New Hampshire City Debates Moratorium on Refugees

 MANCHESTER, N.H. – Ahmed was called a traitor in Iraq. The 48-year-old worked as a security manager for several American newspapers. For that he was kidnapped twice, and threatened by men half his age. Both he and his wife were shot and seriously injured by insurgents.

But he took the job because he “believed that journalists could tell the true story of what is happening in my country,” said Ahmed, who asked that his name be changed for fear of facing retaliation in the United States. 

Ahmed settled with his wife and two children in Manchester, New Hampshire, one of 50 Iraqi families in a city that over the last decade has become home to more than 2,100 refugees from all over the world. 

Now economic pressures are forcing city officials to question whether Manchester can continue to be a destination city for refugees. 

The year after Ahmed arrived, city officials here began debating whether to impose a moratorium on the arrival of more refugees. At issue was a financial question: In the midst of a recession, could Manchester afford to continue to absorb 300 people a year into its population of about 100,000 people? 

Last year, the city of Manchester asked the State Department to impose a moratorium for at least two years on refugees coming into the community.

“We needed to take a respite so when new arrivals come they could come to a place where all their needs are met,” said Democratic Alderman Patrick Long.

Long, together with Mayor Ted Gatsas, was a force behind the calls for a moratorium on refugees, which resulted in a compromise to reduce the number of refugees allowed in the city from 300 down to 200 in 2012. 

The alderman said he was concerned that the city did not have enough resources to handle a constant stream of refugees.

Each refugee family is given about $1,000 when they first arrive, as well as federal help to support themselves with rent and food. They also get help finding temporary jobs and enrolling in English classes. 

But Long says the city does not have the infrastructure or social services to tend to those communities’ needs.

“I found myself putting out little fires every day,” he explained. “Somebody needs a ride to the doctor, somebody needs food, somebody needs a place to live.”

Long said he is concerned that Manchester could be painted as an unwelcoming city to immigrants, but he said that is not the case.

“My objective is for the immigrants to thrive,” he said. “I’m angry that the finances to help the new arrivals are not being used efficiently.”

Critics like Long say resettlement agencies, which receive federal funds to bring refugees here, only follow up with refugees for a few months and do not get involved in long term issues such as quality housing.

As an example, he cited a bedbug infestation that affected a refugee community living in an apartment complex. “We emptied all the apartments, people moved temporarily, we cleaned,” he said. “But the institute never showed up,” he said, referring to the non-profit organization the International Institute of New England, which works with the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to bring refugees to Manchester. 

Carolyn Benedict-Drew, CEO of the International Institute of New England, said she was alarmed by the city’s claims and the impact that the reduction on the numbers of refugees could have on the reunification of families.

“People left [their countries] due to humanitarian reasons. Think about Iraq. We have so many that need to come,” she said. “If you have family members there, you’ll want them to come and be safe with you.”

Benedict-Drew said that the city’s responsibility is to take care of housing for everyone, regardless of where they come from. Further, she said, the city hasn’t provided her agency with any hard facts about the costs it takes to care for the refugees.