Vt. city reels after halt to refugee program

RUTLAND, Vt. — Bags of goods still wait for more than 20 refugee families who will most likely never arrive in this southern Vermont city struggling to reinvent itself.

A group called Rutland Welcomes collected the supplies over the past months and stored them in the warehouse of a local food co-op. The group formed to support the designation of Rutland as a host city for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Mayor Chris Louras has been a champion of the initiative, which he has framed as both a humanitarian necessity and a way to bring needed diversity to his community. But a draft executive order released Wednesday by President Trump curtailed the nation's refugee program and means that the two families who arrived here last week will likely be the city's last, Louras said. The city had been approved for 25 families in September.

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Hunter Berryhill, a spokesman for Rutland Welcomes, said the group knew there was a possibility the plan might be in jeopardy after Trump's election, given his campaign rhetoric, but chose to move forward anyway.

"I feel bad for the 91 human beings who have been denied the opportunity to find safe harbor," he said Thursday afternoon.

He said the group was still figuring out next steps but will make sure the donated supplies get to people who need them. They will also ensure the two families who are already here feel safe and supported, he said, and there's always hope in the future.

"We are an excellent community for resettlement," he said. "We have been deprived."

Jennie Gartner, another organizer for Rutland Welcomes, said they are planning a rally for Saturday afternoon.

"We'll fight back any way we know how," she said.

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William Notte, the president of the Board of Aldermen, said he was disappointed that after Rutland had endured months of often-divisive debate about bringing in refugees, the president ended the entire process with a stroke of his pen.

"Rutland's people were ready to embrace this, ready to make this work," he said.

Louras first proposed the idea of making the community a host for refugees in April 2016. A grassroots group, Rutland First, sprung up in opposition. They voiced concerns about the city's ability to bear financial burdens associated with refugees and brought in national speakers to discuss security concerns. Some aldermen criticized Louras, saying he left them out of the decision-making process. The aldermen voted 7-3 to send a letter to the State Department stating that they felt uncomfortable supporting refugee resettlement.

Attempts to reach organizers of Rutland First on Thursday were unsuccessful. One community member who had been a vocal opponent to the Syrian resettlement on fiscal grounds declined comment for this story.

"Some people in Rutland are applauding," Notte said on Thursday. "Some people in Rutland feel this is Trump saving Rutland."

The people opposed to the refugee resettlement were a vocal minority, Notte said.

Notte said he was unsure if anything could be done to change the administration's decision, but he hoped the debate over the refugees would inspire people to become more involved in their community and local politics.

That's true for Rebecca Mattis, who was outside the co-op on Thursday collecting signatures of support for her first run for local office — a seat on the Board of Aldermen.

Mattis felt motivated after the aldermen's vote to send the letter to the State Department in July, which she said did not reflect the views of the City of Rutland. "I'm devastated," she said, about the news that the refugee resettlement could be halted.

Follow Jess Aloe on Twitter: @jess_aloe