Assembly Lawmakers Approve Bill that Would Require Notification of Local Elected Officials About Local Refugee Resettlement

Monday, February 26th, 2024 -- 8:00 AM

(Anya van Wagtendonk and Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio) After heated debate, lawmakers sent a bill to the governor’s desk that would require the federal government or nonprofit organizations to inform local elected officials of plans to resettle refugees within 100 miles of their communities.

According to Anya van Wagtendonk and Rich Kremer with Wisconsin Publi Radio, the GOP plan was introduced after a move to resettle 75 refugees, comprising about 20 families, in the Eau Claire area was made public.

Rep. Karen Hurd, R-Fall Creek, told WPR earlier this year local officials were caught off guard by news of conversations between Eau Claire city officials and World Relief, a Christian humanitarian organization.

“This bill is not about the pros and cons of refugee resettlement. It is not about whether we have the infrastructure. It is about a representative republic,” Hurd said during debate Thursday. “This bill is just asking for the elected officials at the state and local level to have a seat at the table.”

The proposal would also require local governments to hold public hearings about proposed refugee resettlement and to pass resolutions in support or opposition to those plans.

Democrats blasted the proposal as xenophobic. “This is legislating hate. This is legislating discrimination,” said Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison. “It is mapping out a pathway to have some of the most exclusive, and probably hateful, people have the biggest platform to deny folks who are seeking resettlement, who are wanting to build homes in Wisconsin.”

The bill passed the Assembly 62-35. It passed the state Senate Tuesday.

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