If Donald Trump (the real Donald Trump ) is still a free man!, he should invite Beata Szydło to a meeting in the Oval Office followed by a lavish state dinner at the White House.
He would send a message to the wimps in Europe, to the cheapskates at NATO, and remind voters here of his promises to keep America safe (not to mention thrilling hardworking/patriotic Polish Americans!).
Did you know that RRW has a facebook page? It has 44,000 likes and this simple message, as of this morning, has reached over 50,000 people. I have to admit (and apologize) that I stink at commenting and responding to comments, but I truly appreciate all of you who forward my page to your friends.
This (below) is a screenshot of the message that had been up for 24 hours as of last night when I captured it. Thanks to whoever it was that drafted the message that has been making the rounds on twitter and facebook.
My complete ‘Invasion of Europe’ archive is here.
Month: May 2017
Australia dumb deal: If this is "extreme vetting" we are in deep trouble!
“This is the worst deal ever,” Trump told Turnbull in the call, adding that the country was trying to send the “next Boston bombers” into the US. (February 1, 2017)
Sometimes I wonder if the real Donald Trump was somehow swapped for a fake Donald shortly after getting in to the White House.
His instincts on February first (12 days after reaching the Oval Office) were right-on (see here). What happened to him?
The (Obama!) deal, for the US to take over 1,000 of Australia’s detained (mostly Muslim) ILLEGAL ALIENS off their hands, transform them in to refugees, place them quietly in US towns and cities and put them on welfare in exchange for Australia to take some not-yet-determined number of Central Americans (safely living in Central America) in exchange, is nuts. All that is to save Turnbull’s political skin!
See my extensive archive on the Australia deal by clicking here.
Here is news being peddled by Reuters that the Trump interviews constitute the “extreme vetting” that the real Donald Trump promised us.
Clearly the interviewers know nothing about Islam (most of those detained in Australia offshore camps are from Muslim countries***). Again, these are illegal aliens who attempted to get to Australia by boat. Legitimate asylum seekers, who tried to get to Australia, are Australia’s problem!
There is no way to check the ‘stories’ provided to interviewers with functioning governments in most of these countries.
Do our interviewers even know that there is such a thing as Taqiyya (the Islamic permission to lie to infidels).
From Reuters:
U.S. Homeland Security officials have begun “extreme vetting” interviews at Australia’s offshore detention centers, two sources at the camps told Reuters on Tuesday, as Washington honors a refugee swap that U.S. President Donald Trump had called “a dumb deal”. [“Refugee” swap! Neither are legitimate refugees—ed]
The Trump administration said last month the agreement to offer refuge to up to 1,250 asylum seekers in the centers would progress on condition that refugees satisfied strict checks.
In exchange, Australia has pledged to take Central American refugees from a center in Costa Rica, where the United States has expanded intake in recent years, under the deal struck with former President Barack Obama.
The first security interviews finished last week at Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island detention center, two refugees who went through the process told Reuters.
[….]
The refugees told Reuters that interviews began with an oath to God [which god?—ed] to tell the truth and then proceeded for as long as six hours, with in-depth questions on associates, family, friends and any interactions with the Islamic State militant group.
What the heck! Does anyone believe they would tell the truth if they had had an interaction with ISIS!
“They asked about why I fled my home, why I sought asylum in Australia,” said one refugee who declined to be named, fearing it could jeopardize his application for U.S. resettlement.
The security interviews are the last stage of U.S. consideration of applicants.
[….]
A decision on the fate of the first 70 people interviewed is expected to be reached within the next month….
And, when the first Australian-rejected migrants get to America this will no longer be Obama’s “dumb deal.” It will be Trump’s “dumb deal” as I said here on Wednesday.
There is more at Reuters, click here to continue reading.
*** The illegal aliens we are interviewing at Australian off-shore detention facilities are from the following countries: Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan and Stateless (probably Rohingya Muslims from Burma).
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society: Tell Congress we need more $$$ for refugees
As I said yesterday, although Trump’s proposed FY18 Budget contains (we are told) enough money for as many as 50,000 refugees for FY18, the refugee resettlement contractors are pushing Congress for more.
The President has the power to set the refugee admissions ceiling for the upcoming year (in “consultation” with Congress), and that is normally done in September.
