Well, not just Minnesota but everywhere. There is nothing new in this story. I’m posting it here because while the Israelis riot AGAINST more Africans coming across the Israeli border, recognizing the potential destruction of the social fabric, this article highlights the desire by Minnesota’s social service agencies and the “faith” community to “welcome” more to Minnesota.
The refugee program has been slowed because of the discovery (oops!) of Iraqi terrorists having been resettled in Bowling Green, KY and probably some other cases we haven’t heard about yet. By the way, a reader from Kentucky told me recently that Bowling Green is 10% Bosnian Muslim now thanks to the Clinton Administration’s phony-baloney Bosnian war and refugee resettlement contractors.
Here is the Star Tribune article boo-hooing about the slow flow of refugees to Minnesota:
Fewer feet are stepping across Minnesota’s welcome mat.
Stricter screening measures for refugees hoping to enter the United States from countries deemed a security risk have allowed fewer people to reach Minnesota from hot spots around the world.
The total number of refugees arriving in the state dropped from 2,107 in the 12 months ending in September 2010 to 1,856 in the 12 months ending in September 2011, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
So far, only 758 refugees entering the U.S. have landed in Minnesota in the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2011.
Not to worry! The pace will surely pick up in the summer!
Workers at both state and federal refugee agencies predict the numbers of new arrivals to Minnesota will pick up soon as the government fine-tunes the new screening process in time for summer, historically the busy season for refugee resettlement work.
Readers, there is nothing special about summer, it is just that the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30th and the feds and the contractors put on a big push to resettle as many as they can toward the approved cap before the new fiscal year begins. And, since they are likely to even get smaller numbers of refugees in 2013, they want to get all the bodies they can get in 2012.
Most refugees going to Minnesota are Somalis.
The recent decline in refugee numbers nationally and locally began nearly two years ago, after U.S. officials sought to tighten screening process for refugees coming from Iraq mainly, but it also has affected refugees from Somalia.
See my recent post about Somali chain migration to Minnesota hitting a snag, here. Same reporter for the Star Tribune, Allie Shah, wrote that story—must be on the Somali beat (or the Muslim beat).
Addendum: Silly me, I should have linked this post from January 2011 that is one of the top posts here almost every day.