Month: April 2012

Religious refugee agencies: Priority one is “guarding the government golden goose”

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

James Edwards writing at the Center for Immigration Studies has a great summary of the Refugee Resettlement Program and how the mostly religious federal contractors often operate, in many cases, against the best interest of the refugees AND the communities into which the agencies place the third-worlders.

Here is just a bit of what Edwards had to say (Hat tip:  Richard Falknor at Blue Ridge Forum):

While illegal immigration usually raises the ire of the public and politicians, few look closely at refugee programs. Most Americans, including Christians, reject the pro-amnesty stance fashionable among religious elites from the U.S. Catholic Conference to the Southern Baptist Convention to the National Association of Evangelicals. Yet many faith-based organizations, including arms of major religious entities, engage in resettling refugees.

This Memorandum briefly reports on the financial stake certain religious agencies have in U.S. refugee resettlement. It shows that refugee resettlement has become dependent on U.S. taxpayers and is a disruption to American communities, with nongovernmental agencies profiting from it.

[…..]

Similar to what happened to private charity when the government took over many of its functions (and became less effective and efficient as a result), a refugee assistance industry has built up around government-run refugee bureaucracies and funding streams.6 It resembles other conglomerations of associations, agencies, and professional pleaders focused full-time on protecting and expanding their share of the public till, from public housing advocates to lobbies surrounding each “human services” program.

Program “stakeholders” that receive millions of taxpayer dollars usually continue to receive funding year after year, with little accountability.* These groups’ mission becomes guarding the government golden goose rather than helping people achieve self-sufficiency or maximizing efficiency in usage of public money. This same phenomenon seems to have influenced the refugee resettlement industry, including its religious agencies.

Read it all, here.  It is so good I would like to have copied the whole thing!

DON’T FORGET!  You have a chance to comment on the number of refugees (and nationalities) as the US State Department holds its annual consultation, here.

* In 2007 I was told by a State Department official that there isn’t any financial accountability to speak of, that they do “program audits” and not “financial audits.”  Program audits I was told simply determine such things as whether refugees have gotten jobs in a proscribed time frame or are otherwise functioning on their own.

Reminder! Sign up to speak or send testimony to State Department

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

A couple of days ago I told you that the US State Department will be holding a meeting on May 1st in Arlington, Virginia to take testimony about how many refugees should be resettled in the US in 2013.  This is your chance to express your opinion on the matter.

Here is my post with all the details.   You have until April 24th to sign up to attend and/or speak.  You can send (via e-mail) a written statement by that date as well.

I think you will find the search function here at RRW pretty good, so if there is something you read here once and would like to get the source, please try the search function.  I reminded someone yesterday that we have a category on “crime” alone with 918 posts in it (note to critics, there are crimes against refugees posted there as well!).

More delays in the Tennessee Somali sex trafficking case

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

And, what do you know—refugee immigration documents are inaccurate for some.

(Previous posts on this case can be found here)

From AP at NECN.com (raise your hand if you’ve seen this story mentioned anywhere on the mainstream media!):

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — A federal trial involving more than a dozen defendants accused in a sex trafficking ring run by Somali gangs has faced a series of delays.

U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes again this week ordered jurors to return on Monday as defense attorneys argued that the defendants, many of whom are refugees from Somalia, were juveniles at the time the alleged crimes occurred.

The indictment said three gangs called the Somali Outlaws, the Somali Mafia and the Lady Outlaws were forcing teenage girls into prostitution and operated in St. Paul, Minnesota; Minneapolis; Columbus, Ohio; and Nashville.

After selecting a jury last month, the trial was delayed last week when prosecutors turned over thousands of documents and audio recordings from the investigation to defense attorneys on the eve of trial. Both defense attorneys and federal prosecutors have repeatedly declined to comment about the case.

Who exactly is my mama, and when exactly was I born?

Many, but not all the defendants, are described as refugees who came to the United States as young children. [What about the others, were they born here, or came illegally?—ed] Police have relied on immigration paperwork to determine their ages, but defense attorneys have argued in court that information in those documents are routinely incorrect due to cultural and language issues.*

One defendant, Abdirahman Abdirazak Hersi, has a date of birth listed in police records as Feb. 20, 1990, but his mother testified in court Wednesday that he had been born in Somalia on Dec. 1, 1991, and that her sister was incorrectly listed as his mother in immigration records.

