The City Council plans to consider a resolution later this month welcoming Afghan refugees to the city.
Councilor Kara Joy McKee said she worked with local service members to create the resolution as a way to recognize the people of Afghanistan who supported U.S. troops during the long war against the Taliban.
“I know that our council and our mayor have been so very welcoming of immigrants of all sorts,” McKee told her colleagues during a committee meeting Wednesday afternoon. “I thought it would be proper of us to make a public resolution welcoming them and recognizing them as members of our community who have supported our troops just as we do.”
Tens of thousands of Afghans were evacuated from their homeland in August when the United States withdrew from the country after 20 years. Eastern Oklahoma is expected to receive 850 of them.
People are also reading…
“The city of Tulsa welcomes refugees of the war in Afghanistan and expresses its full support and encouragement for those who wish to resettle in the City of Tulsa,” the resolution states.
It also encourages Tulsans to be kind and hospitable to the Afghan refugees and to work with the support agencies assisting in the resettlement process.
Mayor G.T. Bynum has been supportive of the refugee resettlement program since it was announced.
“Tulsa was founded by Muscogee Nation citizens who were driven out of their homeland, and ever since that time Tulsa has been a city that welcomes refugees from around the world — and our city is a better place for it,” Bynum said.
“I want to welcome all Afghan refugees who will be making Tulsa home in the days and weeks ahead. My hope is that they find our community prepared to support them and show them the generous spirit America has been known for in our best moments.”
Debbie Crowley, director of marketing and public relations for Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma, said approximately 25 Afghan refugees have arrived in Tulsa since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“They are starting to come pretty much at least one case per day, and a case could be anywhere from one person (to) we had a family of nine,” Crowley said.
A shortage of housing continues to be the main challenge facing Catholic Charities as it works to resettle the Afghan refugees.
“They go to a hotel directly from the airport, and so the sooner we can find housing for them the better,” Crowley said. “It is a tight market.”
There is also a need for household items such as trash cans and other goods, Crowley said. Anyone wishing to make a donation or to offer a property for rent can go to Catholic Charities’ website at cceok.org/refugees to sign up.
“We are getting ready to move our first group into an apartment, so that is a big step and that hopefully will continue to go well and they won’t have to spend too long in a hotel,” Crowley said.
Catholic Charities has been the sole refugee resettlement agency in the state. Catholic Charities of Eastern of Oklahoma is responsible for 800 of the Afghan refugees resettling in eastern Oklahoma, while Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is responsible for the 1,000 Afghan refugees resettling in western Oklahoma.
Crowley said the number of Afghan refugees coming to eastern Oklahoma has increased from 800 to 850 because Congregation B’nai Emunah in Tulsa also will be serving as a refugee resettlement agency and will be accepting 50 refugees.
Crowley said that although most of the Afghan refugees coming to eastern Oklahoma will be resettled in Tulsa, Catholic Charities is also looking to house up to 160 in Stillwater.
“We are looking for housing in other communities, not just Stillwater or Tulsa,” Crowley said. “If we were to find a block of apartments in Bartlesville, we would probably put some in Bartlesville.
“Other locations where we have outreach locations we have been looking to see if those would be possible locations for some of them.”
Councilors are expected to vote on the resolution Oct. 20.
Featured video: AP poll finds most in U.S. favor Afghan ally refugees
With American troops gone and the Taliban now in charge, thousands of at-risk Afghans who worked with the United States are still stranded in their home country. Some have escaped, but many in the U.S. want to do more to help.
Reaction from Oklahoma political leaders on Afghanistan refugees' relocation
Stitt
Gov. Kevin Stitt, pictured in Tulsa on Sept. 11, 2021, was among the first Oklahoma leaders to welcome Afghans fleeing for their lives as the last U.S. troops began withdrawing and the Taliban took over Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. “I welcome Afghans fleeing the terrorist Taliban regime to come to Oklahoma and live in the freedom we hold so dearly,” the Republican governor said in a tweet on Aug. 18. “My office is exploring every possible avenue to help to ensure no American citizen nor any of our allies are left behind.”
Lankford
Republican U.S. Sen James Lankford, pictured in Tulsa on July 23 for a news conference about illegal immigration, said: “I absolutely think that we need to continue to be able to welcome refugees from Afghanistan into Oklahoma and into the United States. When I talk to veterans of the Afghanistan war, they bring two things up to me in the past week. The first thing they'll say is how disappointed they are and how frustrated they are that it's ending this way. The second thing they say is, 'Those people that fought alongside of us, I want them to get out.'"
Cole
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, said: “I am proud that the United States and our allies are helping those that have helped our service members during our time in Afghanistan escape the evil wrath of the Taliban while also ensuring they are vetted for security and medical risks. I urge all Oklahomans to welcome these refugees from the Taliban to our state and to our communities.”
Dahm
Sen. Nathan Dahm, a Republican from Broken Arrow, said the congressional delegation should propose changes to the federal law on refugee resettlement to give states more input. “Every member of our federal delegation in Congress has the opportunity to work to address this,” Dahm said. “It’s time they put the people of Oklahoma and America first and at very least allow us to have a say on who is relocated into our State.”
Lahmeyer
Lankford’s announced primary opponent, Jackson Lahmeyer of Owasso, has been critical of the relocations. In a tweet, he said: “1,800 Afghans could potentially arrive in Oklahoma. The Biden Administration has NO WAY to fully vet these refugees. Yet James Lankford still wants them to come into our communities.”
Digital offer
