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Wednesday, September 21, 2016

South Dakota says no to federal plan for refugees

Refugees are not welcome in South Dakota. Tim Jurgens, director of Lutheran Social Services Center for New Americans, the state's only resettlement program, said it will not participate in the federal effort to resettle refugees escaping poverty and violence, citing the debate over immigration in the state, Patrick Anderson reports for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls. (Leader graphic: Number of refugees relocated in South Dakota)
"Secretary of State John Kerry told Congress about the White House’s plan Tuesday, announcing the administration’s 2017 goal of finding new homes for 110,000 refugees," Anderson writes. Jurgens said the center has no plans to increase its yearly cap of 420 newcomers, "in part because it wants to be mindful of people opposed to welcoming refugees. ... Meanwhile, the group has raised millions of dollars for a new space for its refugee services, and was awarded a $250,000 grant Thursday from the federal government to help immigrants prepare for citizenship." (Read more)

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