Day: March 11, 2010

Arkansas to get more refugees through federal contract

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Arkansas is one of those states that for whatever reason has not received many refugees.   Check out the state by state stats here and see what I mean. 

This is an article I’ve had back-logged to post on from last week about how Catholic Charities in Arkansas has gotten a federal contract for a stepped-up resettlement program in the state.   Are there jobs in Arkansas?

Catholic Charities of Arkansas is expanding its services to refugees in the state through a $75,000 annual federal contract.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., has contracted with Catholic Charities Immigration Services in Springdale to offer services to refugees who are referred to them by the U.S. State Department or the State of Arkansas.

Read it all.

Where to find information: National Governor’s Association policy statement

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We first told you about this year ago, but now I see that they have a 2009 version of the document, here.   This is just one section from the Governors in which they emphasize CONSULTATION with states and local governments when towns are chosen for refugee resettlement.

1.3.4 Coordination and Consultation. Governors continue to be concerned about the lack of adequate consultation on the part of the voluntary agencies (VOLAGs) and their local affiliates in the initial placement of refugees and on the part of the federal government in the equitable distribution of refugees and entrants.

States have continually urged the federal government to establish a mechanism to ensure appropriate coordination and consultation. However, significant progress has not been made and the following mechanisms need to be considered to address this problem.

  • There should be a requirement in the State Department/VOLAG contract to limit placement to areas conducive to resettlement. In addition, VOLAGs and their local affiliates should be required to have a letter of agreement that specifies that there has been consultation and planning for the initial placement of refugees and sets forth the continuing process of consultation. The requirement in the State Department/VOLAG contract to target placement to areas conducive to resettlement should include concurrence by the state.
  • DHS, the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and the Office of Refugee Resettlement should coordinate with states receiving entrants and refugees. Entrants should be made eligible for DOS assistance for thirty days, or another mechanism should be developed to allow for a smooth transition of entrants into a community. The current system, in which an entrant simply arrives in the United States without any knowledge of the state, creates a tremendous burden on the community, leaves gaps in the provision of services, and provides no foundation for planning purposes.

Governors should be closely involved in the congressional consultation process through which new refugee admissions levels are determined to ensure that program funding is provided to support the level of refugee admissions.

There is a legal requirement for consultation as we told the Mayor of Manchester, NH, here.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services is looking for a Washington lobbyist

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is nothing new, refugee agencies hiring lobbyists.  They need to keep advocating in DC for more refugees, more taxpayer funding for their programs and to promote amnesty for illegal aliens.   That’s all well and good, but they are likely using your taxpayer money to pay for their lobbyist!  Is it stimulous money?   I sure hope the US State Department that funds their Washington office ostensibly because they resettle refugees is keeping an eye on how they use your money!  They can’t lobby with your money!

Here is LIRS job announcement for their “advocate.”   It is  full time with excellent benefits!

The Director for Advocacy contributes to the mission of LIRS and serves by: Educating and mobilizing established immigrant and refugee communities and Lutheran and non-affiliated individuals, who are interested in our mission of welcome, to act, with us, in solidarity with newly-arrived immigrants and refugees; Influencing U.S. policy makers to facilitate policies that promote greater justice and mercy for those we serve. The Director for Advocacy is responsible for developing a capacity for educating and mobilizing action on LIRS-related policy and legislative work. The Director for Advocacy helps shape LIRS advocacy goals and leads the process of developing an annual cross-departmental, cross-unit advocacy plan.

You can bet whoever is filling this role now is busy “mobilizing” for the big march on DC scheduled for March 21st (the day after the Marxists and Muslims march).

LIRS supports amnesty for illegals, here, and what a coincidence they plan to be in DC for the marches.  They will be in town to demonstrate with the Communists on Saturday and the immigrants on Sunday!

Their lobbyist is listed here at the White House in August getting orders on Amnesty along with the big businesses that need cheap labor.

By the way, I see these sneaky little boogers don’t file an IRS Form 990.  They probably use the “church” exemption.