Month: May 2011

Diversity is strength alert! Massive drug bust involving Somalis/Yemenis

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Eighteen US citizens or legal permanent residents of Somali and Yemeni origin have been arrested according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office,  Eastern Division of Virginia, for an international conspiracy to transport the illegal drug, khat, into the United States and to distribute it to at least 15 states.  Hat tip: Patrick.

The next time you hear someone say, “I’m o.k. with legal immigration, it’s illegal immigration I’m opposed to,” ponder this story.   These legal immigrants hailed from Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and New York (the press release names each one).

Their ‘profits’ were sent out of the country—to terrorists perhaps?

From the US Attorney’s Office:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Eighteen individuals have been arrested for their alleged roles in an international conspiracy trafficking more than 4.4 million grams of khat throughout the United States. All 18 were taken into custody yesterday, including 10 in Northern Virginia, two in Maryland, four in New York, and two in Ohio.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and John P. Torres, Special Agent in Charge for ICE’s, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington, D.C., made the announcement after the charges were unsealed.

According to court documents, Yonis Muhudin Ishak, a/k/a “Yunis Sheikal” and “Shak,” a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia living in Arlington, Va , is the leader of a conspiracy that allegedly uses human couriers to transport khat into the United States from England, Canada, and Holland. In addition, the alleged conspirators sent packages of khat to the U.S. via the U.S. Postal Service and delivery companies. The conspiracy would then allegedly distribute the khat, via couriers and the postal system, to at least 15 states, including California, Washington, Tennessee, New York, and the Washington, D.C.-metro area. The conspirators allegedly transmit proceeds from their drug sales to others in England, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.

Fresh khat leaves contain the drug cathinone, an addictive stimulant with effects similar to but less intense than that of methamphetamine or cocaine. Over time, the cathinone in khat leaves degrades, and the court documents allege that Ishak placed priority on ensuring the khat smuggled into the United States was fresh. He allegedly used at least 14 couriers, whom he would pay about $1,000 per trip to travel to England and return with khat smuggled in their passenger luggage. Ishak and other conspirators would use rented vehicles to provide couriers with transportation to and from the airport and designate locations throughout the United States for couriers to retrieve or ship khat to conspirators in other parts of the country. At times, Ishak is accused of suggesting that conspirators use their children as couriers to evade detection.

Read it all and check out the perps!  Maybe someone in the refugee resettlement business will recognize some of their past downtrodden kids just looking for the American Dream!

In addition here is a Reuters story on the case—they are looking at 20 years in jail (add that to the cost of the Refugee Resettlement program).    LOL!  Come to think of it, that’s a good idea, how about if the cost of imprisoning former refugees and asylees comes out of the Refugee budget!

Use our search function to learn more about Khat.

*For new readers: We have admitted well over 100,000 Somali refugees to the US.   To check out the numbers visit this post, one of our most widely read posts over the last few years.   In FY2010 which ended September 30th the US State Department resettled 4,884 Somalis (here) to towns near you.

Also, after being closed for nearly two years, the US State Department is on the verge of resuming the fraud-ridden family reunification program that admitted as many as 36,000 Somalis fraudulently to the US between 2003 and 2008.  See the latest on new regulations, here.  The State Department has probably re-opened the program by now.

Catholic Charities gets cool couple of million $ in New York, calls it win-win

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Your tax dollars

Catholic Charities calls it a win-win.  I call it lose-lose.   

From Hope for All (immigrants only need apply):

BUFFALO, N.Y., May 12, 2011 – Catholic Charities of Buffalo has received a $2 million federally funded Targeted Assistance Grant from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which will be utilized by the Agency to support its Immigration and Refugee Assistance Program with various aspects of refugee employment and job training.

The grant will allow the Agency to help its clients prepare for employment, obtain jobs and retain employment. It will also provide a number of training programs to enhance the employability of clients. The grant also reflects a collaborative effort involving two other refugee resettlement agencies, The International Institute of Buffalo and Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County, which will function as subcontract providers.

“This is a win-win situation,” said Ann H. Brittain, director of Catholic Charities Immigration and Refugee Assistance Program. “The local economy wins because employers get dependable, hardworking employees and the refugee population benefits by being able to support themselves and their families. Many of the individuals who receive services under this grant will buy cars and homes within the next few years. They will pump money into the economy.”

And, we lose when Catholic Charities gets a couple of million of your tax dollars to manage with little oversight.  The federal taxpayer loses when money that should go to offset our monstrous debt is sent to Buffalo, and the American unemployed workers lose because they don’t get the job training and the subsequent jobs.    It really is a reverse discrimination isn’t it!

I am asked frequently what the Refugee Resettlement Program costs taxpayers.  Because, in addition to all the welfare usage by refugees and asylees that is not tracked and grants like this one, it is virtually impossible to put a price tag on what this is costing the US.   But, please go here for the link to read the 2008 Annual Report to Congress (even if it’s years out of date) to begin to get a handle on the size and scope of this program.

ORR Annual Report to Congress hot off the presses!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

NOT!  It is three years late!

I was hoping to have a quick look at the long-awaited 2008 Annual Report to Congress from the Office of Refugee Resettlement before posting this, but unfortunately have run out of time today to skim through it.

Here it is! (thanks to a reader).  All of you who have asked me lately how much money is expended supporting refugees and asylees and where the refugees were resettled, this is the latest report and I encourage you to study it.

Next, to get the full picture of how the refugee program has fared in the great recession, we will have to start nagging for the 2009 and 2010 reports that are also late.

Rumford, ME gets a little colorful diversity

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

According to wikipedia, Rumford, ME had a population of just over 6,000 (in the 2000 census) and averaged 98.67% white.  So,  now thanks to a pair of Sudanese (refugees? asylees?) they have gained some of the vibrancy only diversity can bring to a small boring American town.

From the Sun Journal in Lewiston, ME* (the Somali capital of Maine!), two arrested for trafficking cocaine:

RUMFORD — A man and a woman from Portland were arrested early Saturday on charges of trafficking cocaine.
Michael O. Okot, 25, and Reaksmey C. Tang, 18, both of 155 Anderson St. in Portland, were charged with trafficking in schedule W drugs.

According to an arrest affidavit by Rumford police Cpl. Lawrence T. Winson, the two were arrested during a traffic stop Saturday just after midnight and found to have marijuana, crack cocaine and a digital scale.

[….]

Okot and Tang were transported to the Rumford Police Department without incident and then to the Oxford County jail. Okot’s bail was set at $30,000 cash, while Tang’s was set at $25,000.

*Lewiston is about 40 miles from Rumford.  You can thank the US State Department and Catholic Charities for the diversity they’ve brought to the old mill towns of the Pine Tree State.

Legal immigrants sure can liven up a dull town!

Wasn’t it just last week that federal refugee contractors were testifying before the State Department and pontificating about diversity being beautiful and now to prove it we have this morning  three examples of ‘diversity is beautiful’ from Maine to Louisiana—food stamp fraud diversity in Louisiana, terrorism diversity in NYC, and now drug-dealing diversity in Maine!  Wow! Can you feel the vibrancy?