Month: January 2010

Friends of Refugees group responds to Kansas City expose’

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a follow-up to my post the other day about the controversy involving inadequate care of refugees in Kansas City.  I mentioned that there were many comments to the original story at The Pitch.   Below is a comment from Chris Coen of Friends of Refugees—a group we told you about in March 2008, here.  At The Pitch he informs readers about how little monitoring of the refugee program is done by the US State Department.

The way the State Department’s Refugee Admissions Reception and Placement Program monitors local refugee resettlement agencies is to send out two people once in a blue moon to do a monitoring inspection. The ten national refugee agency parent groups are expected to monitor their own local offices, resulting of course in all rosy reports about local agencies (what resettlement agency parent group is going to report wrong-doing by one of their affiliates?).

Based on the number of reports that they sent us in response to our Freedom of Information Act Request (FOIA), the State Department inspections are done at each agency once every 8-11 years. Janice Belz of the refugee admissions program claimed that they make 35 to 50 monitoring trips per year to local resettlement agencies, but the math doesn‘t add up. We put in a FOIA for a 16 month period (July 2002 through October 2003) and received only 12 monitoring reports from the State Dept. If Belz was telling the truth, there should have been 45 to 65 monitoring reports.

The State Department monitors themselves are former employees of the refugee resettlement agencies. It should be noted that the State Department has fairly cozy relationships with the resettlement agencies, which leads to questions about their real ability or willingness to conduct real and neutral oversight. Any problems they report may shed a negative light on the refugee program as a whole and therefore on the State Department. This is why the Congress should be  doing real oversight of the Refugee Admissions Reception and Placement Program, but they do not.

The refugee resettlement agencies are given advance warning of the inspections, allowing things to be cleaned up before the State Department personnel arrive. We heard of one resettlement agency in Texas that prepared for six months for their monitoring inspection, so that leaves in question whether or not the State Department is really getting a clear idea of how resettlement agencies really operate. When the State Department monitors show up they examine the case files that the resettlement agencies must keep on each client, so the monitoring is not based necessarily on how refugees have been treated, but rather by what resettlement agencies claim in writing has happened. Based on those files the monitors select 3-4 refugees families to visit at their home. The monitors then try to verify from those refugees if the information contained in the resettlement agencies’ case files is accurate and complete, and they ask the refugees about their experiences and how they are doing. Strangely, if the State Department is making a monitoring trip based on complaints from the community they will not visit the refugees that are said to have been neglected. Instead the monitors will again look through the case files and select 3-4 families to visit, so no attempt is made to confirm the accuracy of community complaints. Our group complained about dozens of specific refugee families and refugees in Fargo that were neglected by Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, but when the State Department monitors finally showed up after a few years they made no attempt to verify any of the complaints Instead they interviewed 3-4 refugee families that reported no specific problems. The State Department monitors were instead highly impressed by the resettlement agency’s use of three-ring binders!

By the way, there is no punishment for resettlement agencies that fail to fulfill the bare minimum required services and material items required by their State Department contracts. Instead if an agency is caught cheating they are just given a warning. If the cheating and neglect of refugees is severe then the State Department will occasionally temporarily discontinue the flow to the local refugee agency only of new refugees who are arriving without a family member or relative to sponsor them (the “free case” refugees). Very rarely will a refugee resettlement agency lose it’s State Department contract entirely, and usually only if there is media scrutiny of refugee neglect and abuse.

Missouri residents should contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives and demand that the State Department immediately investigate the complaints at JVS (the specific complaints and refugees that have been reported to have been neglected) and immediately provide these refugees with at the least the minimum required services and material items that have been contracted for. They should ask that a moratorium be placed on any continuing refugee placements with JVS until the agency shows that it will adequately care for the refugees that it has been entrusted by the public to care for.

Christopher Coen
Friends of Refugees
FORefugees@hotmail.com

 

 

Is Britain considering limiting immigration?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Political correctness is enforced in Britain to a degree we can scarcely imagine in the U.S., unless perhaps you are at a university.  Opposing immigration or talking about Islam as a problem are seen as signs of fascism, ignorance and general evil. So it is with some surprise that I read this guest column in the UK Times headlined Migration threatens the DNA of our nation. Furthermore, it’s by a former Archbishop of Canterbury (head of the Church of England), George Carey. The Church of England’s top officials are part of the politically-correct elite. The article begins:

Too often in recent years the call for a rational debate on mass migration has degenerated into name-calling and charges of racism. Even the campaign for Balanced Migration, which I have supported, representing cross-party politicians, has barely been heeded by party leaders who have run scared of the issue.

