Statewide Iowa — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst say preparations are underway to help Afghan refugees settle in Iowa.
Ernst has been working to secure Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who helped the U-S military.
It’s unclear how many could be resettled here or when they might start arriving. Governor Reynolds says the Polk County Board of Supervisors is working to find sponsors and housing.
This spring, Reynolds said Iowa would not accept unaccompanied children who had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico. Reynolds says resettlement of Afghan refugees is a different process.
In 2015, after a terrorist attack in Paris, then Governor Terry Branstad directed state agencies to stop resettlement efforts for Syrian refugees. Some Republicans in congress have said Afghan refugees are a safety risk to America. Ernst, a Republican, says Iowa has a history of welcoming refugees of war, dating back to the 1970s when Republican Governor Robert Ray led the effort to resettle Tai Dam refugees from Southeast Asia.
Ernst says Afghan refugees are medically screened once they arrive on U.S. soil and she says many are relocating to California, Virginia and Wisconsin where there are large populations of former Afghan residents. Reynolds says Iowa is on board and ready to go once the State Department starts coordinating flights of Afghans into the state.
Reynolds and Ernst made their comments Wednesday afternoon during a joint news conference at the Iowa State Fair.
