Harrisburg and the surrounding area is home to over 50,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees.
A little more than one year after immigration officials began cracking down against members of Central Pennsylvania’s Nepali-speaking Bhutanese community, its leaders joined Dauphin County officials to speak out against the recent detention of two Bhutanese men.
“This past Saturday, I received calls from family members whose loved ones had been detained by ICE. Two individuals were taken from their families, two families were broken apart,” Youraj Koirala, Board Chairman of the Bhutanese Community of Central PA, told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.
Koirala added that the two individuals who were detained had previous criminal records and completed their sentences within the legal system. They are now facing deportation to Bhutan, which carried out an ethnic cleansing campaign against Nepali-speaking residents in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“ I’m not standing here today and claiming complete innocence of these individuals,” Koirala said. “It’s now months or years after the completion of their sentencing. These folks are being punished yet again for the same crimes, but now harsher, now facing the possibility of removal.”
Harrisburg and the surrounding region has become home to over 50,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees since former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama granted them special protections throughout the 2000s.
Bhutan launched a “one nation, one people” policy in the 1990s that forced over 100,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese people into refugee camps located in Nepal.
According to the US Census, Harrisburg is home to the largest Bhutanese community in the commonwealth, followed by Scranton, Erie, and Lancaster, and these communities have higher rates of suicide, poverty, and mental health issues because of their previous traumas.
“My people carry a legacy of resilience, strength, and love of parents, children, elders and ancestors who came to this country fleeing decades of genocide and persecution because of promises made by this US government for full and fair opportunity,” said Robin Gurung, co-founder and co-executive director of Asian Refugees United.
“Today, this American Promise has been broken through the horrific and unlawful targeting of our Bhutanese refugee community and to many others by an administration and immigration enforcement mess, prioritizing hatred and violence over true public health, safety, and security.”
Koirala and Gurung were joined at the Dauphin County administration building by Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas, State Sen. Patty Kim (D-Dauphin) and State Rep. Dave Madsen (D-Dauphin).
“ America made a promise to help, and the federal government invited these good folks to our country. It allowed the Bhutanese people freedom, dignity, and a dream of belonging once again,” said Kim.
“I’m here to make sure that we keep our promise and not stay silent when our community members are picked up like stray dogs off the streets without due process. They don’t deserve that. No one does.”
