On 09/08/2021 the Community and Economic Development Committee took up Resolution #13-R-21 “Support for Resettlement of Afghanistan Parolees in Appleton”. It seems a little sad that, on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 I’m posting a recap of a meeting focused on the resettlement of refugees who are fleeing Afghanistan.
Committee Chair Matt Reed (District 8) mentioned that Alderperson Katie Van Zeeland (District 5) had requested that her name be withdrawn as a co-sponsor since she had not had a chance to look the resolution over earlier. This comes after Alderperson Brad Firkus (District 3) also asked to have his name withdrawn as a co-sponsor because he had been incorrectly listed even though he had not had the opportunity to review the resolution before it was submitted. Alderperson Reed noted this fairly late in the meeting, but it had nothing to do with the discussion about the resolution so I’m going to mention it here.
Alderperson Reed started the discussion out by asking if any of the authors of the resolution wanted to speak about it.
Alderperson Maiyoua Thao (District 7) thanked Alderperson Alex Schultz (District 9) and her other co-authors for the resolution which she fully supported. She stated that she herself was a refugee who came here when she was 12 years old and she knew what it was like to be a refugee. She didn’t know that there was an American Dream until she arrived and went to school and learned that there was an American Dream, and everyone wanted to live that American Dream. But being a refugee was terrifying and she felt it was important for us to step up as a city. Appleton has been doing that for so many years and has welcomed many refugees here. “We are doing a great job at welcoming and taking refugees in to our city, and I believe that we should continue to welcome and to take in refugees.” An example was the Hmong community which has lived here for more than 45 years. They have adapted to the culture and have become good citizens, homeowners, business owners, and educators in this community, and she believed these new refugees will also follow those steps. She asked for full support of this resolution.
Alderperson Schultz, the main sponsor of the resolution, said that they were all well aware of the circumstances surrounding the exodus of these refugees. He noted that, in this case, the refugees have been designated “parolees” because there wasn’t enough time to process visas given the rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan. He thought there was a desire to support as many of them as could be brought to the US and help them settle them into various communities. “So, this is really just a statement of support. There’s not a lot of action with the exception of asking CEDC which will—and staff—to help support whatever actions they can to make this process of accepting refugees into the community sort of as seamless as possible.”
He said that because of the designation of parolee vs refugee some support options that would be available for refugees would not be available for these people from Afghanistan. “And it’s really important that as a community we show not only verbal support but also some financial and needs support as we accept these refugees into our community.” His understanding was that the area of Appleton and Oshkosh would likely receive 100 parolees. So, in that respect, Appleton was affected and there was a direct need so the resolution was not simply a statement of support but did call for some action by city staff to do what they can to help bring these people into the city and set them up on a path for doing well in citizenship and contributing to our community.
He was grateful for the work that staff has already been doing and said, “the resolution wouldn’t even need to be done from what I understand; they were already ahead of the game.” He said he’d like to hear from staff on what the process is to bring these people into the community. He also wanted to hear from the public at some point.
Alderperson Denise Fenton (District 6) had her own statement to make and then a statement from a constituent to read. Her statement was, “So, when we debated a resolution like this, we hear the argument that this is not the work of the Common Council–that there’s no legislative action proposed and even that we might just be patting ourselves on the back by introducing resolution that makes us feel good but doesn’t actually do anything. I spoke to Director Harkness before we introduced the resolution and I was pleased to find out just how many of our city departments are represented on the joint resettlement commission. Community and Economic Development, Police, Health, and Valley Transit. I also attended the presentation by World Relief Fox Valley last week where we received the update that alderperson Schultz spoke of about the situation. One sentence in the invitation to the meeting struck me. As always, I’m reminded that World Relief is only a small part of the successful integration of our new community members with immigrant and refugee backgrounds. It is clear that our city staff is playing a big role in this integration and helping our community welcome these Afghan citizens, many of whom supported the United States in their country at no small risk to themselves and their families. I don’t agree with the argument that a resolution like this doesn’t do anything. We are making it the official policy of the city that we welcome people seeking refuge in our community and also supporting the practical work of our city staff in making it happen. I urge my colleagues on the committee to send this resolution to the Common Council with your full support. Thank you.”
