Month: May 2008

Bosnians, Iowa, meatpackers and more

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We’ve written many times before about the unholy alliance between meatpacking giants like Tyson’s Food and Swift & Co., the government and the refugee resettlement industry.  Now, bits and pieces of this alliance are coming into better view.  Here is a lengthy segment from the Agribusiness Examiner N.101 11jan01 which I am picking up in the middle of the document:

…….

But the story continues, Limbacher [Newsmax reporter] notes, for in the intervening years, IBP’s “good deed” seems to have been rewarded, often through the good graces of the Clinton administration’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

One way the beef giant had become dominant in its field was by recruiting low-skilled non-union foreign workers to staff its slaughterhouses, where the work is always arduous and often dangerous. IBP had been actively recruiting laborers from all over the world for years.

A little more than a year after IBP helped facilitate Tyson’s takeover of Hudson, the Journal explored the company’s practice of hiring foreign workers under the headline: “With Help from INS, U.S. Meatpacker Taps Mexican Work Force.”

“So why isn’t the INS turning its searchlights on IBP’s Mexico campaign?,” the Journal asked. “Why, instead, is the federal agency hailing IBP as a model of cooperation? The answer reflects the complex interplay between public policy, a company’s economic needs and a government agency’s political interests,” reported the paper.

“Complex interplay?” Limbacher scoffs, “basically, in 1996 the Clinton INS offered the beef giant a program called Basic Pilot, which was designed to help big employers of foreign labor avoid undocumented workers and comply with immigration laws.”

But in practice, he adds, Basic Pilot often meant that immigration laws were ignored altogether. The meatpacking giant, which was hit by INS raids six times between 1994 and 1997 (the year of the Hudson buyout), hasn’t had a single INS raid since. John Nathan, the INS official overseeing the program, told the Journal that “the INS assumes a high degree of compliance” with Basic Pilot.

“And IBP’s good fortune didn’t end there,” Limbacher continues, “turns out the Clinton administration’s Bosnian refugee resettlement efforts also helped to keep labor costs down. Since 1995, for instance, the town of Waterloo, Iowa — population 65,000 – has been swamped with 6,000 Bosnian refugees, many of whom wound up working for the No. 1 local employer, IBP.”

Until recently, IBP’s 2,000-strong Waterloo workforce was one-third Bosnian. Most refugee families that settle there have a family member who at one time or another worked for the meatpacking giant. In fact, the meatpacking industry has a history of recruiting on the ground in Yugoslavia. But during the Clinton years, companies like IBP haven’t had to travel that far.

Since 1995, the Clinton INS has resettled over 80,000 Balkan refugees, mainly Bosnian Muslims, primarily in America’s Midwest. The immigrant deluge has earned Iowa the distinction of being the only state in the union with its own refugee bureau.

So, as Limbacher concludes his intriquing story, “perhaps it’s fitting that IBP should finally be absorbed by Tyson Foods, with its long history of financial backing of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, especially since it was the Clinton Agriculture Department’s heavy hand that brought the two meat processing giants together in the first place.” 

Lighbulbs flashing!    So that is why Iowa is one of the top 10 volags that regularly contract with the US State Department to resettle refugees.

And, more lightbulbs!  The US State Department is helping big companies by bringing cheap LEGAL labor through the refugee program couched as humanitarian work.    Clinton was heavily involved in importing what amounts to slave labor all to help the meatpackers not have to pay decent wages to American citizens.  Church groups are helping too! 

Flash!  For those of you wondering where all the Bosnian Muslims were coming from in recent years, here is the answer.

 

The Rohingya in Pakistan

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is another story to add to our category called “Rohingya Reports” which we created recently as an archive for information about Burmese Muslims known as Rohingya who have an on-going political campaign to be resettled in the West.

The Rohingya are one of the ethnic minorities driven from Burma by the military regime.   So far everything we have read about the Rohingya is that they are strict adherents to Islam and this article confirms that those who have migrated to Pakistan are training their children with “proper” Islamic religious instruction.

The Huffington Post article by Derek Flood is long and I encourage you to read it all, here are some highlights:

Aziz, my diminutive driver hired from the Karachi Sheraton who was ferrying me from location to location around the city on an unrelated assignment, one day mentioned off handedly that a community of Muslim refugees from Burma attended the mosque near his home in Korangi. This piqued my curiosity considerably. I’ve had an idea for sometime that by meeting people living on the world’s geopolitical periphery, I can learn the most about both globalization and its attendant wars.

