Month: January 2012

Colorado: Uzbek refugee arrested on terror charges

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update Feb 8th:  Suspect pleads not guilty, here.

Update Feb 3:  Muhtarov says he is innocent, here.

Update Feb 2:  A blogger has a  much more detailed account of what might be going on with this terrorist suspect and the US government, but his post raises more questions then it answers.

Update Feb. 1:  Washington Post version of the same story, here.  And, here is the UK Mail’s much more thorough report.

Somebody really needs to get to the bottom of what the HELL we were doing airlifting Muslims from Uzbekistan to the US in the wake of the Andijan “massacre” in 2005.  I mentioned the mystery here in July when I wrote about the Uzbek Muslim “student” arrested for planning to assassinate Pres. Obama.

Now, here is the news from the Denver Post:

AURORA — The Uzbek refugee facing terrorism charges in Denver was a merchant turned human-rights activist who tried to defend farmers, opposed Uzbekistan’s dictator after a 2005 massacre, endured a detention that left him bloody, saw his sister arrested on a false murder charge, then fled by night to neighboring Kyrgyzstan dressed as a woman.

The plight of Jamshid Muhtorov, 35, looked so bleak that the United Nations and U.S. government rescued him,* along with his wife and two small children. U.S. authorities gave Muhtorov a comfortable new perch in Colorado, where state officials estimate as many as 157 other Uzbeks have been resettled after escaping a human-rights disaster.

But now the same government that rescued Muhtorov is prosecuting him under a law that prohibits “material support” for terrorists.

FBI agents arrested him in Chicago on Jan. 21 while he was en route to Turkey. A federal grand jury indicted him for allegedly providing material support to the Islamic Jihad Union — which the U.S. State Department has designated a foreign terrorist organization — and attempting to provide material support.

It’s a complicated case that raises questions about the fine line between freedom fighter and terrorist.

Read it all!

Not a “fine line” to me—we shouldn’t have to support foreign freedom fighters (homes, jobs, education, and food stamps), let alone terrorists, with our tax dollars through the refugee program.

* As I understand it, we (the State Department or the CIA, or both) were hellbent on getting people like this alleged terrorist out of Europe and to US soil—Why?  I have no idea, but someone knows!

Formal request submitted to give TPS to Syrians in the US, volags involved

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Since the open borders crowd has been so successful in keeping hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in the US (Salvadorans, Haitians, Liberians,  Somalis etc) through Temporary Protected Status they now want to secure TPS “protection” for Syrians presently in the US due to the turmoil on-going in Syria.

So who is next? — TPS for Yemenis, Egyptians, Libyans, Palestinians and the list goes on!

Just a reminder that Mark Krikorian at the Center for Immigration Studies shrewdly noted in 1999—there is nothing quite so permanent as a temporary refugee!

Here is the news:

On Wednesday, January 25th, United for a Free Syria (UFS), in close coordination with a broad coalition including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Syrian Expatriates Organization (SEO), Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), Syrian Americans for Democracy (SAD), South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), and Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), has formally requested that the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, to Syrian nationals presently in the United States. The request was sent directly to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.

UFS understands the urgent need to file for TPS and will continue the political lobbying behind this effort at the US Congress and the White House as well as all relevant agencies. The thorough petition has been sent not only to DHS, but also to the Office of the Secretary of State, the National Security Council, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. The petition cites numerous facts regarding the current Syrian regime’s atrocities from numerous international governmental and non-governmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch and the United Nations, among other reliable sources.

Since two of the top refugee contractors (highlighted above) are in on this, I can only assume there is money to be made as visa overstays, illegal aliens, Syrian students, and Syrian tourists are magically transformed overnight into formal “refugees.”   There must be something more tangible in it for the volags besides the joy of enhancing our ethnic diversity.

One final thought.  As the refugee program itself comes under greater scrutiny (the numbers are down under Obama), I think those looking to bring ever greater numbers of immigrants to the US are just searching for more creative ways to get the job done.  TPS is one such legal program.

Archbishop of Miami: bring more refugees….

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

…..we need the money!  He didn’t say that last part, but I have become so cynical that is how I read his plea.  Boo hoo! Only 54,000 last fiscal year.

Here at Local 10 News:

This is the reality experienced today by the ever growing numbers of migrants and refugees throughout the world. Indeed, the United Nations estimates that there are today in the world 11 million refugees – most surviving in desperate circumstances. And, truth be told, many fail to survive at all. Yet, in spite of this profound human suffering, doors are shut in the faces of those looking for a durable solution to their plight in a third country. For example, last year the United States admitted barely 54,000 refugees for resettlement, down from 74,000 the previous year. This is a disturbing trend in light of the enormous need internationally.  [If we brought 150,000 refugees, I have a feeling the good Archbishop would be saying he wanted 250,000.  Whatever the number it wouldn’t be too many!—ed]

[….]

