Wayne County Executive Warren Evans has announced that about 200 Afghan refugees are expected to be making their way to the Detroit area over the next week or so. The plan to help the refugees was announced Wednesday as part of a $20 million partnership to help people with rental assistance. Evans told Michigan News Network this week the county has been welcoming refugees for years.
“This is not our first attempt at making sure that refugee or immigrant populations were assimilated as best as we can,” Evans said. “The economic numbers we’ve looked at long-term in that have all been positive. They’ve contributed significantly to Wayne County is terms of tax base, jobs, and those sorts of things.”
About 1,300 refugees will come to Michigan with about 220 living in Wayne County. Evans says the county is partnering with FOCUS: Hope, The Ballmer Group and Samaritas on the new program.
