Troy to host new refugee families but not everyone happy about it

A Troy elementary school getting ready to welcome two refugee families to Michigan.

The school is planning to help them get a fresh start in their new home.

"Approximately 10,000 refugees over the last eight years," said Dick Manasseri of Secure Michigan.

And it appears as if that trend will continue, with more refugees set to relocate to Troy in the coming weeks.

"It makes us more representative of what the world really looks like," said Raman Singh, the president of Interfaith. "It makes for more diverse and interesting communities. And it is actually what America has always done, is welcome immigrants."

Later this month Morse Elementary School in Troy will play host to a welcoming party for a couple refugee families looking to resettle in the area.

It is an effort by the city along with Lutheran Social Services of Michigan to help these families of war torn areas feel at home.

Those who say the refugee resettlement program needs to be reformed, say they are not against people trying to make a better life for their families or the communities looking to take them in, but they say there is more than meets the eye when it comes to resettlement - especially in Oakland County.

The organization Secure Michigan says the effort of bringing in refugees to the state is big business.

"They basically are contractors or vendors with the state department and they move refugees into America through hub cities like Troy and they set them up for benefits - that costs taxpayers," said Manasseri. "For every refugee that comes in, these organizations are retaining money and they in fact hire a lobbyist to go get more."

"If we keep pushing back on refugees and immigrants said Bob Bruttell, chair of the Interfaith Leadership Council. "This is going to hurt the economy of our whole area. If that's the sort of attitude we have here, 25 years from now we will not be a better community we will continue to stagnate like the way we have during the recession."

Right now Michigan lawmakers are in Washington taking part in hearings to reform the country's refugee policy, a story that we will continue to follow as it unfolds.