She also read a letter from Jeanne Roberts (who until recently had been the president of the League of Women Voters Appleton and appears periodically at committee and Council meetings to make public comments) which said, “I understand that this committee is considering a resolution to support World Relief’s efforts to settle 100 Afghanis into the Fox Valley area. As a retired mental health counselor, I had the opportunity to work with refugees from several countries. In my work with refugees both before and after retirement, I felt honored to be in their presence and feel the strength, courage, and dignity of these people. The horrendous events that they have experienced from having a child shot off their back while they were fleeing, to having a husband and son shot in front of them, to being left alone as a child in the jungle for the greater good of the community and then [go] on–not only to survive that experience but, given the chance in a new country, to thrive and become productive citizens without any knowledge of the culture or language of their new country, shows me what kind of incredible human beings these are. Prior to being resettled, all refugees are thoroughly vetted in a process that takes at least 18 months. They are expected to become employed and self-sufficient in a very short period of time. Appleton has a history of supporting the resettlement of refugees from Laos, the Hmong, Congo, Myanmar, and more. We in Appleton should be proud of our recent history to support the refugee communities and continue to support any refugee or family and who is settled in our area and the agency that arranges for this settlement–resettlement. Thank you.”
Tammy McLaughlin, Director of World Relief Fox Valley also spoke. “We are a local affiliate of World Relief, one of 9 national agencies who contract with PRM, or the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration who falls under the Department of State. This contract is a comprehensive and well-structured program that details the requirements in the first 90 days of welcoming and reception. We have been contracted and working in the Fox Valley since our inception in 2012 and have welcomed and resettled over 1,000 refugees in the past 9 years. All of the 9 agencies and their affiliates have been asked by PRM, our contractor, to resettle 50,000 Afghans who were evacuated because of their ties to the United States and subsequent faced persecution by the Taliban. World Relief Fox Valley proposed that we would welcome 100 of the Afghan parolees to the Fox Valley. While all refugees have fled their countries for fear of persecution, war, or violence, these Afghans have experienced danger and trauma at an elevated level because of the swiftness of the demise of their government. We were told that prior to the bombing of Kabul Airport people were leaving with some belongings, but after the bombing they were arriving in in the United States with only the clothes on their backs. Because of the swift evacuation of the Afghans, they are being admitted to our country as parolees rather than refugees. This means that there are some benefits they will not receive, but it does not change the commitment of World Relief Fox Valley to this community as their resettlement agency, nor will it diminish the roles of the majority of our partner agencies. World Relief had a partners zoom call last Friday. 70 partners attended and there was overwhelming support to provide assistance to all of the Afghan community. Schools, Technical College, the City of Appleton, literacy councils, community and county agencies voiced their support. We have also been flooded by an outpouring of interest from employers throughout the Fox Valley who are interested in employing members of the Afghan community. In addition, we’ve had residents who want to become volunteers, want to donate their time, resources, want to host families. We’ve had private and public institutions and individuals reach out. We cannot keep up with the calls and emails. We are humbled—” She started to cry—”by this generosity.” She continued.” She cried some more. “So as leaders, in the community, as Council members, you represent your community. I hope you will align with the community and show your support and willingness to welcome new Afghan families. We have a small community of Afghans in Appleton who World Relief welcomed several years ago. They have family members who are still in Afghanistan and fearing they will be targeted by the Taliban, and yet they have hope that they will be reunited. These families are hard workers. Several are homeowners. Several have become citizens of the United States of America, and they are proud to call Appleton their home. Although this work is hard, it’s worthy. And as we give people who have lost everything but the clothes on their backs an opportunity to live in a safe and welcoming community, to become homeowners and citizens, to thrive and live in abundance, we thank you for what you’re doing and what you’re considering this resolution. We are counting on your support. Thank you.”