But, it appears to me that the contractors think they have a chance to move the Republican Congress to appropriate enough money for 75,000 refugees in FY18 and by doing that essentially steal the power the President has under the Refugee Act of 1980 to set the ceiling for the upcoming year. (Always remember RINOs want cheap immigrant laborers for their business donors!)
Here is an alert I received yesterday. Of course their language is unnecessarily alarmist as we are no longer debating Trump’s original moratorium vs. some number of refugees, the debate is now simply over how many!
That second link directs readers to this page which begins (under this banner):
HIAS:
In the midst of the largest refugee crisis in recorded history, with over 65 million people displaced around the world, the U.S. government must do more—not less—to help refugees.
Please take a minute to urge your elected officials to fund a humanitarian response that demonstrates America’s global leadership and honors our values. We need to make sure Congress provides adequate funding for refugees and allows organizations like HIAS to continue the important work of helping refugees here and abroad.
Then HIAS supplies their supporters with a ready-made letter to Congress.
I cannot overemphasize the fact that the refugee contractors understand the appropriations process in Washington (their financial lives depend on it!), but that citizens concerned with the secret placement of third worlders in to your towns and cities don’t understand it. And, we definitely don’t have lobbyists (as HIAS does) in Washington to help get your message to your representatives.
As I have said repeatedly, the entire UN/US Refugee Admissions Program should be scrapped and if it is in our interest to take some refugees, a new law should be written. Sadly, after encouraging us with MORATORIUM language, there is no sign that the Trump team will lead any major reform. The battle is being framed simply around numbers (in a range of 50,000-75,000).
US State Department continues its pattern of secrecy regarding refugee resettlement
The leading non-profit watchdog on government transparency, Judicial Watch, has been digging in to records relating to the resettlement of tens of thousands of refugees and other migrants and the money we spend on them.
Yesterday, JW reported that while the Dept of Health and Human Services was forthcoming about the cost of care for the tens of thousands of ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children’ (they are NOT refugees) spread throughout America, the State Department continues to withhold information about what you pay for the resettlement of refugees from around the world.
Incidentally I like the use of the words “foreign nationals” in this article to describe the disparate people we are paying to care for.
Again, the ‘children’ from Central America are not “refugees” and that distinction must continue to be made because the Open Borders Left is working every day to make you think that the mostly male teens are refugees escaping persecution.
Judicial Watch (two days ago):
The U.S. government spends billions of dollars to “resettle” foreign nationals and transparency on how the money is spent depends on the agency involved. Judicial Watch has been investigating it for years, specifically the huge amount of taxpayer dollars that go to “voluntary agencies”, known as VOLAGs, to provide a wide range of services for the new arrivals. Throughout the ongoing probe Judicial Watch has found a striking difference on how government lawyers use an exemption, officially known as (b)(4), to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to withhold records. All the cases involve public funds being used to resettle foreigners on U.S. soil and Americans should be entitled to the records.
The (b)(4) exemption permits agencies to withhold trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person which is privileged or confidential. Depending on the government agency and the mood of the taxpayer-funded lawyers handling public records requests, that information is exempt from disclosure. In these cases, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) disclosed a VOLAG contract to resettle tens of thousands of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) that entered the U.S. through Mexico under the Obama administration while the State Department withheld large portions of a one-year, $22.8 million deal to resettle refugees from Muslim countries. Most of the UACs came from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala and the Obama administration blamed the sudden surge on violence in the three central American nations. The agency responsible for resettling the minors and issuing contracts for the costly services is HHS.
See the JW post for the details of where your money went for the ‘children.’
JW continues….
This has become a heated issue for the government which may explain why other agencies aren’t as forthcoming in providing specific figures, thus abusing the (b)(4) exemption. The State Department, for instance, redacted huge portions of records involving contracts with VOLAGs to resettle refugees from mostly Muslim countries. The files illustrate the disparate redaction treatment given by different government agencies to the same types of records. The State Department paid a VOLAG called United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) a ghastly $22,838,173 in one year to resettle refugees that came mostly from Muslim countries. Unlike HHS, the agency redacted information related to what the USCCB charged the government for things like furniture, personnel, equipment and other costs associated with contracts to resettle refugees. Why did one government agency hand over the same types of records that another agency claims are trade secrets? Judicial Watch is challenging the State Department’s (b)(4) exemption and will provide updates as they become available.