Aziz was a mohajir, an Urdu speaking Muslim whose family migrated from northern India to Karachi, then the capital of a newly created but ill conceived Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The root of the Arabic term mohajir is hijira, symbolizing the Prophet Mohammed’s flight from Mecca to Medina in the 7th century. This term is used to describe what was likely the 20th century’s largest migration that took place in the ashes of the British Raj when the empire abandoned the “jewel of the crown”. Aziz was an enthusiastic member of an evangelical, Islamic revivalist movement called Tablighi Jamaat (“Conveying Group”). One of the Tablighi’s primary aims is to renew religiosity amongst wayward Muslims and other communities at risk in the Muslim world where the movement believes the influence of the faith has lessened due to political and cultural factors. Tablighi Jamaat was busy influencing a new group of mohajirs, the Rohingya of western Burma.

It was here in the warrens of Karachi’s underbelly that the Rohingya founded a settlement after fleeing persecution by the Tatmadaw (the Burmese military). The Rohingya, after suffering acute religious persecution, were a perfect fit for the Tablighi’s proselytizing. 

Visit to a Madrassa:

After hearing first hand accounts of hijira from the Rohingya elders, Aziz and I then visited a bare-walled, local Burmese religious school called Madrassa Usmani.

In Pakistan, it was the Islamic charities who provided aid and “proper” religious instruction for the children of the community as per the standards of Pakistani society. It is from just this milieu where students can be cultivated into fighters. I left with only the hope that these vulnerable, young Rohingya would not fall for the siren song of violent radicalism gripping much of modern Pakistan. As we have learned the hard lessons from the militancy spawned in Pakistan’s notorious Afghan refugee camps, it is not terribly difficult for yesterday’s victims to become tomorrow’s aggressors.

The dangerous neighborhood: 

As we drove away from the rough neighborhood these former refugees now call home, I naively said to my driver, “I actually felt pretty safe there.” Aziz looked at me skeptically and said in his heavy Pakistani accent, “that is the most dangerous area of Karachi.” Considering Karachi is one of the world’s most violent cities, I would shudder the next day when I read in the nation’s leading English-language daily that five men had been shot dead in Korangi during my brief visit.

As we drove out of the crowded slum into the overwhelming traffic of Karachi proper, I thought it a strange fate that the Rohingya fled an area where they faced state orchestrated violence only to arrive in another area plagued with rampant crime and anti-state and sectarian terrorism. Karachi may have its dreadful shortcomings but at least here in their relative anonymity, the Rohingya are free. 

Free?  Yes, free to practice Islam in its most virulent form.  

Note to State Department, think long and hard about whether this is a group of refugees we wish to resettle in American cities.  Our melting pot is pretty good, but it can’t handle religious extremists.   A good job in a meatpacking plant will not erase fundamental Islamic training.

HIV and refugees: A reader answers my question

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Before reading this post go back and read my post yesterday in which I asked how do HIV positive refugees get into the US.   A reader has kindly given us the information:

I hope I can shed a little light on refugees/HIV.

US immigration has certain conditions that are considered ” excludabilities”, such as certain crimes and certain medical conditions, particularly “Class A” medical conditions.

A “Class A” condition is something that is presently communicable and a threat to the public health in its present status.

For example, active TB is a Class A Condition, that prevents entry to the country. However, after treatment, the TB becomes “inactive” and is reclassified ” Class B” , which allows entry to the country provided that follow-up treatment is ensured so that the condition does not become active. That is a responsibility that the Volags must assume to ensure that class B refugees receive follow up treatment.

Some Class A conditions (of which HIV is one …and that status never changes) require a ” waiver”.

A waiver requires that other requirements be met, depending on the condition and application for waiver must be submitted prior to approval of an entry visa.

For HIV, the requirements are that a known medical provider must be named who will provide follow up care for the applicant, and a number of other requirements.

Several years ago, the waiver process was very complex and lengthy, and , in fact, many applicants died prior to the waivers being granted.

For other (non-refugee) immigrants, that old process is still in place, thus, most family based immigrant applicants are not able to complete the process since sponsoring relatives are usually not able to provide the financial means for their applicant relatives (who are usually not eligible for public medical assistance but require private insurance).

Since refugees are eligible for public medical assistance, this is not seen as a barrier, and the federal government has vastly streamlined the waiver process for refugees with HIV. (It’s important to note that the HIV status of refugee applicants is only discovered after their processing and initial approval under other criteria).

At present, the process simply requires that the prospective Volag accept the case and provide the contact information of an HIV medical provider who has agreed to provide care and follow-up and that contracted overseas entities provide counseling sessions to the applicant.

Approved refugees supposedly receive an orientation to their condition and counseling in prevention and other issues surrounding living with the virus.

In reality, there are problems. The overseas counseling seems to vary greatly. From personal experience, many refugees have a very spotty knowledge of HIV , how it is transmitted, etc. and are often in denial that they even have the virus. While they are required to sign forms stating that they are fully aware, the simple fact is that many are NOT aware . Additionally, because of confidentiality regulations, no one else is informed, INCLUDING SPOUSES, of the condition. (Obviously the sponsoring Volag is aware, but regulations again prevent them from sharing ANY information with anyone except directly to the medical provider).