This is why we have launched a declaration calling on the leading political parties to make manifesto commitments to prevent the UK population reaching 70 million, which is projected in official figures by 2029.

The fact is that a rise in the UK population by ten million in two decades will put our nation’s resources under considerable strain, stretching almost to breaking point the enormous reserves of tolerance and generosity of the British people.

The declaration by no means spells out a halt to immigration. In fact we welcome the contribution of both economic migrants and asylum seekers to our lively cosmopolitan culture. But we urge a return to the levels of the early 1990s, about 40,000, compared with 163,000 in 2008. Failure to take that action could be seriously damaging to the future harmony of our society.

It looks like the concern is prompted by the success of the British National Party in recent elections. The BNP was founded as a fascist party. It is attracting people who are desperate at the major parties’ lack of attention to the threats to English culture and identify by the huge influx of immigrants, especially Muslims, and the clampdown on criticism of Islam and many other things deemed sacrosanct by the elites. Carey’s concern is the danger of bolstering the “far right” if these concerns are ignored. He goes on:

Democratic institutions such as the monarchy, Parliament, the judiciary, the Church of England, our free press and the BBC also support the liberal democratic values of the nation. Some groups of migrants, however, are ambivalent about or even hostile to such institutions.

The monarchy is a democratic institution? Funny. I guess since it has a defined role, what we would call a constitutional role here, does make it democratic. Carey is not evading the problem of Islam, for he goes on:

Furthermore, the idea that Britain can continue to welcome with open arms immigrants who immediately establish their own tribunals to apply Sharia, rather than make use of British civil law, is deeply socially divisive. The last thing any of us want is ghettos. And while we don’t expect groups to assimilate, there must be a willingness on their part to integrate with the rest of British society.

And he connects his point to Christianity. I shouldn’t be surprised at this, but somehow I am.

Yet, is there anything distinctly Christian about such a call? Some will say “no”. Our values lie rather with the Enlightenment than with the Church. I believe that history is against them. It is my firm view that our society owes more to our Christian heritage than it realises and to overlook this inheritance of faith will lead to the watering down of the very values of tolerance, openness, inclusion and democracy that we claim are central to all we stand for.

This is not to say that I am calling for Christians as a group to be given priority in any migration points system. The tragedy is that any intervention into such sensitive matters is open to such widespread misinterpretation.

But what I am saying is that those who seek to live in this country recognise that they are coming to a country with a Christian heritage and an established Church. Just as we should expect immigrants to subscribe to democratic principles, abide by our laws, speak English, support freedom of speech and a free press, so they should also respect the Christian nature and history of our nation with its broad, hospitable Establishment.

John Derbyshire has a typically acerbic comment at The Corner.  He rightly says,

Like another well-known clerical performance, it is not done well, but one is surprised to find it done at all.

There is another party besides the BNP that calls for limits on immigration, the United Kingdom Independence Party. According to Wikipedia,  it “holds thirteen seats in the European Parliament and two in the House of Lords (the latter due to the defection of Conservative peers). It also has around 100 local councillors on principal authorities, town and parish councils.” Its platform calls for a five-year freeze on immigration, and after that,

No one should be admitted unless they are fluent in English, have the required educational qualifications, demonstrate loyalty to the UK, its laws and values, and can support themselves financially, with no recourse to public funds – and this to apply equally to their dependents.

Carey didn’t mention the UKIP in his column. There are things about them he probably dislikes, such as their main platform position of withdrawing from the European Union, but they are too respectable to frighten people into considering a change in immigration policy. However, their existence shows that the desire to assert British or English culture and to do something about the tidal wave of hostile immigrants is not limited to those who can be tarred as fascist.

Guest column: 2010 New Years Day – Bowling Green Police Department assists refugees neglected by the International Center

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is an article written for RRW by Cindy Florez about her experiences with refugees and a resettlement agency in Bowling Green, KY and her battle to help the refugees.  We first heard from Ms. Florez here in early November when the plight of the Karenni refugees in Kentucky first came to her attention.

