Juneau County Republicans falsely claim ‘planes full’ of refugees arriving in Wisconsin

Immigration at the southern border is one of voters’ top concerns in the upcoming election.

And Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s large-scale operation to bus thousands of migrants and asylum seekers to other U.S. cities has drawn both scrutiny and praise.

But Wisconsin cities have not been locations where migrants, asylum seekers or other kinds of immigrants have been transported en masse.

Nevertheless, the Republican Party of Juneau County on Facebook: "Ask Governor Evers why planes full of unvetted ‘refugees’ are being accepted at the Milw. & Madison airports!"

The post, from June 25, had 31 shares as of July 2. Among those who shared the post were the Republican Party of Green and Lincoln counties.

We found the claim is incorrect on multiple counts. 

First, officials for both Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport and Dane County Regional Airport said planes full of refugees have not been arriving.

"The source provides no proof, and we have no proof either. The information posted is not factual," Harold Mester, director of public affairs and marketing for Milwaukee Mitchell Airport, said in an email.

Kimberly Jones, the Dane County airport director, agreed.

"We certainly have not had ‘planes full’ of refugees coming in to our Airport. To my knowledge there is no accuracy to the statement," Jones said in an email.

And Gina Paige, the spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, which houses the state Bureau of Refugee Programs, said the department "has not been made aware of any migrant arrivals to Wisconsin airports."

Jim Mackman, philanthropy director for Jewish Social Services of Madison, one of Wisconsin’s resettlement agencies, said the same:

"I am not aware of a current surge of other types of migrants coming to Wisconsin." 

Second, the use of the word refugees in the claim is off the mark.

The federal government defines refugees narrowly. They are not the same as migrants or asylum seekers, or other people who cross the border without proper documentation.

The State Department says a refugee is "an individual who is outside their country of nationality, or if no nationality, their last habitual residence, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unwilling or unable to avail themselves of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion."

In short, refugees are people who were forced to flee their home countries because of threats or persecution against their identity, and they are staying in a second country – often in a refugee camp – where they register with the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees. 

After a screening process, the U.N. refugee agency recommends refugees to be resettled in a third country. The U.S. set a ceiling of admitting 125,000 refugees in the 2024 fiscal year.

"Refugee resettlement to the U.S. is traditionally offered to the most vulnerable refugee cases including women and children at risk, women heads of households, the elderly, survivors of violence and torture and those with acute medical needs," the U.N. refugee agency said. 

Further, the claim misunderstands how refugees are resettled in the U.S. 

Once refugees are selected to be resettled, one of nine national refugee resettlement agencies takes their case and determines which of their local affiliates should handle the case.

Local resettlement agencies and their volunteers set up refugees in homes, help them find jobs, take them to doctor’s appointments and English classes and more.

Refugees do not cross the southern border to arrive, and they are not undocumented. When refugees are brought to the U.S., they receive permanent legal residency, also known as a green card.

Although refugees do arrive in the U.S. on airplanes, they do not arrive on "planes full" of other refugees. Paige said refugees take flights as individuals, or as families, on commercial airlines.

Finally, refugee resettlement leaders also note that an "unvetted refugee" is an oxymoron. 

"Refugees are among the most vetted immigrants to the United States," Mackman said.

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Paige echoed that comment.

"Refugees go through a rigorous vetting process which usually takes 12-24 months," she said.

According to the UNHCR, the vetting process includes:

• Screening by eight federal agencies including the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI

• Six security database checks and biometric security checks screened against U.S. federal databases

• Medical screening

• Three in-person interviews with Department of Homeland Security officers

It’s unclear whether the person who created the Facebook post was referring to refugees or migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border. People associated with the Republican Party of Juneau County, and the parties of Green and Lincoln counties, did not respond to emails, calls and text messages from PolitiFact Wisconsin.

But the poster commented on their own post alluding to border crossers:

"Where I work, I know 2 people who immigrated legally, one from Canada, one from Jamaica. Both said the process was vigorous and took weeks, and required a physical examination. Contrast that to what is going on at our borders," the person wrote.

The Republican Party of Juneau County claimed on Facebook that planes full of unvetted refugees were being accepted to the Milwaukee and Madison airports.

But officials from both airports, the state refugee bureau and a local resettlement agency said there was no evidence that planes full of unvetted individuals were arriving in Wisconsin. The party provides zero evidence of this, nor could we find any on our own.

What’s more, the Facebook post misunderstands the meaning of the word refugee and the process by which refugees are allowed to enter the United States. In short, there is basically nothing right about the claim, and everything wrong about it.

We rate the claim Pants on Fire.