Day: June 8, 2009

Welfare usage by refugees increases in most categories

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Your tax dollars:

Each year the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the Dept. of Health and Human Services reports to Congress on the status of refugees in the US.  It is really a valuable resource for anyone wanting to understand more fully how this complex program which was a ‘brainchild’ of Senator Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden and President Jimmy Carter works.

The most recent ORR Report to Congress is for FY 2006.  You can find it here.  I’ve told you about it before, but it bears repeating as our economy continues to go south.

Before I get to welfare usage by refugees,  a couple of things interested me right off the bat.   In 2006, BEFORE THE ECONOMIC CRISIS,  the US unemployment rate was 4.6% while refugee unemployment was 8.7 %.  Imagine what those numbers must be now if  US unemployment is approaching double-digits.

I also noticed that each of the Top Ten (volag) government contractors was given a rating called the ‘180th day self-sufficiency outcome’ which suggests to me that despite what our commenter, George Benedict, said yesterday, here, that there is some evaluation or comparison going on of the contractors and how successful they are in finding jobs for their “clients.”    Otherwise, why even have a ‘self-sufficiency outcome’ rating.  I’ve asked Mr. Benedict to write a guest post to explain his claim that the volags have no legal requirement or  financial or ratings incentive to get refugees employed quickly.   I’ll post it as soon as he sends it.

Welfare usage (from page 75) is up in all categories except one from 2001 until 2006.  Again in 2006 our economy was still humming.  Imagine what these numbers will look like for 2009.  Unfortunately we won’t see them published for several years!

Here are the categories:

Any type of Cash Assistance (this is the category that went down)

2001:  35.9%  (of refugees on cash assistance)

2006:   33.7%

Medicaid or RMA:

2001:  33%

2006:  44%

Food Stamps:

2001:  33.8%

2006:  54.9%

Public Housing:

2001:  10.2%

2006:  20.5%

Whew!  Look especially at Food Stamp usage, at that rate probably 3/4ths of all refugees entering the country are on food stamps now.  And, by the way, we are on track to admit 80,000 new refugees this year.   Importing all this poverty must make Cloward and Piven so proud (if they are still alive!), here and here.

Rohingya Update: Bangladesh has said, enough is enough

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The Rohingya Muslims who have been living in Burma (Myanmar) for, they claim, centuries continue to flow out of Burma into neighboring countries.   Bangladesh which has camps for them at places like Cox’s Bazaar has apparently had it and is returning them to Burma as soon as they come across the border according to this report today.

By Tun Kyaw, Coxs bazar: Within four days 178 Rohingya Muslims from Burma who entered Bangladesh illegally were arrested and pushed back across the border to Burma by Bangladesh authorities, a source reports.

The individuals were arrested by Bangladesh Rifles Battalion No. 17 in the area of Bangladesh’s Ukia Sub-division under Cox’s Bazar District on the border of Maungdaw Township in Arakan State as they attempted to enter Bangladesh illegally to seek refuge. 

[…..]

Rohingyas from Burma have been illegally entered Bangladesh in groups one after another over the last month. “The flow of Burmese Muslims into Bangladesh has been unabated,” said a border security officer on the condition of anonymity.

Local newspapers claim that Burmese entering Bangladesh are mixing into populations in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and causing crime and social unrest. 

Linked with this brief news story is a lengthy treatise claiming the Rohingya were never heard of before the 1950’s and have not lived in Burma’s Arakan State for the centuries they claim.

By the way, where is the outrage against Bangladesh?  You will recall that “human rights” groups went ballistic a few months ago when Thailand pushed Rohingya illegal alien boat MEN back out to sea and the story became international news, start here.   Better still, if you are new to the Rohingya refugee crisis campaign, check out our whole category, Rohingya Reports.

Why do we care?  We care because the public relations push is on to resettle Rohingya in America.

If anyone sees any news from Ms. Hillary at the State Department condemning Muslim Bangladesh, send it my way!   After Obama’s fawning Cairo speech I don’t expect to see too much wrist-slapping of Muslim countries by the Obama Administration.   And, heck we all know how kind and welcoming a Muslim country is to its fellow Muslims!