The mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, has called on the US State Department to stop the relocation of Somali refugees to his city, adding him to the list of mayors in the country who have rebuked the government’s resettlement program in recent years.
Citing pressure on already strained city services, Mayor Domenic Sarno wrote a letter to state officials asking to halt plans to resettle Somali refugees in Springfield.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno’s Letter to the State Department

The move comes after Sarno learned about plans to relocate 70 more Somalis to the city in the next year, adding to about 380 refugees from the African country already living there.

VIDEO: Churches and agencies refute stance of Springfield Mass mayor on refugees

In the letter, addressed to US Representative Richard E. Neal, with copies sent to US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, as well as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, the mayor asked that the resettlements be suspended”until the City is able to adequately address the impact of further refugee placement, and, in the interest of fairness to all involved, until other communities accept some percentage of the displaced refugees.”

SPRINGFIELD — The second and third floors of 72 Carver St. have been posted with condemnation notices by Springfield inspectors. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno cited unsafe living conditions when asking the U.S. government to cease relocating refugees to the city.Photo by Dave Roback / The Republican

After previous calls to stop the relocations, Sarno’s most recent request follows inspections in the city that uncovered poor living conditions including overcrowded apartments, overrun with pests and without electricity. While much of the blame for this problem has been placed on the landlords, the mayor has proceeded to ramp up his complaints against the resettlement program.
Nearly 67000 Somali refugees were resettled in USA in the last one decade where most of them were taken to Minnesota, California, Georgia and Washington DC.

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