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Refugee resettlement in Kentucky has been significantly lower during the past 12 months than it was during the previous federal fiscal year. The number of refugees arriving in the Commonwealth has dropped by more than 50 percent according to the Kentucky International Center based in Warren County.
The United States temporarily suspended resettlement programs in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kentucky-based International Center had no new arrivals from March through early August. This year, the center was only able to resettle 162 refugees during the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Many of those refugees are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
During the federal fiscal year that ended around this time last year, 459 refugees were resettled in Bowling Green and more than 1,000 were resettled throughout Kentucky. Last year, the Commonwealth was the fifth highest rate of refugee resettlement in the nation. This year, Kentucky is sixth.
The executive director of the International Center, Albert Mbanfu, said he is not sure whether the decline in refugee arrivals was caused by the pandemic or by Trump administration policy. He says it has been difficult to plan and keep refugees informed due to a lack of guidance from state and federal officials.
“They look up to give them an explanation, to give them cause for hope, and I can’t. And I feel so frustrated in a situation like that, ”Mbanfu said.
“I have been a torment in my life. I’ve had horrible experiences, ”said Mbanfu, a native of Cameroon. “So, I understand where these people come from…. I really know…. what they are going through. “
During a digitally held quarterly meeting on Wednesday, Mbanfu expressed his frustrations, but said that although the community faces difficulties, it is still hopeful for the fiscal year that begins October 1.
He also said the center was told that refugee resettlement will continue in 2021, although the number of refugees entering the country has not been determined, and it is unclear what the Trump administration will do after the November elections.
Mbanfu said that next year, regardless of the outcome of the elections, he would like the federal government to be clear about the number of refugees arriving and to increase the number of people who are allowed to enter the United States.