Congress has authorized the admissions of up to 75,000 refugees in 2012 fiscal year. Security concerns should not be used as a “smoke screen” to mask bureaucratic inertia which threatens to leave these slots unfilled.

With good will, good management, and sufficient resources, it is possible to expand our admissions with no danger to our security.

“Sufficient resources” of course come through the federal government directly from the taxpayer and to the Catholic Church.

And, as if Florida doesn’t have enough refugees already!  It is in the top 6 refugee receiving states in the US.  Here is a good survey from the Migration Information Source dated August 2011 about recent refugee resettlement.

Just a reminder, we have a category entitled ‘where to find information’ and I’ve posted this story there.

Somali sex-trafficking case inching toward trial in Tennessee

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

New readers may first wish to review stories about the indictments of 29 Somalis back in November 2010, here.

The case is expected to go to trial in March if the court and more than two dozen lawyers for the defendants can get it all together.

From The City Paper:

The federal courthouse in downtown Nashville was abuzz on Friday, Jan. 20. Outside, Occupy Nashville staged a small protest against corporate greed, using theatrics to hammer home their point.

But eight stories above, in courtroom A859, there was no acting.

Somali women, their heads wrapped in colorful cloth, smiled and waved to their family members and friends as 28 handcuffed defendants entered the room. Some of the accused returned the greetings. A federal marshal quickly stepped into the crowd and reminded one of the women in the crowd that she can wave, but can’t communicate with the defendants.

[…..]

The interaction was surprisingly cordial considering the violent, socially deviant nature of the defendants’ alleged crimes. According to the federal indictment, the defendants all played a role in child sex trafficking. They are charged with transporting pre-teens and teens between three states and forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts.

The defendants are all associates or members of gangs like the Somali Mafia, the Somali Outlaws and the Lady Outlaws, according to the government.

“I would call this one of the more significant cases we’ve investigated in recent memory,” said John Morton, director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, at the time of the indictment in November 2010.

For new readers: We have admitted well over 100,000 Somali refugees to the US.   To check out the numbers visit this post, one of our most widely read posts over the last few years.   In FY2010 which ended September 30th the US State Department resettled 4,884 Somalis (here) to towns near you.   (I know, I need to update my numbers!)

“Dodgy” asylum claims clog Australian appeals system, cost taxpayers

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

A problem everywhere?

From the Courier Mail (Brisbane):

DODGY* claims involving fake religious beliefs, sham marriages and lies about sexuality are adding to a logjam of cases in immigration and refugee tribunals, costing taxpayers millions of dollars.

Desperate foreign citizens who arrive by plane are launching a barrage of appeals after Immigration officials reject their claims and seek to send them home.

The Refugee Review Tribunal – which handles only plane arrivals – had a 31 per cent jump in appeals last year while the Migration Review Tribunal, which deals with student and partner visas, had a 24 per cent increase.

More than 13,000 appeals to the two tribunals in the one year overwhelmed resources.

Readers, asylum seekers are basically illegal aliens (or visa overstays) who enter a country on their own steam and then ask for asylum.  In the US, once their asylum status has been approved, they get basically the same goodies as a refugee who has been approved and screened abroad and flown here at taxpayer expense.  (Well, they will tell you that the refugees must repay airfare, but you can be sure many impoverished people unable to find work are not going to have their airfare loan at the top of the list).

And, by the way, here is a post I wrote in January 2011 about how it appears that US NGOs may now be helping would-be asylum seekers get into the US.  When the Refugee Act of 1980 was signed into law by Jimmy Carter it was expected that asylum claims would be a tiny number and reserved for the odd ballet dancer seeking asylum from a repressive home country.  Now it is approaching the refugee program itself in the sheer number of claimants.

The US receives the most asylum claims.  Here is a report from the UN for the first half of 2011.  Asylum claims rising rapidly:

By country, the United States had more claims (36,400) than any other industrialized nation, followed by France with (26,100), Germany (20,100), Sweden (12,600) and the United Kingdom (12,200). The Nordic region was the only part of Europe to see a fall in asylum applications. Meanwhile, in north-east Asia applications more than doubled – 1,300 claims were lodged in Japan and South Korea compared to 600 in the first half of 2010.

* “Dodgy”—isn’t that a great word!