Continue reading here.
I don’t know if JW’s FOIA request was an older one to the Obama State Department. If it was, it would be interesting to see how the Trump State Department handles such requests. If this was from a new FOIA (post Trump inauguration), then we know that the Trump DOS is going to be as secretive as Obama’s was.
As we said yesterday, the Trump Administration in FY18 is going to continue to spend billions on these foreign nationals.
Just so you know, Baptist Children and Family Services, that is getting the millions for the UACs is not one of the nine federal resettlement contractors calling themselves VOLAGs. It doesn’t resettle real refugees through the US Refugee Admissions Program.
It is, of course, a federal contractor just as the nine which monopolize resettlement in America are. Here is an example of a research project someone should undertake—-figure out how much federal money goes to BCFS every year.
The nine VOLAGs comprise a closed little click and I suspect they are not happy that BCFS has wormed its way in to their pots of (your) money.
Two of the nine (possibly more now) have been getting payola from HHS to care for ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children’ for years (in addition to resettling refugees) and the two are the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
For new readers, in government-speak the word VOLAG stands for Voluntary Agencies which I have said is such a joke because they are mostly paid out of the US Treasury to do their ‘charitable good works.’ Go here at HHS where they list the nine so-called VOLAGs. See them here below:
- Church World Service (CWS)
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular)
- Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
- International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular)
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular)
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
- World Relief Corporation (WR)
Just so you know, when I started writing RRW in 2007, there was a tenth VOLAG. It was the state of Iowa. To break in to this closed group, a wannabe government contractor must show they have experience resettling refugees. Maybe BCFS is hoping to get in on the refugee resettlement action by first ‘resettling’ the children from Central America. I’ve also hypothesized that the Mormon Church in Utah might at some point try to break in to this charmed circle.
Refugee industry wants Trump to admit 75,000 refugees this fiscal year, and another 75,000 in FY18
The President’s budget for next year is out, but I have to be completely honest with you, going through these numbers is not my thing!
And, consider that it is Congress that will in reality set the agenda and budget for refugee admissions by how much money they are sending to the program and ultimately out to the federal resettlement contractors.
In searching around this morning, I’ve found several indicators of what Trump might do, what he has done, what the budget might dictate, and how the contractors are reacting, and I will leave it to you (who have more patience to wade through numbers than I) to analyze the numbers.
Just so you know, as of today (5/24/2017), note (from Wrapsnet) that Trump is now at 45,172 admitted refugees for this fiscal year (FY2017 ends on September 30th). (Average refugee admissions for the last ten years is around in the low 60,000s.)
Resettlement contractors happy with FY17 budget!
I missed this: The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society was very happy with the Continuing Budget for the present fiscal year. See here earlier this month:
Today (May 5) President Trump signed into law a $1.1 trillion government spending bill to keep the government running through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year.
Within that massive bill are a few items of particular importance for refugees who, after fleeing war and persecution, have either found safety abroad or are beginning new lives in the United States.
The spending bill funds the Office of Refugee Resettlement at a level equal to last fiscal year. ORR oversees the domestic side of U.S. resettlement and facilitates refugees’ integration and economic success in this country. This funding will allow ORR and its partner agencies (including HIAS) to continue providing services for refugees, asylees, unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeker children, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa recipients.
Also included is $3.06 billion for Migration Refugee Assistance, which is $99 million more than the Trump administration requested.
This funding will enable the U.S. State Department to provide humanitarian aid to refugees overseas as well as resettle refugees in the United States.
The bill also extends the Lautenberg Amendment, which ensures a safe means of exit for religious minorities from Iran and the former Soviet Union who are approved to come to the United States. [Bunch of hypocrites! They say Trump can’t legally select Christians over Muslims, but they have supported choosing Jews as a priority from Iran and Russia for decades!—ed]
This funding agreement, which originated in the House of Representatives and passed both chambers of Congress before it reached the President’s desk for signature, ensures that the U.S. refugee resettlement program will be sufficiently funded for the remainder of this fiscal year.
This means that communities in states across the country will be able to continue doing what they already do so well every day: welcoming newly arrived refugee families and helping them to integrate by providing a strong start in their new home.
Today marks a victory for our partners in Washington and around the country, who have been advocating for continued U.S. support for welcoming and protecting refugees. But there is still so much more we can and should be doing.