I would like to add a bit of additional information to the story about the Bowling Green Police Department‘s (BGPD) New Years Day donation of over 150 coats to the Karenni refugees from Burma. First I would like to thank the BGPD for their generous spirits and kind hearts. The BGPD deserves a Gold Medal for what they did. Their compassion will long be remembered by the refugees, and has acted as a counterweight to the fear that the refugees felt due to the International Center’s actions. To be clear, the BGPD stepped in to provide these minimum required items when the International Center, which was paid to do so, would not.

Secondly, a bit of background information about how I became involved with these refugees. During trips to Thailand since 2003 I lived with these people on and off for a week at a time in refugee Camp 3 in Thailand outside Mae Hong Son on the Burma border. I saw the suffering they endured from the Burmese & Thailand Army and I came home filled with sorrow and love for the Karenni refugees. When the refugees were resettled to Bowling Green I began to visit them there and monitor their progress under the auspices of the International Center (IC), also known as the Western Kentucky Mutual Assistance Association, an affiliate of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). Unfortunately and to my astonishment, as I wrote in earlier comments here, I observed that the refugees were placed in deplorable living conditions and have been ill-treated by the IC, its caseworkers, and affiliated landlords.

On Friday, December 18, 2009 I made another road trip to visit the refugees, my car filled with donations, since the refugees continue to lack so many of the basics. When I arrived at the Lover‘s Lane Apartments the owner Noy Oulay asked who I was. When I told him my name he immediately responded, “You are evicted from this property!” I asked, “Evicted?, I don’t even live here. ” He told me to leave immediately or he would call the BGPD. I told him I would help him out and call the BGPD myself. In the meantime I could hear him ten feet away calling the International Center. Why would he need to call the International Center?

Nonetheless, the BGPD came and the officer said I was banned from the property. I asked, “Banned?” “How can I be banned when the tenants who have leases want me here?” The officer saw that my car was fully loaded with gifts and said I had 30 minutes to unload and then leave. She said that if I returned to the property again I would be arrested for trespassing. The refugees watched all of this with fear and trepidation. Before one of my previous trips to visit them on Friday, November 13, 2009 two IC Caseworkers knocked on the refugees’ doors and warned them not to speak to me or let me into their apartments. So, as we were unloading my car I told them not to worry about me, that everything would be okay.

My only conclusion as to why I was banned from the apartment complex is that the IC and it’s landlord friend wanted to isolate the refugees from me. There was obvious heavy communication going on between the landlord and the IC. I, of course, come to Bowling Green simply to assist the refugees. I bring them basic necessities. I take photos of the filthy slum apartments in which they have been placed by IC, and for which they have to pay over $500 a month. I take photos of what basics they have and are lacking. I take statements from them. Many of the refugees have told me that after they first arrived that there has been no food in their apartments for up to 17 days! They lack appropriate winter clothing, eating utensils & dishes, towels, and furniture. One refugee family with two small children had just 2 coffee cups, 1 plate, and 2 spoons, and they had been here for over three weeks. They didn’t have any furniture in their apartment! Many of the refugees who have been here less than 8 months have been rejected for Medicaid, even though funds are provided to Kentucky for Medicaid for all refugees for their first eight months!

Anyway, first thing on Monday, December 21, 2009, I faxed both the BGPD and the Attorney General of Kentucky regarding the Friday incident and pointed out that only the tenants had the legal authority to determine who they wished to welcome as guests in their apartment homes. The refugees that live at Lovers Lane Apartments also signed the letter saying I was welcome. The BGPD then called me and apologized and lifted the ban. I replied back with a thank you and told the BGPD about how these refugees have been neglected and were in desperate need of a variety of basic necessities, including winter coats, hats and gloves, which the International Center has not been providing. The following day I then received a call from the BGPD saying that they had a few coats that were leftover from a previous coat drive during Thanksgiving, and that they would see what else they could to donate more.

On New Years Day three officers showed up at the Lovers Lane Apartments and handed out over 150 winter coats to the refugees, who were absolutely delighted. The refugees who were previously frightened by the police support of the hostile landlord and the IC are now feeling a friendship with and trust of the police.

By the way, during this visit by the police an IC caseworker was there. Why would an IC caseworker be working on New Years Day? The refugees told me they had so much they wanted to tell the officers about what has been happening and how they have been treated but could not since the IC worker was there. They were so disappointed. They asked me why the caseworker, Tin Zar, was there when the IC was not involved in this event. This was a gift from the BGPD, not from the IC. Did the IC show up on New Year’s Day to monitor the refugees into silence? The IC uses Burman (Burmese majority ethnic group) caseworkers who the Karenni refugees say are abusive and who they are frightened of. The Burman are from the ethnic group that controls the despotic government of Burma.

