Why are there fewer refugees settling in Sacramento County? The Bee has an answer:

Religious persecution of Christian evangelicals – Sacramento's largest refugee group – has almost disappeared since the collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union in 1989-91, experts say.

Actually, what the expert (a singular Slavic radio show host) said was that religious freedom has improved in some parts of the former Soviet Union, which was a major source of refugees for the Sacramento area in the late 20th century.

"Ukraine now has as much freedom of expression as the U.S.," Michael Lokteff told the paper. "But in Central Asian republics and parts of Russia, there's still some persecution."

To extrapolate that and say that the era of Christian persecution is over is absurd in the extreme.

If you're really wondering what's happening with changes in refugee settlement and ministry to refugees, we've got you covered.

And by the way, according to our July issue article on refugee settlement, 2009 is set to see the highest number of refugee arrivals since 2001.