ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Local leaders have a message for Washington: Bring America's newest residents to St. Louis.
On Monday, the International Institute of St. Louis, backed by local civic, business and faith leaders, asked three visiting U.S. officials to consider making the St. Louis region the top destination in the country for the thousands of refugees and immigrants expected in the U.S. each year.
They pointed to the region's success, relying on community support and an army of volunteers to settle more than 600 Afghan refugees over the past year. And they say St. Louis is ready to bring more from around the world.
"Know that we are ready and we accept that next wave of Americans with open arms," Jason Hall, CEO of regional economic development group Greater St. Louis Inc., said at a news conference.
The Afghans brought to St. Louis were part of a total of about 80,000 Afghan refugees who landed in the U.S. since the military evacuation of the country. It was an unprecedented challenge to find homes and jobs for so many people in a relatively short period of time, said Larry Bartlett, director of refugee resettlement for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
But St. Louis fared "amazingly well," he said, and is primed to accept more.
"To me, St. Louis is kind of the epitome of what this country should be and frankly is, and that is a place that welcomes immigrants and refugees," he said.
Arrey Obenson, president and CEO of the International Institute, which coordinated the arrival of the Afghan refugees here, said the region owes its success to business, faith and community leaders.
He had invited the U.S. officials, including Eskinder Negash, CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigration; Kenneth Tota, Deputy Director for the Office of Refugee Resettlement; and Bartlett to see that firsthand.
They spent the day meeting with Hall, representatives for St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, and local organizations and volunteers such as the St. Louis Mosaic Project and Welcome Neighbor STL.
The institute acted as a sort of "command center" for the organizations and a coalition of about 1,000 volunteers to help match with Afghan refugees with resources from the moment they landed in St. Louis, Obenson said. The community helped bridge the gap between what the federally funded institute can contractually provide refugees and what refugees may need in the long term, he said.
And now the institute is ready to welcome at least 1,000 more refugees and immigrants, Obenson said.
The institute is also managing an initiative, largely paid for by attorney Jerry Schlichter, to create an Afghan chamber of commerce, a community newspaper and a soccer program for kids. It also includes a housing fund that's covering the cost of apartments and homes for the new arrivals as well as grants to help entrepreneurs start small businesses.
The Afghan population here now numbers near 2,000. And Bartlett said officials are working to bring about 380 Afghan refugees stuck in Albania to St. Louis by the end of the year.
St. Louis could also see refugees arriving from other countries, including an estimated 900 from Ukraine. President Joe Biden's administration wants to bring in 125,000 refugees to the U.S. on a yearly basis, Bartlett said.
The visit Monday came on the heels of the International Institute's Festival of Nations, an annual two-day celebration of the region's immigrants and refugees. The festival, which returned to Tower Grove Park in south St. Louis for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, drew more than 100,000 visitors, Hall said.
The business community has made refugee resettlement a "top priority," he said, all the more important for a region aiming to counter decades of population loss.
"We have an urgent need ... to grow our population," Hall said. "This is the way forward."
