LOGAN – The Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection (CRIC) will celebrate World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 14 at Willow Park in Logan.
At a regular meeting of the Logan Municipal Council on June 3, CRIC member Mary DaSilva extended an invitation to that event to council members and all supporters of the local advocacy group.
The local observance will be part of World Refugee Day, a global event declared by the United Nations General Assembly to honor the courage, resilience and determination of millions of refugees worldwide, according to DaSilva.
The CRIC website promises that the local event on June 14 will be a family-friendly one featuring cultural performances, face-painting and free foods – while supplies last.
“The global refugee crisis is one of the most pressing humanitarian challenges of our time,” DaSilva added.
“Due to conflicts, persecution or natural disasters…millions of people are being uprooted from their homes, leaving behind everything that they know and love to seek safety and a better future for themselves and their families.”
DaSilva acknowledged that CRIC has suffered some setbacks in recent months, largely due to the national political climate.
In the midst of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants promised by the Trump administration, the number of people deported by officials of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has not been regularly released to the public.
Media reports indicate, however, that the pace of ICE deportations is steadily increasing, with 11,000 immigrants deported in February, more than 12,300 in March and another 17,200 in April.
Most recently, President Donald Trump has also begun efforts to stem the tide of immigrants at its various sources.
On June 4, Trump signed a proclamation that effectively banned travel to the United States from 12 countries and restricted the entry of nationals from another seven, according to the inside-the-Beltway journal Roll Call.
The outright travel ban impacts refugees and others from the nations of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Facing travel restrictions are nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Despite those developments, DaSilva said that CRIC has welcomed 233 refugees from 12 countries into Cache Valley.
“We helped them find housing, schools and gainful employment,” she explained. “These refugees have become our neighbors and enriched our communities.”
Founded in 2014, CRIC’s avowed goal is to make Cache Valley a community that welcomes everyone.
The local observance of World Refugee Day will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 14.
Willow Park is located at 500 West, 700 South in Logan.