Alderperson Kristin Alfheim (District 11) said that even though she was not a cosponsor on this resolution, she 100% supported the incoming parolees and refugees. She thought that welcoming people in need was our duty as a community, and that welcoming people of different cultures was a privilege that should be embraced. However, “My issue is a little bit with the ‘Be It Further Resolved’ and so I’d like to ask a question, and the simple question is: prior to telling us what all of the organizations and city staff would be doing without this resolution, I’d like you to tell me what you’d be doing differently with the resolution.”
Karen Harkness, the Director Community and Economic Development answered, “To my knowledge, the departments and staff that are involved with it wouldn’t be doing anything different because of the resolution.”
Alderperson Alfheim said, “I just want to make sure that I understand that. So truly if the point of the resolution is to show that we are a welcoming warm loving community who want to help and want to resettle, then my question then to the committee is: is it appropriate for it to be a resolution or could we have another option in terms of a joint resolu–or joint proclamation from the mayor and the city’s council that says ‘We want you here; we welcome you here’? I just–I question if it’s a different tool that should be used to accomplish the exact same thing. That’s all I’m saying.”
Alderperson Vered Meltzer (District 2) said, “I feel that this resolution does have a call to action that is important. The welcoming piece is a very important statement to be making. When we make proclamations, they are in a timeframe, a lot of these resettlement activities aren’t happening yet, so I think that a resolution solidifies something so that it’s not just a passing flavor of the day. So, I think that that’s something that’s really important for the gravitas of the situation. I think a proclamation in addition to this, certainly would be very welcome, but I don’t think that they are the same type of action or the same type of tool. I also think that calling on, in the second ‘Be It Further Resolved’ calling on the city to facilitate rapid response housing options–while this isn’t necessarily going to change the actions that the city is taking, I think it declares a very clear priority and what Council feels is–you know, if we all agree on this resolution, it identifies what Council feels is the greatest priority among all of the different actions that city staff is already taking. Even a year ago, even when we were just waiting to see how many Congolese refugees we were going to be settling, even before we knew that this Afghan crisis was going to happen now in 2021, it was already identified that housing is a huge gap. There are huge needs for housing for resettlement of individuals, and I feel that the work that Community and Economic Development did relating to the Covid pandemic and the homeless population—I think that that’s just very—that’s very wonderful work and very inspiring and I think this resolution puts a focus on this housing issue which is a very, very important issue, and I think the biggest opportunity we have as a city to work with our partners to try and solve the problems that—identify and solve the problems that are already before us. Thank you.”
Alderperson Schultz added, “This wasn’t penned in a vacuum”. He reached out to Tammy McLaughlin of World Relief Fox Valley, and asked her, if he introduced a resolution as a statement of support, was there anything the city of Appleton could do to help assist World Relief in its endeavors, knowing that they would probably already get an outpouring of support from the community itself. Per Alderperson Schultz, Ms. McLaughlin’s response was, “the one thing we are continually challenged with is housing and housing options, so if there’s anything that Council could do to help us move that challenge forward, we would appreciate that support.” He said the “Be It Further Resolved” clause originated from the desire to help find those housing options.
Alderperson Alfheim asked Director Harkness, “Completely respectfully, because I don’t know the answer, how much control does the city have over that housing solution?”
Director Harkness appreciated the question, and said that, the city neither owns nor manages any housing options. So, what they have done, what they can do, and what they continue to do “is to put that plea out to our constituents, out to the community, and say ‘if you’re a landlord, if you own single family residential homes and you have an opportunity with openings and you want to participate, let us know, let World Relief know.” She said this was similar to the discussion that they have had regarding the city’s homeless population. She said that the city is fortunate to have had a new WHEDA tax credit project with 60 new units open this summer “But all we can do is help spotlight the need and the urgency and try to connect people, connect those resources with the organizations that are helping the refugees.”
Alderperson Alfheim asked if the city would receive any extra state or federal funding due to the Afghanis being designated as “parolees” instead of “refugees”.
