New State Bill Would Dedicate Point Person for Refugee Resettlement After Incident in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls

Tuesday, January 9th, 2024 -- 9:10 AM

(Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Under a new bill, local governments would dedicate a point person to seek out and share information about refugee resettlement plans in their communities, in order to ensure elected officials and residents are informed and able to weigh in.

According to Laura Schulte with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the bill was authored and led by representatives based in the Chippewa Valley, including Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, where an unelected official recently made an offer for a resettlement agency to open an office, said Rep. Karen Hurd, R-Falls Creek.

Her hope is to get local entities of government, such as county boards, city councils and school boards, involved in the resettlement process earlier, so they're able to weigh in about the resources available to refugees.

The bill would also require a panel of designees from the county in which the settlement is proposed to issue a report, hold a public forum and then take a vote on whether the local government should pass a resolution regarding its position on the refugee placement. "You had to include the elected officials, and they weren't included and that's what really caused the whole situation to blow up," Hurd said.

In Eau Claire, World Relief, a humanitarian organization, announced in the fall its plan to open an office and resettle up to 75 people, according to reporting from WEAU 13. But residents concerned about what that could mean for their communities tried to halt the plan.

Local elected officials were not informed about the agency coming to town, and therefore were unable to answer questions during the backlash. Hurd said the legislation's goal is to stop that from happening again.

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