There is still room at the inn in West Virginia.
That is, refugees are still welcome in the Mountain State, according to Gov. Jim Justice.
We’re unsure if it was the season that moved him or the fact, as he admitted, refugees who have resettled here since 1978 have become productive citizens.
Whatever it was last week that helped him reach this decision we applaud him for agreeing to continue accepting refugees in light of an offer by the Trump administration that lets states halt resettlement.
That executive order — issued by President Trump on Sept. 26 — lets states opt out of refugee resettlement.
Though refugees granted legal entry into our country could have still moved to West Virginia despite Justice’s decision, they would not have been eligible for funding for medical and employment assistance, and English language training, etc.
To date, no state has agreed to accept Trump’s offer to no longer accept refugees for reasons we can only guess at, but what’s telling is nearly half the states have rejected the offer.
In September, the Trump administration also slashed for the third time the number of refugees fleeing war, persecution and extreme poverty into America.
From 50,000 to 30,000 to 18,000, the limit marks the lowest number of refugees allowed into our country since the modern refugee program was established in 1980.
During the last year of the Obama administration some 110,000 refugees were resettled in the U.S.
Justice soft-pedaled Trump’s executive order by thanking him for his consideration of states’ rights to remain in his good grace.
It should also be noted that only 10 refugees were resettled in West Virginia in 2019 fiscal year, according to the Pew Research Center.
Still, knowing that the numbers of refugees are if anything continuing to increase and the vast majority are women and children, it’s not enough.
Let’s be clear, it’s a positive thing what Justice is doing to help these refugees to our state, but it’s a shame, we help so few.
The governor has reached out to numerous faith-based charities and houses of worship to meet on the future of refugee resettlement.
We urge the governor at that future meeting to not only accept more refugees into our state but to lobby the president to increase the limits on refugees.
It’s also a shame that rather than welcome these “poor … huddled masses,” not to mention, those with exemplary educations and skills, that we would bar the door to them.
This should not be some kind of holiday gesture of humanitarianism, either.
It’s a constant moral and ethical obligation for all seasons to provide room at the “inn.”