Director Harkness answered, “Not that has been identified and I can further tell you—and World Relief would be able to answer this much more eloquently than I can—but because of the status of these refugees, they’re not open to many of the benefits that would come for other refugees. They get a stipend per person, that’s there to help them get on their feet.”
Alderperson Schultz asked if there was anything within the wording of the resolution that causes Director Harkness any concern, or was the comfortable with the way it was currently written.
Director Harkness said it didn’t rise to the level of a “concern”, but “I didn’t want to leave the perception that the city had any control over really impacting those housing options that are available because of the fact that we don’t own or operate any housing units.” The city can work to be a connector and collaborator which is no different than what they do in helping connect employers to employees.
She encouraged everyone to watch the video of a World Relief Zoom call that had happened that Friday. She had also provided the committee with a handout that included references and sources for how people can be a part of helping the refugees.
She mentioned a couple organizations that were interested in working with Afghani refugees and said that the Wisconsin Department of Children and Family Services is the state refugee office which is leading everything associated with the refugees. They are vetting the organizations that want to help. There’s an application process those organizations have to go through, and there are several applications currently in the queue. They have created a website to keep people informed and to collect information from partner agencies which can be found at: https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/refugee. If someone has resources to share with the refugees, such as an employer looking for workers, they can relay that information by sending an email to dcfrefugee@wisconsin.gov.
She said they were also looking for donations of new clothing and shoes for the refugees at Fort McCoy. This was a high priority right now. As World Relief indicated, many of the refugees left with nothing but the clothes on their back. The distribution process is sped up if the donated clothing is new. She said that, as of that weekend, the Department of Children and Family Services was still putting in place the process to collect the clothing, but they did have some information. [As of 09/11/2021, the DCF website still indicates that donation locations are limited.]
She also wanted to say that, as had already been pointed out, the Community and Economic Development Department would not be the only ones working with refugees. They have a long and very strong relationship with World Relief and wanted to honor that collaboration. Additionally, the Health Department, Valley Transit, and the Diversity Equity and Inclusion coordinator would be involved.
Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) said, “I would like to thank the authors of this resolution for bringing the discussion that we are having right now to the table. I think this—what we are providing, what Director Harkness has just provided to the public—we as alderpersons can provide to our constituents. These are the most important things that come from this resolution. But I agree with Alderperson Alfheim that I think that this is better suited as a—not as a resolution but as a, what was the word, Kris?’
After Alderperson Alfheim jogged her memory by saying, “Proclamation,” Alderperson Hartzheim continued, “—as a proclamation. And I think that it should be a joint proclamation of the Common Council and the mayor of the city. So, obviously, I’m not a member of this committee, but that would be my recommendation, and I think that that would be an important thing for us all as a city to proclaim. Thank you.”
Alderperson Nate Wolff (District 12) said “So, I just want to say for the record that sometimes proclamations are said and then they disappear and not many people hear them. I can think of one that happened a few years ago that I didn’t hear about, but it was important to me. And then I found out about it a few months later, which is not very helpful. And when we do resolutions, it gets a conversation started within the community. So, resolutions are important for our community to start that conversation, to gain media, you know, attention, to get more attention from the community. I start speaking up about it, and then we can push more attention and find more resources within our community because of that attention that we brought. So, resolutions can be incredibly important, and can be more effective than proclamations, even this meeting brought more attention than a proclamation in a few weeks would have brought.”
