Despite Local Opposition, More Than 100 Syrian Refugees Have Been Resettled In Tennessee

The state has taken in 146 Syrian refugees since last fall — about one in three of them in Middle Tennessee — despite local resistance.

They’re among the 10,000 refugees that the United States has welcomed from Syria since last fall. The White House made the announcement that it had reached its goal earlier this week.

Holly Johnson, who oversees refugee resettlement with Catholic Charities, says the figure is close to what was expected.

“I think Tennessee is always a great place to resettle refugees. It’s across the state very welcoming, especially in the communities in which they’re placed.”

Generally speaking, refugees end up in
Nashville and Memphis.

Many Republican lawmakers hoped to keep Syrians out of Tennessee. They say federal authorities aren’t releasing enough information about individual refugees and their backgrounds.

They’ve suggested extremists might slip in, especially as the U.S. ramps up resettlement efforts.

But Syrians actually make up only about 10 percent of the refugees coming to Tennessee, according to Catholic Charities. The state has been accepting more refugees from Iraq, Congo and Somalia, with Bhutan and Burma close behind.

Here are Catholic Charities latest tallies since the federal fiscal year began last October:

Iraq                                        266

DRC                                        273

Somalia                                177

Syria                                      146

Burma/Myanmar             138

Bhutan                                 120

Afghanistan                        74

Sudan                                   70

Burundi                                32

Ethiopia                                21