The refugees also told me that they had only seen their caseworkers, Hein That and Tin Zar, at the Lovers Lane Apartments one time before the coat giveaway on New Years Day.   That was when they came on November 13th and told refugees not to talk to me or allow me into the apartments.

The incident has been a positive step forward for these refugees. Many of the refugees have been talking of fleeing to another state due to the lack of basic necessities, Medicaid, transportation, etc. I am trying to get them stay for at least their first eight months so they do not have any disruption in the little assistance they are getting. I have to say that this whole series of experiences has been a real eye opener for me. I never knew that refugees were treated so badly once they arrived in this country. I am amazed at the negligence and unethical actions that I have seen by the resettlement agency in this case. Nevertheless, the latest incident seems to have re-instilled hope in these refugees in Bowling Green.

Three Somalis murdered by cold-blooded killers in Minneapolis this week

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update September 12, 2011:  Trial opens today for one of the suspects, here.

Update January 16th:  Somali teens arrested in the case appear in court, here.

Update January 10th:  First arrest made in the murder here.

Update January 9th:  Vigil held, victim’s sister says they will get the murderers, here.

Several people sent me this story yesterday about another what is believed to be Somali on Somali crime in Minnesota where multiculturalism strengthens communities (yes, that is what we are told, so it must be so!).  I didn’t get around to posting it yesterday, now I’m behind on the story, so, readers, let me know if there is an update today.

Police continue to search for at least two suspects — Police Chief Tim Dolan called them “cold-blooded killers” — in Wednesday night’s shootings of three men at a south Minneapolis grocery store.

At a Thursday morning news conference, Dolan called the suspects dangerous and urged anyone with information about the killings at Seward Market and Halal Meats to come forward.

Police said they don’t know the motive behind the killings but believe it was an apparent failed robbery at a south Minneapolis market.

And, look who we have spinning the news again, why it’s Omar Jamal (who else!).  We first encountered Jamal making sure the media got the right angle two years ago and I’ve called him the Somali Jesse Jackson in the past.  Use our search function for ‘Omar Jamal’ and you will see what I mean!   And, heck, he was supposed to be working at the UN by now, what’s up with that?

“This is very, very tragic, and beyond my comprehension that there’s this level of violence in the community,” said Omar Jamal, a community activist who has overseen the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul.

“We don’t know what to make out of it,” he said. “Somehow, if it involved gangs, then people could somewhat understand this. But it now looks like … law-abiding Somali citizens are falling victim to this violence. … Makes me feel like no one is safe out there. … This is completely out of character for the community.”

Violence followed us to America!

As word of the shooting spread, Bihi said a woman called him to express sorrow.

“She said it’s unfortunate that we fled from violence and here we are trying to make our dreams come true. And then the violence follows us here.”

Note there is no clarification of what she is talking about.  They are always the victims and making it sound like somehow it’s America’s fault (maybe the reporter is doing that).  But, she must be referring to clan violence and warfare that we have brought to America right along with the tens of  thousands of Somali refugees the State Department has invited.*

Our friend Jerry Gordon at New English Review addresses that possibility here at his post on this case this morning.

*For new readers :

The US State Department has admitted over 80,000 Somali refugees to the US (this linked post continues to be one of the most widely read posts we have ever written) in the last 25 years and then last year had to suspend family reunification because widespread immigration fraud was revealed through DNA testing.  That specific program has not yet been reopened (that we know of), but will be soon.  Nevertheless, thousands of Somali Muslims continue to be resettled as I write this.

Clarification on the refugee angle involving Nigerian underwear bomber

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I don’t have a specific article about it at the moment, but it’s been all over the news since the Christmas Day failed attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian, to blow up an American airliner over Detroit.   Witnesses in Amsterdam claim that the perp had no passport, but an “Indian” man told authorities that Abdulmutallab was a “Sudanese refugee” and that “we do this all the time” (presumably he meant that refugees travel with no passport).

Could one of our knowledgeable readers clarify this.  Even if refugees have no passport surely they travel with other official documentation—right?

If you don’t wish to comment at this post, e-mail me privately at Ann@vigilantfreedom.com

Thanks!