Questions about the implementation and reach of President Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugee rights still roil, three days after it was signed.
The city of Rutland, Vermont, was prepared to welcome 100 Syrian refugees in a plan devised by city officials. Under Trump’s order, that is now in question.
Rutland faces a labor force problem shared by many isolated New England cities: an aging population that will be leaving the workforce over the next decade or two. In an effort to reverse demographic trends and bring in more residents with needed skills, civic leaders decided to welcome Syrian refugees.
“This was really a win-win situation, both for the Syrian refugees who would get a chance to start a new life in peace and security in Vermont, as well as for Rutland,” Dr. Samuel Liebhaber, associate professor of Arabic and chair of the Arabic department at Middlebury College, said on Monday.
“The town would receive an influx of presumably trained and professional people, who would then be able to start up homes and businesses, purchasing things from the local community. It really seemed like a nice matchup for the town.”
Liebhaber, along with Dr. Usama Soltan, a colleague in the Middlebury Arabic department, was involved in helping teach an Arabic language class coordinated by Rutland Welcomes, a volunteer organization. The class was one of many preparations the city made to prepare for the arrival of the Syrian refugees. It taught class-goers basic Arabic, to help local people interact with Syrians who might not yet be conversant in English.
With the executive order, however, Rutland may never see all 100 refugees. To date, only nine refugees had arrived, and under the order, refugees from Syria are banned for the indefinite future.
