A packed house showed up Wednesday night at Sandpoint City Hall for the debate over a proposed city council resolution welcoming refugees.
Bonner and Boundary county commissioners have already passed resolutions urging the halt of refugee resettlement. Most who attended the meeting shared that viewpoint.
Comments opposing refugees included the perceived economic burden on the region, as well as concerns that some potential refugees could infiltrate society and the potential for terrorism.
Supporters focused on the importance of upholding traditional American values like tolerance and freedom of religion.
Publisher of the Sandpoint Reader, Ben Olson, says the region has become very polarized over the discussion.
“Up here we have a lot of diverse opinions and a lot of people that symbolically support this act. On the other hand, we have a lot of people very against it, and they don’t want it. They have a very xenophobic reaction to the refugee program, and they would rather close the doors than have any shred of risk of attack.”
Both the proposed city resolution and approved county resolution are resolutions that carry no weight on resettlement, which is a federal program. There are no plans to resettle refugees in Bonner County.
In the end, council members voted to table the issue. They will pick up the resolution again on January 20th.