His attorney has asked the judge to dismiss some of the charges against his client because he would have been a juvenile at the time of the offenses and he never had a juvenile status hearing that would determine whether he would face the charges as an adult.

* Or due to fraud!   New readers may not know that the family reunification portion of the Refugee Resettlement Program was (maybe still is!) closed for years beginning in 2008 when the State Department discovered widespread fraud primarily from Somalia and East Africa.   The “family” members turned out not to be related at all.  Here is my original reporting.  And, as of this writing (July 2011)—fewer refugees coming to the US due to security concerns—the program had not resumed.

Mali: Rebels, Jihadists, making more refugees in Africa

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here we go again.  This time it’s “rebels” flowing back to Mali, one of the few previously stable democracies in Africa, with large caches of Gaddafi’s sophisticated weapons, raping and pillaging as they go.  The chaos is making an opening for the Jihadists to push for a Shariah government.

The other day while driving some distance I listened to NPR (something I rarely do, but my usual talk radio wasn’t available) and I heard an interview with a western woman in Mali’s capital.  I didn’t catch who she was, but there was no doubt she was an expert on Mali.   She was giving stern warning to NPR listeners about the dangers of Shariah law coming to Mali.  I was frankly surprised to note the interviewer took her very seriously.  And, it made me wonder why the Left is so quick to dismiss Shariah law being instituted bit by bit in the West.  (Maybe it’s just a head-in-sand reaction that keeps them from discussing the horrible possibility for us.)

From the UK Telegraph:

The rebels, armed with weapons stolen from Muammar Gaddafi’s formidable arsenal, took over an area of the Sahara as big as France in an astonishing 72 hours, taking advantage of the chaotic aftermath of an army coup.

Few of the people they promised to free waited to find out what freedom would be like. Instead, an estimated 250,000 people left their homes, terrified families fleeing with their children and possessions. Many told tales of looting and rape by rebels who now control a vast area in the heart of Africa.

Foreign governments were left scrambling to find out exactly who the rebels were, amid fears that a base for al-Qaeda will now be set up in the Sahara similar to ones in lawless parts of Pakistan and Somalia.

Read it all.

I wonder if Obama (remember responsibility to protect!) will go down in history as the President who presided over the spread of Shariah Law across Africa—Egypt then Lybia, and now Mali?

Related!

LOL!  I’m eager to see who federal contractors will be adding to their refugee wish list on May 1st (see refugee hearing here).   Will it include Egyptians, Libyans and Malians?  It was at one such meeting a few years ago that one of the contractors was pushing for the resettlement of Rohingya (Burmese Muslims) to the US.  They eventually got their wish.  We have 100 posts to date on the Rohingya here, if you would like to learn more.

State Department refugee meeting: Your chance to voice your opinion!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Every year the US State Department holds a meeting/hearing to learn what US citizens are thinking about the refugee resettlement program and so they can ‘help’ the President determine how many refugees we will take in the next fiscal year.

The meeting is dominated by federal contractors (LOL! they call them “voluntary agencies”) who stream in and ask for more refugees.  In past years few citizens or local elected officials have questioned the notion that the US can take in more impoverished immigrants from the world’s political hot spots.

This is your chance!  Either sign up to attend the hearing or send your comments.  Here is the Federal Register notice.  Note that they are specifically disallowing video taping of the proceedings because they don’t want large numbers of taxpayers to see the parade of contractors with their hands out!

There will be a meeting on the President’s FY 2013 U.S. Refugee Admissions Program on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Refugee Processing Center, 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100, Arlington, Virginia. The meeting’s purpose is to hear the views of attendees on the appropriate size and scope of the FY 2013 U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.

Persons wishing to attend this meeting must notify the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at telephone (202) 453-9257 by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, to reserve a seat. Persons wishing to present written comments should submit them by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 24, 2012 via email to spruellda@state.gov or fax (202) 453-9393.

The use of any video or audio recording device, photographing device, or any other electronic or mechanical device designed for similar purposes is prohibited at Tuesday’s event.

If you have questions about the public meeting, please contact Delicia Spruell, PRM/Admissions Program Officer at (202) 453-9257. Information about the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program may be found at http://www.state.gov/g/prm/.

Dated: March 22, 2012.

David Robinson,

Acting, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Department of State.

Note to readers:  since we get new visitors every day, I’ll be re-posting this frequently between now and April 24th so you don’t forget to send in comments or to sign up to be there in person!