Dec 20

Dec 20 Sacramento will welcome refugees despite Trump executive order, Mayor Steinberg says

Mayor Darrell Steinberg submitted an official letter to the Trump administration on Friday, Dec. 20 saying the City of Sacramento will continue welcoming refugees.

Mayor Steinberg with fans at the annual World Relief Refugee Soccer Tournament in Sacramento

The letter is required under Executive Order 13888, signed by President Donald Trump on Sept. 26, for any jurisdiction that wishes to continue accepting refugees within their borders. Cities and states that don’t file letters will automatically opt out of refugee resettlement programs.

“We are proud to be one of the nation’s most welcoming cities for refugees,” said Mayor Steinberg. “It’s our city ethic, our tradition and our obligation as Americans. As the Bible says, ‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.’”

The City of Sacramento has signed onto an amicus brief filed by the City of Los Angeles challenging the legality of the order. California has joined other states in filing an amicus brief in the lawsuit challenging the executive order filed by three refugee resettlement agencies in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

Advocates say the order could dramatically alter where refugees in the United States are settled and prevent them from joining family members in states or cities that refuse to accept newcomers.

The number of refugees resettled in the United States already has dropped to historic lows since Trump took office. In 2020, the administration says it will admit a maximum of 18,000, the lowest number since the refugee resettlement program was created in 1980, according to a Pew Research Center study. This despite a record number of people fleeing violence and persecution around the globe.

California has since 2002 admitted more refugees than any other state, and Sacramento has been a hub of resettlement. Many of the new arrivals have come on Special Immigrant Visas awarded to interpreters and others who have served U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan.