties has issued an opinion that said individual counties do not have the authority to exclude refugees.

That sentiment was echoed by Commissioner Simons, who said that he doubted that the county would have the right to say “no” to refugees settling in the area.

Three women from St. Regis attended the meeting in Superior on Friday and did not know that the item had been removed from the agenda. During the public comment portion of the meeting Laura Monfore, a veteran, and her sister, Sheila Schlueter, addressed the commissioners by opposing the resettlement of refugees. They also expressed concerns over the stress it would put on local services including the schools, hospitals, sheriff office, and welfare programs such as SNAP and LIEP. They also talked about safety concerns and that the refugees wouldn’t necessarily assimilate into the area and would bring in their own religion and beliefs.

“They don’t regard women and children the same as we do; women and children ‘belong’ to the men and are not treated very well,” said Monfore.

Dennis Hildebrand, who was also at the meeting, said that the refugees won’t be citizens and won’t be required to assimilate to our country. He then cited Sweden as an example of where an influx of refugees has not worked out very well, and how there are “red zones” where the police won’t even go because of the violence in the resettlement areas.