By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
Council Chambers in Glasgow City Hall had an abundance of people in attendance for the common council’s regular meeting Monday, with the apparent majority showing up for an item that wasn’t even on the original agenda.
As it came time to adopt the agenda, Councilwoman Chasity Lowery made a motion to add a presentation by Refuge Kentucky, and after a second and a vote, it was included in the agenda after a couple brief items.
Mayor Henry Royse said the Kentucky Open Meetings Act allows for anyone to attend these meetings, but it does not grant a right to speak at them, and he said at the outset that, other than those involved with the refugee program, members of the audience would not be allowed to comment at this meeting.
Information about the issue had been circulated on social media and perhaps elsewhere, but, according to those who spoke at the meeting, some of that information was incorrect, including that these were “illegal immigrants,” some of whom were possibly from Afghanistan.
Refuge Kentucky is a nonprofit organization based in Bowling Green that works with the U.S. Department of State and other organizations to resettle refugees. In this case, the plan is to help 30 individuals – not 30 families – Columbia, Guatemala, Honduras or Nicaragua to settle in Glasgow by Sept. 30.
Royse also said misinformation has turned the entire situation into something that it isn’t, so he was really appreciative that the speakers came to the meeting to set the record straight.
“This is really not a city issue. There is no vote. The city has no say on if somebody comes here or not,” the mayor said. “They just came to see us to make sure we were aware that this was going to happen.”
Later, Glasgow Police Department Chief Guy Howie said that after he had seen a June 7 email sent to local leaders announcing the plan, he had concerns that he wanted addressed, so he called Refuge Kentucky, and they came and met with him, the mayor, the judge-executive and others.
According to that email, the Refuge Kentucky organization “supports refugees and immigrants of all ages” in the Bowling Green area. Its mission is to provide holistic services that address the unique barriers to success for this population. In doing so, a portion of the programs are targeted toward helping foreign-born individuals achieve healthy integration, self-sufficiency and economic development.
The programs offered include English language classes, enriching childcare in conjunction with English classes, driving instruction classes, healthcare case management, youth mentorship and soccer clubs, and employment services and placement.
Matthew Stevens, a local mortgage lender who works with the organization, and organization co-founder Daniel Tarnagda, spoke briefly at the meeting about Refuge Kentucky and its services. Ray Woodie, a local Baptist church pastor who would be working directly with the families here, also spoke to the council and the audience, which had thinned just slightly after the previous agenda item. State Rep. Steve Riley was among those present for this portion, and he left at some point after this topic was finished.
Stevens said the organization has also helped with disaster recovery like the tornadoes that hit Bowling Green in December 2022.
“Speaking of disasters, our primary clientele are refugees who have experienced some type of a major disaster,” he said. “Refugees are not simply immigrants coming to this country, nor are they illegal immigrants.”
He said there are refugees in the Bowling Green area from Africa and Afghanistan and other places already. Those who came from Afghanistan were people who had helped U.S. military service members there but needed to be evacuated when our military operations left that country.
Stevens said these refugees believe in the American dream, and further, they “are not a liability to taxpayers,” with the latter of those comments prompting laughter from a few members of the audience.
He said the refugees can get a travel loan to get situated that they are then required to pay back within a specified period, and they must pay for their own housing through their wages.
“They’re required to carry their own weight,” Stevens said later.
The program seeks placement in areas where refugee support is not up to capacity, Stevens added, and because Glasgow already has a strong Hispanic community, it seemed a good place to build a relationship.
He said each of the individuals has had their background checked and they have been fully vetted, and they meet every definition of “legal.”
Stevens said the mayor had asked him what obligations the city, county and state governments would have with this.
“There is none. There is none,” he said.
The mayor then asked Tarnagda and Woodie to go ahead and speak before they got questions from the council members.
“We all need to understand what we’re being asked to do, because it’s being twisted around like crazy,” Royse said.
Tarnagda came to the United States from the West African country of Burkina Faso, he said, emphasizing they only plan to bring 30 people here, and they aren’t asking anything from the government. He said they don’t just bring these individuals here and drop them off, they provide the services they do to help provide a smoother transition.
Woodie said he appreciated the thoughtful questions asked at last week’s meeting, and they were many of the same ones he was hearing from residents – housing availability, costs to the city, etc.
“There’s a clear distinction between refugees and immigrants,” the minister said, adding that they sometimes have lived 20 or 30 years in refugee camps throughout the world. “So in compliance with our current presidential administration, we’re looking to help come alongside these individuals. I think it says a lot about community about how we treat those who are the most vulnerable among us. And we need to be wise and good stewards of what God has given to us, but at the same time, this organization is not asking the City of Glasgow to contribute financially, but they are looking to train and bring people into this community who I believe will be of benefit to Glasgow.”
Royse then called upon Howie to speak about his take on what was said at that meeting.
“After I got to thinking about all this, the number of illegal immigrants and people that have crossed the border into our country illegally, we have no control over,” the chief said, noting that some have brought problems with them, so his first concern was whether these refugees had been vetted.
“They have been vetted, I’m told, by the United States government,” he said, and laughter and brief statements erupted from several in the audience. “They are not convicted criminals. As a matter of fact, I believe some of them were outstanding citizens in their communities.”
He said at least these folks have a support system, and if issues arise, he knows who to call, so he felt more comfortable with them than those who arrived illegally.
Councilman Max Marion asked what he meant by “issues arise.”
Howie said that, for example, if someone were stopped, he could call for assistance with any children present or for translations, negotiations, etc.
Councilman Terry Bunnell asked about how long the program had been in existence in Bowling Green.
Tarnagda said he and his wife started working with immigrants and refugees in 2013, and the organization became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2018.
Stevens said the goal is to assimilate the newcomers into daily life, help them gain employment, and that income helps them have integrity in life and it allows them to repay their debt to the federal government, and those payments are automatically deducted. It also creates revenue for the city, state or federal government through payroll taxes.
“These are typically growing families with two parents in the family,” he said. He added later that these people have been chosen by the United Nations because they showed the most promise as future American citizens.
Councilman Freddie Norris asked what kind of “issues” they’ve seen with the refugees in Bowling Green, and Tarnagda said the language barrier and lack of driving experience are two of those, and that’s why they have the program focuses they do. He was also questioned about whether they’ve had legal issues, and he said that, because of their negative experiences with bad police officers in their home country, if they’re pulled over for something, of course they’re going to be scared. Some may want to run away, he said. So they teach them the appropriate response to these kinds of situations and how things work here.
Norris asked about who would be overseeing some of these functions in Glasgow after they have a brief orientation period in Bowling Green.
Woodie said that, “within the context of caring well for these families, we look to partner with a network of churches in our community across any denominational lines and be able to minister well to these families and help them become a profitable part of our community.”
As the half-hour discussion continued with questions from council members, some of those who were apparently opposed to the idea and had signs made up on posters to display but didn’t until they were walking out began talking audibly among themselves, and Royse banged his gavel multiple times to bring order, telling them that this was a serious meeting and needed to be taken as such and they should be listening to the speaker, who at that moment was Woodie.
As those questions concluded, Ernie Wagoner, who was among those expressing dissatisfaction and such, asked, “Mayor, mayor, nobody else is going to get to say nothing?”
“No,” Royse said, adding it’s not the way those meetings work.
Wagoner complained that it violated his First Amendment right as he and those around him gathered their signs and moved to the hallway, continuing to talk among themselves. It took several minutes for the noise to settle as they eventually left.
CORRECTION: Matthew Stevens’ profession was changed from information initially received.
Comments