Utah Gov. Spencer Cox visited Cache County on Monday to meet with a variety of manufacturers, businesses, and organizations in the area. Among those visits, Cox stopped at the county’s refugee and immigrant center.
Cox held a press conference at the Cache Refugee and Immigrant Center. Cox said that although both of the state’s refugee resettlement agencies are in Salt Lake refugees who come to Utah often don’t stay in one place.
“We are here at CRIC and they are doing an incredible job working with refugees in this area, providing them services, helping them understand language and financial literacy, and just making sure they have everything they need to survive and thrive. They are doing a great job, but they need more resources, more donations, and more help,” Cox said.
According to Gov. Cox, Utah is one of the places in the U.S. that is more welcoming to refugees.
“As I talk to other governors, even those who support refugees coming, everybody wants them to come but maybe not in their backyard," Cox said. "Here is the exact opposite. They want them in their neighborhoods, even in their homes, opening up space for people who are seeking a better life.”
As the United States evacuation of Afghanistan has come to a close, many of the Afghan refugees who left the country are expected to be settled in states across the U.S., including Utah.
“We are having constant communication with the administration,” Gov. Cox said. “We understand we will get a small amount at the beginning and that will probably increase over time as more vetting is done and as more refugees are resettled in the United States. We don’t have a number right now, but we expect it will start out small and grow overtime.”