As a state that was founded by refugees fleeing religious persecution, Utah has long been welcoming to refugees from around the world.
Today, as we celebrate World Refugee Day, there are more than 65,000 refugees in this state — with close to 2,000 new refugees arriving between Oct 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024. According to the Utah Refugee Services Office, 25% of those new refugees came from Afghanistan, 14% from Democratic Republic of Congo and 10% came from Venezuela.
Utah has been recognized as having one of the best refugee resettlement services systems in the country. Three local resettlement offices, Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection (CRIC), Catholic Community Services (CCS) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), provide initial resettlement services for newly arrived refugees coming to Utah, but cuts from the federal government are sharply curtailing their ability to provide services. In true Utah fashion, however, private donors stepped in with funds to keep services going for our refugee friends and neighbors.
According to UNHCR, Salt Lake City “cemented its legacy as a welcoming city for refugees by joining a group of 26 U.S. cities and counties that have received the 3-star Certified Welcoming designation from Welcoming America. It is the first certified welcoming city in Utah and received this honor for its commitment to inclusivity and belonging of refugees and immigrants."
There is probably never a good time to be a refugee. But it’s particularly rough right now. At the end of 2024, there were an estimated 123.2 million people “forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing the public order,” according to UNHCR. That’s an increase of 3 million people in just one year, or 1 in every 67 people on earth.
Of those 123.2 million, 42.7 million are refugees
Refugees, by definition, have been forced out of their homes, and have fled to another country due to a “well-founded fear of persecution based on factors like race, religion, nationality, or political opinion.” Refugees are entitled to international protection under laws and conventions, such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, which includes the principle of non-refoulement, or not being returned to a place where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. Recent news stories have highlighted examples of this, such as the Afghan translator who helped American troops, and who would be at risk of death from the Taliban if he were to be returned.
The process to receive refugee status is lengthy, requiring multiple steps and the average time to resettle in the United States is two years. Typically, the vetting process to come to the United States involves screening by eight federal agencies including the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, six security database checks and biometric security checks screened against U.S. federal databases, medical screening and three in-person interviews with Department of Homeland Security officers.
The United States is not the top country hosting refugees. Iran is. Then Turkey, Germany, Uganda and Pakistan. The U.S. comes in at number 20, as of mid-2024. However, on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump suspended all refugee entry into the United States. With few exceptions, that ban is still in place and refugee entries have all but stopped.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi released a statement earlier today that said: “The abject failure to end conflicts – from Sudan to Ukraine, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Gaza – continues to create untold human suffering. Yet the innocent people who run for their lives as the bullets fly and the missiles rain down are unjustly stigmatized, making it harder to escape danger and to find somewhere to recover and rebuild.
“To make a desperate position worse, brutal cuts to humanitarian aid are choking off assistance, threatening the lives of millions of people who desperately need help.”
But, he added, “there is no shortage of examples to inspire us: the countries on the edges of war zones that continue to welcome and host refugees; the local communities that open their homes, workplaces and hearts to displaced people; and the countless individual acts of kindness and compassion that reveal our common humanity.”
Today as we celebrate refugees — I plan to attend an event at Big Cottonwood Regional Park (4300 S. 1300 E., Millcreek) from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. — Utah has another opportunity to show kindness and compassion to refugees who have made our state their home.
