Part of the Trump Administration’s travel ban upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court has put a 120 day freeze on admitting refugees to the country. In spite of the ban, a refugee center in the Magic Valley doesn’t anticipate much impact.
Unlike the blanket ban on refugees announced in January, the revised one upheld in a June 26 Supreme Court ruling allows some refugees who have a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States” to enter the country.
The director of the College of Southern Idaho’s Refugee Center tells the Times News most of the school’s refugee students are part of families awaiting siblings, parents, or spouses – relationships exempted by the current ban. The director says many of the refugees coming to Twin Falls already have immediate family in town.
In regards to the basic operations of the school’s center, the director says she doesn’t see any reason why the Supreme Court ruling should interrupt or disturb its operations.
CSI’s Refugee Center has helped thousands of refugees since its founding in the 1980s. Each year, it helps resettle around 300 newcomers. Since October, the center has helped 217 refugees — a majority of whom are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915
Copyright 2017 Boise State Public Radio