BREAKING: Refugee resettlement in Fargo

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn said Tuesday that he sat in on a phone call in which Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services stated that they had resettled approximately 25 refugees in Fargo-Moorhead. Deputy Mayor Piepkorn shared concern that he had not been made aware of the resettlement and he questioned whether the City of Fargo was notified prior to rehoming the refugees. Questions have been raised as to how the action was coordinated. Prior to filing bankruptcy, Lutheran Social Services (LSS) was tasked with refugee resettlement in the state. Former LSS Director, Jessica Thomasson, now works as the Executive Policy Director at ND Department of Human Services.

The country of origin of the refugees was not made known. In a recent interview with Chris Berg, Gov. Burgum stated that he was open to resettling refugees in the state but he was unaware of any plan to resettle undocumented immigrants from the southern border.

Commissioner Piepkorn made the statement while joining Chris Berg for a special Point of View on AM1100 the Flag.