Day: November 30, 2009

Told you so! Malta is now an illegal immigration magnet

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Ever since the benevolent and brilliant Tea Party Molly (our former Ambassador to Malta) came up with the scheme of turning illegal immigrants arriving on Malta’s shores into legitimate refugees and giving them airline tickets to your town, I’ve warned that the practice would only increase the flow of Somalis and other Africans to the tiny island of Malta.  Sure enough, the EU’s border control agency confirms that today.

Officials from the EU’s border control agency Frontex have warned the Maltese authorities that publicity given to the recent agreements reached with the USA and other countries are being exploited by organised crime in Libya to market Malta as the destination to send asylum seekers and irregular immigrants.

The shocking revelation was reportedly made during a Frontex debriefing meeting held in Caltanisetta in Sicily, where military and governmental officials from EU Member States were given details about the recent Nautilus IV mission held in the Mediterranean during this summer, in a bid to contrast the flow of illegal immigrants.

Senior military sources told MaltaToday that Frontex officials spoke of intelligence that showed how criminals behind the lucrative illegal migration trade were “actually marketing Malta as the right destination to direct migrants,” given that it has now become public that the US is accepting migrants from Malta.

Frontex have reportedly warned the Maltese government that the publicity given to re-settlement agreements for migrants, is being immediately exploited by criminal gangs as the right “marketing tool” just like any travel agent would promote a destination to make more money.

Since the US embassy began its permanent refugee resettlement program in May 2008, over 320 refugees have been resettled to the US. The latest group of refugees were resettled in cities across the United States, including Denver, Atlanta, and Portland.

Just a reminder readers—refugees are supposed to seek asylum in the first country in which they land.  Basically what Molly and our State Department have done is set a precedent with this practice in Malta.  Legitimate refugees don’t get to arrive in a country and expect to be whisked away to the US, until now that is.

We’ve been writing about Malta for a couple of years.  Go here for our archives on the subject.

Saudi war with Yemen continues, Somalis involved somehow

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update December 6th:  Jerry Gordon at New English Review has an update on this story today.  All I can say is I hope the US government just lets these Muslims fight it out among themselves!

This is a story that sure isn’t appearing in any widespread way in the media, but we told you about it here recently.   Saudi Arabia, a hardline Sunni country, is trying to make sure that  none of those riff-raff—Shia Muslims from Yemen—get into Saudi territory.  This is one more news account, but I was interested to see that Somalis (Muslims too) were taken as prisoners.  What is up with that?  Are they refugees caught in the crossfire or are they fighting with the Yeminis? 

Saudi Arabia says it has captured a strategic mountain area near its border with Yemen from Yemeni Shia rebels.

Saudi forces detained about 150 Ethiopians and Somalis as prisoners of war as they cleared the area, Saudi Arabia’s deputy defence minister said.

The Houthi rebels denied that the area, which is known as Jabal al-Dood or Jabal Mudood, had been taken.

They also said they had no connection with the Somalis and Ethiopians who had been taken prisoner.

My point in raising the issue is to further demonstrate the lie that Muslim charity toward refugees is the historical underpinning of the refugee program as the UNHCR told us here.   I won’t be holding my breath waiting for the UNHCR to step in and demand the Saudis not mistreat the poor persecuted Somalis and Ethiopians they have captured.  Readers let me know if you see that news story!

Oh, and one more thing, I guess this means that Saudi Arabia has not bought into the United Nations and Far Leftwing concept of a borderless world.

Comment worth noting: Mr. Parker sure is persistent!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Mr. Ralph Parker is a refugee resettlement volunteer in the Atlanta area who has written to us on several occasions.  Most recently, here, he suggests that we need more “balance”* in our reporting on refugees.  So, with a smile at Mr. Parker’s persistence, below is a Thanksgiving letter from a Bhutanese refugee, a friend of Mr. Parker’s, and a man grateful to be in America and one who will likely succeed.   Mr. Parker thought our readers would enjoy seeing it.

Dear Friends,

It is a THANKSGIVING time and a happy time.

In recent months, many great citizens of this country were involved in helping our Bhutanese people in our transformation process to this new way of life. It is totally different to the way we are brought up and raised.

Take my family, for example. They know manual work, not like high technology work here. We know how to plough the fields using a big bull but not a tractor or the one shown in [children’s TV program] Bob the Builder.

We came to this land where human rights and democracy are respected.
After my arrival, I realized that I can wear the clothes of my own choice and can eat the food of my habits. I can speak freely and write freely and can have a lawyer in the court house in one’s defense. What a free world.

My dad used to pay fees for having a radio in my house and that was a source of great entertainment. Few lucky ones used to own this, also. Here everyone has their own TV, computer and wristwatch.

We were never exposed to the greater world… and came from a bamboo hut to a beautiful furnished house where heating and cooling device is under your control. No more running to the muddy rivers. Boy! Clothes can be washed within a few hours.

Yet every evening you go and talk to my friends: they are nervous.
Smoke alarm is beeping. Someone tried to warm a boiled egg in the microwave and there was a big bang. Three people came and robbed our cash, showing a gun. A Bhutanese guy was in a dumpster [to recycle some items], and the pickup truck came. The guy’s friend saw [the situation] yet couldn’t explain in English to the driver that a man was in the dumpster. The driver kept loading the dumpster until, the friend knocked on the door of the truck and pointed to the dumpster. The driver finally understand, and the man’s life was saved.