In my experiences, it is very rare for HIV infected persons to inform their spouses (or other partners) of the conditions (state laws vary about disclosure, however. But in my state, it prevents disclosure to spouses without the HIV client’s written consent… and you can imagine that it’s rare for consent to be given).

Also, many refugees come from cultures where ” safe sex” practices are unheard of and would cause alarm to their partner if introduced, thus there is a lot of unsafe sex which can transmit the virus to their partners.

The confidentiality regs are so strong that it also prevents the medical provider from informing the Volag of any problems, thus preventing them from providing any specific counseling to the client. (Example…. An HIV positive man has not informed his wife, and continues to have unprotected sex with his wife….. he may tell the HIV counselor but the counselor cannot inform the Volag or the wife). This happens a LOT.

On the other hand, if left in their country of asylum (at least for most refugees), HIV is still truly a death sentence. That is no longer the case in the US and persons with HIV can lead long and productive lives. (I have a friend who is an HIV specialist MD and he sees it for most people as a lifelong condition much akin to TB, high blood pressure, Hep B or other diseases for which we fortunately have treatments to control it). I am thinking in particular of one woman who became infected through a rape and who was devasted and distraught for the longest time, but who is now in good health and functioning very well.

I could go on and on, and there really are a lot of problems and concerns, but at least I hope to have cleared up how refugees with HIV are allowed to enter the US.

 

Bhutanese arriving soon in Everett, WA

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is another article about the Bhutanese refugees who have started to arrive in the United States from camps in Nepal.  It’s long but I encourage you to read the whole thing to better understand the situation with the Bhutanese since we are expected to take upwards of 60,000 of them over the next few years.  And, see what I have to say about problems with refugee resettlement.

Here is a segment from the beginning of this article by Krista Kaprolos at the Herald Net:

For about 100,000 people, living in Bhutan was more about basic survival than fairy-tale mountain living. They were driven out of Bhutan in the early 1990s, and ever since, they have been living in refugee camps in Nepal, where they aren’t allowed to work and are stuck at the bottom of an intricate caste system.

Now, more than half of those refugees, known as Lhotsampas, “People of the South,” are preparing to come to the United States. The first wave, a trickle of just a few families, came early this year.

Within weeks, 18 Bhutanese refugees are expected to arrive in Everett.

“Nepal is unable to integrate them,” said Jan Stephens of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, the organization that will resettle the Bhutanese in Everett.

All but one of the 18 Bhutanese scheduled to come to Everett are under 30 years old, Stephens said. It’s likely that they speak English, which is taught in Bhutanese schools, but their heritage is one of rural mountain culture.

“The one potential downside is that it’s not a group of people who have lived in urban environments before,” said Joel Charny of Refugees International, an advocacy group in Washington, D.C. Charny visited the refugee camps in Nepal late last year.

Then, here is my input: 

While some refugee advocates welcome them, others worry that local agencies that contract with the federal government to find housing, jobs and perform other services can’t keep up with the number being resettled here. In many cases, refugees are offered services for a limited number of months, then must fend for themselves.

The process of refugee resettlement, which awards money to local agencies to care for the refugees, is flawed, said Ann Corcoran, author of Refugee Resettlement Watch, a blog that keeps tabs on resettlement trends.

It’s not realistic to expect refugees to become self-sufficient so quickly, she said. Another potential difficulty is if the refugee group rejects American culture. One reason some groups have done well is that they embrace the opportunities America offers.

“The Vietnamese came here and decided to work hard and become Americans,” she said. Others, such as some strict Muslims, are offended by what they find here and become isolated. 

I would rephrase that last line, to read instead of “become isolated” to read “choose to become isolated.” 

And, finally here is a little tidbit of news that is not reassuring:   some of these mostly Hindu and Buddhist refugees are, according to this article, polygamous. 

In most cases, the refugees will have little experience with modern homes, including refrigerators and other kitchen equipment. Polygamy exists among Lhotsampas, but it is not widespread.

Does anyone know if that is true?  Muslims practice polygamy as do some extreme Christian groups, but I guess I’m pretty ignorant about Hindus and Buddhists on that score.

See our previous posts on the Bhutanese here.

 

Spotlight on Refugees and Asylees in the US

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

A reader sent me a link to the Migration Policy Institute’s Migration Information Source yesterday with facts on refugees and asylees and some recent numbers of each admitted to the US.   Because things are hopping and time is in short supply we tend to try to get the news to you, but much of our original intent in writing this blog was to get basic information to citizens wishing to better understand this portion of US policy on immigration.

See this article entitled “Spotlight on Refugees and Asylees in the US” here for basic information and recent numbers.

Check out our category “where to find information” here.