From Staff Reports

Western North Carolina is being considered as a resettlement site for refugees by the International Rescue Committee, a global aid and humanitarian organization.

IRC representatives met on June 29 with local residents at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville to discuss the feasibility of relocating about 150 people fleeing persecution in their home countries to the Asheville region.

If plans move forward, the first household could arrive as early as next spring, J.D. McCrary, executive director of the IRC office in Atlanta, told the gathering of more than 50 people. Other refugees would then arrive over the ensuing 12 months, he said.

The majority of refugees now being resettled domestically are Congolese, Bhutanese, Burmese, Afgani and Iraqi, although there are likely to be more Syrians in the near future, McCrary said.

In response, an Asheville Tea Party newsletter dated July 8 contended that the IRC “is salivating to place at least 150 Syrian refugees in our community.” The ATP later held a meeting to discuss member concerns and to involve them “to stop refugee placement in our area.”

The ATP noted that “if we get an Office of Refugee Resettlement within 50 miles of our (Asheville) community, contractors, like churches and non-profits, can begin the process” of resettlement. 

“Asheville is the target for such an office. This is where we are!” The ATP also called the program “expensive, secretive, risky and unfair.” 

Conversely, McCary said at the June 29  meeting that any refugee resettlement in the Asheville area would likely follow national trends, meaning Syrians would not predominate.

“We’re very interested in hearing what you have to say and the questions that you have,” McCrary said. “That’s our real reason for being here — exploring if the community is good for refugees. Are refugees good for the community?

“If both of those don’t line up, then we would probably continue looking for new sites elsewhere. It has to be a community that is welcoming.”

The IRC has been speaking with city and county officials, as well as others including the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, McCrary said.

On June 29,  David Gantt, chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, confirmed to local news media that he had met briefly with the group.

Meanwhile, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer told local news media on June 29 that she had not met with IRC officials.

The IRC — a nonprofit agency — bills itself as a group that responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises by helping people in need survive, recover and gain control of their future.

It reported providing $11.8 million in cash and asset transfers to more than 75,600 refugees and displaced households last year. In the United States, the agency helped resettle nearly 10,000 refugees in 2015.

The IRC will decide if Asheville can serve as a potential resettlement site early this month. It will then submit a proposal to the U.S. Department of State. The federal agency will confer with North Carolina officials on whether to approve the plan.

Funding for refugee services comes mainly from the federal government.

“I am happy to tell you that your community is very, very welcoming,” McCrary said.

Available, affordable housing might be the most significant hurdle to a resettlement, he said. However, he noted that there are jobs here and that some 1,700 new hotel rooms are coming in the next year — and those hotels need workers. Housing, on the other hand, is more limited and expensive than expected, McCrary said.

A priority is finding sites that are safe and affordable with available housing, economic opportunities and public transportation, McCrary said. The IRC is striving to provide refugees with furnished homes or apartments upon arrival. The goal is for households to gain economic self-sufficiency within four to six months, he noted.