YPSILANTI (WWJ) -- A metro Detroit university welcomed Afghan refugee families onto their campus Friday to help them settle in the United States after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan back in August.
Eastern Michigan University moved in five Afghan refugee families into campus apartments with help from Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County.
EMU, in conjunction with Jewish Family Services will be hosting, in total, about a dozen refugee families in campus apartments, according to the president of the university, Jim Smith.
Smith said most students and faculty are excited about helping the families, but he said there have been some complaints in the process.
"There are some folks that say, you know, 'I just think the United States shouldn't patriate them and they shouldn't be here,'" said Smith. "We live in a constitutional democracy -- people can have opinions."
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Smith said EMU is a welcoming community and he feels having the refugees on campus is the right thing to do.
But living on campus means the families will have to follow university rules, especially when it comes to COVID-19.
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They will have to follow mask requirements and complete the daily check-in requirements -- for example, Smith said if any of the refugees participate in a workshop or an activity on campus, they will need to fill out a COVID pass.