EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — Stephanie Hirsch remembers when she was growing up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in western Wisconsin. The city was welcoming to Hmong refugees from Southeast Asia.
So Hirsch, who is now the city manager of Eau Claire, said she was shocked by the hostility, fear, and anger she saw last fall when people learned that a few dozen refugees would be coming to the town of about 70,000 legally.
There was false information on a sign about how many people were coming and where they were coming from from those who were against the resettlements, and a city meeting was packed with people who were against them.
Hirsch said, “It’s hard for me to understand that fear.” “I don’t agree with being scared of people from other cultures at all.” I’m actually really excited about it.
But Fred Kappus, who had lived in Eau Claire all his life, thought the city should focus on other things.
Kappus, vice chair of the Eau Claire Republican Party, said, “We really should take care of the homeless problem before we bring in people from other places.”
Tensions are rising over the settling of refugees in Eau Claire. This has happened in many other midsize towns across the U.S. On Tuesday, Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance held a campaign rally against immigration.
Vance and former President Donald Trump have been using harsh language against immigrants as part of their campaign.
Vance said on Tuesday that illegal immigration has killed people and destroyed parts of the country, even in places like Wisconsin that are not near the border with Mexico.
He says that problems like the flow of drugs are the fault of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. He also says that he and Trump will protect the border and “put Americans first.”
Vance said, “Every town is a border state.” “Every neighborhood is a border neighborhood.”
The Ohio senator has also kept spreading lies that Haitian refugees in Springfield, Ohio are stealing and eating pets. He does this to bring attention to Harris’ immigration policies as the Democratic candidate for president. Officials say that there have been no reliable or in-depth reports about the claims.
When asked about it Tuesday, Vance said it was okay to talk about the rumors in Springfield.
Vance said, “I haven’t made anything up.” “I did nothing but listen to what other people had to say.”
Vance said he wants to go to Springfield and talk to people there, but right now that wouldn’t be good for the city.
Fight for a ‘blue wall’ state
Western Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan are “blue wall” states both parties think they must win to win the White House. Vance campaigned in Michigan Tuesday before Wisconsin.
A regional economic hub 90 miles east of Minneapolis, it’s always Democratic. In November, margins of victory may matter in this county. Wisconsin and 2020 went to Democrats, and Biden beat Trump by 11 points. Trump lost the county by 7 points in 2016, but won Wisconsin.
In his speech, Vance mentioned Trump’s plan to deport illegal immigrants, drawing applause. He ignored Eau Claire resettlement. He added that “overrun” immigration had raised rents, car insurance, healthcare, and school costs.
Immigration has split Eau Claire and its neighbors.
Republicans pushed state and federal laws to give local communities more involvement when it was reported a year ago that 75 refugees escaping war or persecution would arrive in Eau Claire, representing 0.10 percent of the population.
A false billboard accused Eau Claire municipal leaders of utilizing government funds to “traffic Somali refugees” and concealing the plot, even though no Somalis were resettled. An overflow crowd at an Eau Claire County Board meeting opposed the relocation, but the board rejected a suspension resolution.
Republican critic Kappus claimed resettlements and refugee origins were initially “total and complete lack of transparency”.
City manager Hirsch thinks newcomers don’t require public hearings.
“Thousands of people move to Eau Claire annually,” she said. People moving to Eau Claire is common.”
World Relief, a humanitarian aid group founded by the National Association of Evangelicals, has settled 77 refugees in Eau Claire since February, half from the DRC, RRC, and CAR and others from Venezuela and Colombia, said Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy. Five Somalis live in Barron with family.
World Relief expects 100 to 125 more refugees to arrive in Eau Claire in the federal budget year starting Oct. 1, at the same rate as February.
Bill Berg, 73, said, “It’s a minority that disagrees with refugee resettlement.” He spent most of his life in Eau Claire.
“It’s ‘the other,’” he said Tuesday when asked why some opposed it. It’s always ‘the other.’”
He dubbed Eau Claire “welcoming” and welcomed refugees.
He said, “Half of my family are of other races, which I think is good.”
Refugee resettlement cap increased under Biden
After tough times, World Relief, one of 10 voluntary organizations that collaborate with the State Department and the UN refugee agency to transfer refugees to the U.S. after intensive vetting, has expanded.
President Joe Biden upped the refugee cap to 125,000 in the budget year ending Sept. 30 from 18,000 under Trump in 2020, the lowest since 1980.
Over 84,000 refugees entered the US from Oct. 1 to Aug. 31, falling short of the 125,000 cap. Wisconsin accepted 1,500, one-third from the dangerous and unstable Democratic Republic of Congo.
World Relief expanded in Eau Claire, Austin, Baltimore, and Scott County, Iowa, over the past year, Soerens said. After settling refugees in Appleton, Wisconsin, for almost a decade, the group looked for another location with jobs and a welcoming culture. They consulted police, schools, employers, and churches.
Soerens claimed Eau Claire “rose to the top” because the municipal government was keen.
Hirsch wrote to the U.S. State Department last year that Eau Claire had a 3.5% unemployment rate, plenty of job prospects, and “a long history of welcoming refugees.”
But backlash ensued.
Kappus, who has always resided in Eau Claire, believes western Wisconsin voters are most concerned about immigration.
Kappus stated, “Fentanyl is a problem here in west-central Wisconsin and Eau Claire. “It all returns to open borders.”
Like other resettlement services, World Relief provides temporary food, rent, clothing, furniture, school enrollment, and job searches.
That’s different from Springfield, Ohio, where many Haitians have Temporary Protected Status, which prevents deportation to hazardous countries due to natural catastrophes or civil violence. Refugees can become citizens, unlike TPS recipients.
Hirsch said Eau Claire, the fastest-growing community in northern Wisconsin, attracts individuals from small towns and big cities, those escaping warmer regions, and foreigners.
“We’re happy to have people come to the community whether they’re Congolese refugees or vice president candidates,” she said. “We want a welcoming community.”