State Department changes 2-year-old rule that restricted refugee resettlement to Detroit area
By Jeff Karoub, APTuesday, June 22, 2010
US lifts restrictions on refugees in Mich.
DETROIT — The U.S. State Department is changing a two-year-old policy that limited refugee resettlement to the Detroit area because of Michigan’s struggling economy.
The State Department had restricted resettlement in the area to those with close relatives. Most refugees coming to the Detroit area are Iraqi because of the community’s large Middle Eastern population.
State Department deputy director of refugee admissions Lawrence Bartlett tells The Associated Press the rules are now being relaxed because most refugees with immediate family had been resettled and there was room for more.
The government’s new policy allows for a refugee with any friend or family ties to resettle in the area.
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