Mayor Tim Keller Joins National Leaders to Support and Welcome Refugees.

September 18, 2020

Mayor Tim Keller is joining the leaders of cities and states around the country to voice support for refugee resettlement in the United States. Albuquerque, a minority- majority city, forms one of the most diverse urban areas in the country and has a long tradition of welcoming refugees from many parts of the world.

The need for refugee resettlement has never been greater, with an estimated 37,000 people displaced from their homes due to violence, persecution or war each day. The United States is limiting admissions of refugees to 18,000 for the entire fiscal year 2020, the lowest level in the history of the program.

Mayor Keller of one of 540 local and state elected officials from all 50 states and the District of Columbia who expressed their strong support for resettling refugees in their communities in a bipartisan letter that was sent to President Donald Trump on September 17.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, refugees and immigrants played a crucial role in helping people around the country. Many refugees work as healthcare professionals, as truck drivers who transport essential goods across the country and as frontline workers who keep our grocery stores and restaurants functioning.

“Refugee families have traveled thousands of miles to forge a new life for their children in the U.S. Albuquerque is a welcoming city to people from all walks of life,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “We are committed to including all residents in our community, whether they are working, studying, engaging with community policing or other parts of civic life. We champion our diverse, multicultural roots; it's what makes this a special place to live, together as One Albuquerque.”

Mayor Keller joined other New Mexico officials including Karen Bash, State Representative, Albuquerque; Gerald Ortiz y Pino, State Senator, Albuquerque; Bill Tallman, State Senator, Albuquerque; and Renee Villarreal, City Councilwoman, Santa Fe, in expressing their strong support for protecting and resettling refugees in our states and communities and to urge the Administration to welcome refugees in Fiscal Year 2021.