Refugees are people who have had to flee from their country because of war, political persecution, human rights abuses, and other threats to their lives. The US has recently cut back on its historically welcoming attitude toward refugees. Now government entities are required to notify the US Department of State of their willingness to accept refugees. Pennsylvania has done that, and Chester County just did. According to the Daily Local News article “Commissioners: Chesco not a ‘sanctuary’ for undocumented immigrants,” Chesco receives about 15 refugees a year. After being exhaustively vetted by US and international agencies, they are sponsored for resettlement here by religious and civic organizations, not by public entities. As the article points out, they are not ordinary immigrants and they most certainly are not undocumented immigrants. Given the many conflicts in the world today, governments that step up to be of help, like our County, are playing an important role in facilitating new lives for these unfortunate displaced persons and families. (Keep your eye on this issue in the news; we may not have heard the last of it locally.)