After a story by The Daily Caller claiming that the tiny (population 6,000) town of Stone Mountain, Georgia, has resettled more refugees than New York City and Los Angeles combined, officials have responded to set the record straight.
It is true, city manager Chaquias Thornton wrote, that the town of Stone Mountain has a population of about 6,000. But 117,000 have Stone Mountain addresses because of the large unincorporated area around Stone Mountain. It is within that area, Thornton said in a statement that was reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, that the World Relief office resides that has taken responsibility for 72 refugees that have been resettled in the greater area.
Thornton isn’t aware of a single refugee that actually resides within the limits of Stone Mountain. All of the refugees get the address of the World Relief office unless and until they settle permanently, not the address where they actually live.
The issue of resettling refugees from Syria and other countries has been a controversial one, with many Americans fearing that terrorists will come in disguised as refugees. Similar refugee resettlement programs in Europe have led to criminal activity including rape and harassment of women and attacks on the country of resettlement.
President Obama has pledged to take thousands of Syrian and other refugees into the country over the next fiscal year, while presidential candidate Donald Trump has said he would halt the refugee resettlement program until a better screening process can be implemented.
As for Thornton, he only said, “The city of Stone Mountain is a warm and friendly community, and we welcome all who choose to visit and reside here.” The Daily Caller has published an update to its piece reflecting the statement published in the AJC.