Vermont has made efforts to bolster its refugee resettlement program in recent years. Officials that support the effort, including Republican Gov. Phil Scott, say welcoming refugees enriches communities and boosts the state’s workforce.
More than 500 people resettled in the state in 2023, and state officials hope to resettle even more this year.
But now, with the incoming Trump administration, there’s uncertainty about how Vermont’s refugee resettlement efforts might play out. During Trump’s last term, his administration put a pause on the number of refugees that states could admit.
Tracy Dolan is executive director of the State Refugee Office. Vermont Public's Mary Williams Engisch spoke with Dolan about how the office is readjusting its approach and priorities ahead of the new administration. This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Mary Williams Engisch: When we spoke in January, you shared that Vermont had planned this year, 2024, to take in its largest number ever of refugees. Can you remind us what led to that increase?
Tracy Dolan: With the growing number of refugees needing a place to go worldwide, the president set a higher number of refugees to be coming into the U.S. It's called the "presidential determination." And so President Biden set that number in the last federal fiscal year, which just ended a little over a month ago, at 125,000.
And that meant that all states were encouraged to take in more refugees. And so the three refugee resettlement agencies here worked with my office and worked with communities to determine how many we think we would be able to assist. And so last year, that number was about 550.
And now in this current new fiscal year, which just started Oct. 1, our number also went up again in the hopes that we would be able to assist folks fleeing from war and persecution.
Mary Williams Engisch: When we spoke earlier this year, you said that the goal of the previous Trump administration was to significantly decrease the number of people in that refugee program. And they were successful in doing that. What was the state refugee office's experience in the last administration and what are you expecting in the numbers of people that we can welcome into Vermont as refugees who are resettling here?
Tracy Dolan: We expect that, likely, in January, when [President-elect] Trump takes office, that there will probably be a pause on refugee admissions into the U.S. And so that would mean here in Vermont, as well.
We would probably not have arrivals. We're hearing that that could last a few months. That's what happened in the last administration.
We are also hearing that there will probably be reduced arrivals or no arrivals for a longer period, from some particular countries. For example, some of the countries that were listed under what people heard of as the "Muslim Ban" in the past.
More from Vermont Public: Vermont wants to resettle more refugees, but may not have enough housing
So what that means for Vermont is that we will likely have fewer arrivals. We had projected about 650 to 700 in this fiscal year. We expect that that number will be significantly less, but we're not sure how much less. We'll definitely have some refugee arrivals. We're not hearing that they would shut down the program entirely.
Everyone, and by everyone, I would go probably broader than the refugees, and just say that the displaced populations in Vermont in general are certainly at a heightened level of anxiety.Tracy Dolan, executive director of the State Refugee Office
Mary Williams Engisch: And if that number does drop like you're expecting, either based on precedent and the previous [Trump] administration, how will your office adjust?
Tracy Dolan: So we've been talking to the refugee resettlement agencies, and they are planning to take in a little extra between now and mid-January. We've actually had lower numbers arriving in September and October than we had anticipated. There were some challenges overseas with some processing and some logistics.
And so because those numbers were a little bit lower anyway, we had hoped to adjust by taking in a few more than we normally would per month. And now, with what we know is likely going to happen in January, we're upping that number a little more as well.
And then the way we're preparing for after that is just thinking about what supports people will need when they are here, and planning our funding so that we can support that longer term, so thinking a little bit more carefully about spreading out the funding that we do have so that we will have the services people need, recognizing that that could change in the future.
Mary Williams Engisch: These are people with families. These are people with kiddos. Have you been talking to folks in the refugee community, and how are they feeling right now?
Tracy Dolan: I'm hearing a lot from refugee-serving organizations, and I've spoken to some refugees directly, as well. And everyone, and by everyone, I would go probably broader than the refugees, and just say that the displaced populations in Vermont in general are certainly at a heightened level of anxiety.
You know, they're hearing some pretty strong rhetoric, and the rhetoric is accompanied by, in some cases, language that might make them feel very unwelcome on a national level. And so I think everyone has concerns.
Now, what we know is that some immigration statuses are more secure than others. So deportation occurs all the time, right? So deportation is an ongoing process that occurs to remove, you know, certain people from this country, usually related to crime, but sometimes related to overstaying visas. So that's not new.
I think what worries people is the broad language and the high visibility around this kind of initiative, and the desire for it to be somewhat of a flagship of an administration, has people somewhat concerned. But we do know that historically and what we know about refugee status, it's a very stable status — it has a pathway to citizenship.
People are still worried because they're not sure what that really means in a new administration. We feel very confident that refugees really have no concerns around this aspect of it.
And then, of course, there's reunification. Some people are waiting for their families to join them, who are also in dangerous situations, and those reunification efforts that might be underway now will likely be slowed down, or could be slowed down for a longer period. And of course, that's got people very worried, as well.
Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message.