We continue to urge the Trump Administration to resettle at least 75,000 refugees this fiscal year.
That was May 5th.
They have friends in the Republican Congress!
A couple of days ago (May 22nd), the President unveiled his FY18 budget and here at the Daily Caller we learn that it includes enough funding for 50,000 refugees for FY18 (begins September 30th, 2017), but just like the CR discussed above, Congress can, and likely will, add more money for MORE refugees!
Why would Republicans who control Congress want more refugees? That is easy: cheap immigrant labor for their big business donors and for the Chamber of Commerce!
The markers are being laid down!
Trump wants 50,000 and they want 75,000 for FY18!
Here is what the refugee industry is saying about this budget, from their lobbying arm in DC yesterday—the Refugee Council USA:
WASHINGTON, DC—Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), a coalition of 24 U.S.-based non-governmental organizations*** dedicated to refugee protection, urges Congress to fund refugee programs at levels that reflect the reality that the world is currently experiencing the worst refugee crisis since World War II. The last thing that the United States should do during a time of historic refugee crises is to cut lifesaving refugee budget accounts.
“Now more than ever, we must allocate funding to programs that align with our American values of freedom, compassion and opportunity,” Hans van de Weerd, Chair of RCUSA, said. “The United States has historically been a global refugee protection leader, both through strong support for refugees overseas, as well as through funding a robust domestic refugee resettlement program. We can, and must, continue to do both. During this challenging and tumultuous time, we urge the Committees on Appropriations to demonstrate support for America’s leadership in the world and our longstanding tradition of welcome by robustly funding these important humanitarian accounts during the FY 2018 appropriations process.”
[You see, they know they can get to Congress even if Trump has slightly reduced the numbers—ed]
RCUSA is requesting that at least 75,000 refugees be resettled in FY18, and believes that the Administration’s budget proposal that would support the resettlement of 50,000 is inadequate and an abdication of U.S. leadership.
RCUSA is advocating for a continuance of FY17 funding levels, and therefore recommends funding of $1.688 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) account. The REA account, which funds the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), is a crucial component of fostering refugee integration and self-sufficiency. In addition to providing services to resettled refugees, ORR is tasked with implementing social services for unaccompanied minors, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Special Immigrant Visa holders, victims of human trafficking, and survivors of torture. The President’s budget proposes a 31% cut to refugee services that help refugees achieve long-term integration and economic success and assist communities and local partners in welcoming new Americans. RCUSA also recommends $3.604 billion in funding for the Department of State’s Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account. The MRA account provides overseas assistance to displaced refugees, supports admissions to the U.S. of the most vulnerable refugees, and funds lifesaving services in humanitarian emergencies.
[….]
RCUSA also strongly opposes the president’s proposal to eliminate the Department of State’s Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account, which for example, in recent years has provided stabilizing assistance to countries of first asylum that have given safety to South Sudanese and Syrian refugees. RCUSA urges a continued funding level of $50 million for this account in FY 2018.
I’ve included that last paragraph above because this ERMA fund is nothing to fight about. It is no great shakes for Trump to have omitted funding for it. Yes, it saves US taxpayers some money, but readers in the past have confused it with money used to bring refugees to America. It is for assistance abroad and not for resettlement here, so don’t let Trump people tell you this is some sort of victory.
The battle lines are shaping up and it is pretty clear that the refugee industry is going to the Republican Congress to stop the President from reducing numbers to 50,000, a number that we think is outrageously high for a President who campaigned on stopping the program, at least temporarily, all together.
Sadly, instead of a fight about abolishing or reforming the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program (and getting the fraud out of it!) it sure looks likes it is going to be a fight simply over numbers—50,000, 75,000, or somewhere in between. At this stage it appears that the Trump Administration hasn’t any fight left for this issue.
***Go here to see all members of the Refugee Council USA. All nine federal resettlement contractors are a part of this lobbying office. I suppose one could look at this 75,000 demand as a comedown for them. In August of 2016 they urged Obama to set the ceiling at 200,000, see here. But, again, they are always pushing, pushing and pushing.
For new readers, the nine federal refugee contractors you pay to bring refugees to your towns and cities:
- Church World Service (CWS)
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular)
- Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
- International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular)
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular)
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
- World Relief Corporation (WR)