Usually, public comment happens at the beginning of a meeting and it’s not entirely clear why during this meeting they kind of just slipped into discussing the resolution without holding public comment first. There was, however, a member of the public present who had come to speak and, at this point, she was invited to speak. Ronna mentioned that she had been coming to meetings for about 45 years “so some of you do know me. Thank you for wearing masks, I greatly appreciate it. I wear mine to protect you and I thank you for wearing yours. Regarding–let’s take one thing at a time. First of all, the proclamation is something that Mayor Jake could do once they get here, and then it would be timely to welcoming them once they’re starting to settle in. Right now, the resolution you as the elected officials representing districts like Kris is representing mine—and we don’t necessarily agree on this one but she’s doing a great job and she’s entitled to say what she wants to. But I do think that a resolution is extremely important. I want to make sure that you all understand that the use of the word ‘parolee’ is very confusing. That is a government term, having taught at Oshkosh Correctional for 15 year I know what a parole agent and being on parole is about. These people have been very extremely vetted. I don’t have the slightest concern about any of them coming into our community and I’m eager to welcome them. You all have a letter from me. I changed my mind about not coming—because I haven’t been going out in public places—about 10 minutes to 4 when I heard that the Washington Post did a survey just in the last few days and 68% of our country is very eager to welcome the refugees. I was involved when the Hmong came many years ago, and I have been amazed at how they have maintained their culture, they have become part of us, and they have worked their way into government. Thank you. And this is what I would expect eventually will happen with the Afghanistani people. It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a city to welcome refugees or a valley. And we’ve had enough racial issues in the last couple of years where things have come up and our minority population is growing. Some of my ancestors, Sheri, were refugees and I look white. So, it was easier for me to be assimilated than it would be for a person of color. So, we even have more work to do here. Some of you know that I have been very involved with the Congolese refugee community in the last two years, and I have been honored by becoming a part of one family in particular that now has a Habitat home. These people started work as soon as they got here. They are working–the dad is working double shifts. They’re now living in a Habitat house. They have worked their way through the ranks and they are part of the community. We now, I believe, as human beings and during this particular, troubling times, have a responsibility to go out of our way to be welcoming to anybody that is looking to come here. Thank you.”
Alderperson Thao said that she would also like to keep this as a resolution and would like it to be supported as a resolution.
Alderperson Brad Firkus weighed in. “I just want to say that we can debate over a process and about whether this should be a resolution or a proclamation, but I think when we do that, we lose focus on what this is about and we make it about ourselves. And I don’t think that anyone’s really served by that. I can understand having preferences and that’s totally fine, but I think we should really try and stick to what this resolution is about and this time not make it about the Council and our drama. Thank you.”
Alderperson Reed said that he was encouraged the hear about people already reaching out to help and offer resources, time, and homes. “So, whenever this happens, I hope that we do this the right way—as a country I mean—vetting thoroughly. I hope that is done the correct way, and I look forward to what we can do here to welcome these people.”
Alderperson Alfheim thought the conversation had been wonderful and that every comment that had been made by staff, Council, and the public had been positive. “I don’t think there’s meant to be any politics in this. I do, however, take issue with the final paragraph because even if we say it’s not intended to cause any change, it does actually say we expect you to put this on top of the priorities and there are price tags that come with that. And I think that at the committee—I’m just uncomfortable with that paragraph. So, whether it’s intended or not, I do believe it’s in there; that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help. It means that I trust the city to continue to do everything in their power and use the resources that they have as they’re supposed to. I think that it is not appropriate for us to say at the end, let’s trump everything else in the city’s budget to do it, and I think that could be implied that way. So, my only request is that we pass it unanimously without the final paragraph. Just leave it is as ‘As a city, we want you. We will do our very best.’ But I think that we have to take that last paragraph off because it does imply that it’s going to be a bigger part, and I don’t think that we have the right to do that. I think that we have to trust the staff to do what they’re supposed to do. So, I would support it wholeheartedly, just taking off the final ‘Be It Further Resolved’.”
Her motion to amend failed for lack of a second.
The committee then voted on the unamended resolution and unanimously recommended it for approval.
[All in all, it sounds like this resolution is being used as a way to raise awareness and that the alderpersons are not expecting it to prompt any specific changes to how the city is already responding to the relocation. Although Alderperson Alfheim’s amendment failed, it does seem like it might be good to double check with the Attorney’s Office and make sure that this resolution, as written, will not inadvertently create unexpected legal obligations for the city.]
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=884738&GUID=58DB58C0-5DF8-4C50-A7A0-B6FB9613036C
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