Cold was the greatest danger for us.
Back in refugee camps, the temperature was always hot. People reached Atlanta with NO warm clothes. Children and older people were the victims, especially. And several HEROS OF MANKIND jumped in and started helping our people. There were child volunteers, young volunteers, old volunteers, female volunteers, male volunteers, and of all colors. No one asked me, What is your race?

There are thousand of such stories and a reality. Now things are getting better. Yet this transformation process definitely will take a long time, and your help and support is always needed.

American citizens are great and now we have to learn this culture too.
I have the pictures of all the volunteers in my memory of my heart. Your love and kindness. Your hard work, time and dedication to improve the living conditions by using your talents is a greatest gift for us. Several projects have began to support us. God, please protect this great people.

Today Tulasi is with his family for Thanksgiving and would like to thank each of you with greatest respect for your support for me, my family and my community.

Wish you a happy Thanksgiving. Namaste [Sanskrit: a friendly greeting, meaning, I bow to you].

— Tulasi, Kumari and Ryan

* On the issue of balance, see my reponse to Mr. Parker, here.  Bottomline is that we feel we are balancing the mushy mainstream media reports on refugee resettlement.  However, I must say we are seeing more reports in the mainstream media in recent months about problems with the resettlement program and pointing to the need for reform.  A case in point is just two days ago when we told you about a Burmese homeless man in Greensboro, NC.

Legal Immigration numbers: NumbersUSA has another great graphic demonstration

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Posted at the top of our blog is a link to a NumbersUSA clip about the large number of immigrants coming to the US.  Today, Roy Beck, Founder and CEO of NumbersUSA has posted a fascinating youtube clip in which he demonstrates to the ‘man on the street’ how high (and how they are not in line with our past immigration tradition) our legal immigration numbers are compared to years prior to 1965.  Check it out here.

Just a reminder that higher numbers of immigrants mean less open space, more energy demands, more housing, more pollution, fewer jobs for American low income citizens, more deficit spending for public assistance, more roads, more schools, more crime and the list goes on.

For information on what you can do, go to NumbersUSA, here.

Also related, the Washington Times is reporting this morning that all versions of health care reform working their way through Congress will make health care coverage available to illegal aliens.

Another (Muslim) immigrant food stamp scam, this time near Trenton

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This immigrant food stamp scammer was caught before he had ripped off US taxpayers for too much, but I’m posting the story because it contains some additional information on the magnitude of this welfare fraud crime.

Police said the owner, Mohammad Imran Mumtaz, 35, of Middletown, admitted that he knew most of his “customers” cashed their government Access cards to buy heroin and cocaine.

Food stamps can be used to put a turkey on a poor family’s table, to make lunch for a needy child or put breakfast in a child’s belly before school.

They also can be taken to a store and illegally changed into cash, which then can be used to buy street drugs.

That’s what was happening at one Morrisville grocery, police said. Now the owner and former owner of 3 Star Deli Mart at 336 West Bridge St. face hundreds of criminal charges for trafficking in food stamps, fraud and related offenses.

For readers wishing to help authorities identify convenience stores in your community that might be involved in illegal food stamp transactions, there is a pattern.  The store is usually pretty new (or newly re-opened) and in many cases run by an immigrant who is new to town.  They are often located in communities with large immigrant populations (btw, refugee use of food stamps is way up).  This article tells us they are in close proximity to crime areas of the city.  One additional tip-off is that the store shelves are not fully stocked.  Alert your local police and they will most likely set up a sting operation.

Big bucks are involved:

According to a 2007 Government Accountability Office report, about $241 million worth of food stamps were illegally used in 2005. The GAO report recommended targeting stores most likely to traffic in food stamps, promoting state-level enforcement and developing a plan to increase the penalties for dealing in food stamps. The agency also recommended oversight of early operations at newly authorized retailers. One example in the report referred to a store that illegally redeemed almost $650,000 in food stamps in nine months.

The GAO said that while the study showed trafficking had declined in larger stores, it remained more common in small grocery and convenience stores.

Early on, investigators noted the 3 Star Deli Mart fit that description, and that it was a short drive from the open air cocaine, heroin and crack markets of Trenton.

This guy, however, was more generous than some scammers we have written about. He was giving 60 cents on the dollar, usually its only 50 cents!

The informant told police that Mumtaz would run the Access cards used for the food stamps in Pennsylvania as if a purchase was being made and give the cardholder 60 percent of the value, according to court records.

For new readers, this is a side issue that has interested me ever since the same thing happened where we live.  The ‘Mohammad’ in our town is now in prison.  If it interests you, just type ‘food stamp fraud’ into our search function and notice the number and variety of locations where this scam has been busted. 

I’m convinced there are training programs abroad to teach certain immigrant types how to set-up these schemes, and provide them with the seed money to buy the ‘mom & pop’ business.  Here, for example, is the E-2 Treaty Investor program which I sure hope authorities are examining closely.