Arizona Leaders Push For More Refugee Resettlements Next Year

Published: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 - 2:11pm
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The Trump administration is due any day to announce how many refugees the United States plans to accept in the new fiscal year starting in October.

The mayors of Arizona’s two biggest cities joined lawmakers from around the country to ask the U.S. resettle at least 95,000 refugees next year. The number sought is higher than U.S. refugee resettlement ceilings for last two fiscal years combined.

State data show resettlements in Arizona fell last year to the lowest level since 2003. Arizona is on pace to accept a few more refugees this year. But state numbers remain significantly down since the last year President Barack Obama set the national cap.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and other Arizona officials signed a letter urging President Donald Trump to raise the ceiling and resettle at least 95,000 refugees in the U.S. next year. The letter says the overall drop in arrivals in recent years has hurt local economies.   

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