TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Conservative activists are calling for the College of Southern Idaho to remove its refugee program following concerns over the influx of Syrian refugees expected to arrive in south-central Idaho later this fall.
The Times-News reports that the group formed after college officials announced in April that 300 refugees were expected to resettle in Idaho at the start of the new federal fiscal year. Many of the refugees will possibly come from Syria, leading some community members to speculate they could be radical Muslims.
“This program is giving the college a bad rap,” said Rick Martin, who leads the group called the Committee to End the CSI Refugee Center. “Let someone else take it over.”
Martin has asked CSI board members twice to consider phasing out the refugee program before the end of the federal fiscal year, which ends in the fall.
Martin added that group members plan on going door-to-door throughout Twin Falls to encourage people to oppose the refugee program being housed inside the community college.
“Things are going on that the public needs to know about,” he said.
Just how many refugees come to Idaho and from which countries will be decided by the federal government. However, resettlement officials have maintained that all incoming refugees undergo extensive background checks.
