Month: November 2012

Will Egypt’s Coptic Christians become the new wave of refugees to the US?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

There is no doubt that the hardline Islamic supremacists are making Christians’ lives miserable in Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-governed Egypt, but because Obama and Hillary have so much invested in the glorious Arab Spring, a wholesale movement of Copts to the US would put a lie to their entire Middle East/Africa foreign policy gamble.  (Just as the murder of four Americans in Benghazi puts a lie to Obama’s Libya “democracy” experiment).

Here is the story from The Commentator (Get ready for Coptic Christian refugees):

 There is a refugee crisis taking place inside Egypt. This became apparent on October 5th, when Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi met with a group of Coptic Christians who had been driven from their homes by Muslim extremists in Rafah, a city located on Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip.

Morsi met with the families in El Arish, a town approximately 30 miles from Rafah in an attempt to reassure them that the threats and violence they endured before fleeing their homes would never happen to them again.

“What happened is an individual case which represents neither Egypt nor its children, Muslim or Christian,” he said. “It’s a crime for which the perpetrators must be held responsible.”

Morsi intimated to his Coptic audience that he would work to find new homes and livelihoods for them elsewhere in Egypt. This prompted an angry response from the Coptic families who complained that they had already established their lives in Rafah – the city where they had just been driven from and where Christians had been living for close to two millennia.

It’s interesting to note that Morsi did not meet with the Copts in Rafah itself, but in a town approximately 30 miles away.

The city of Rafah, from which weapons are being smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip on a regular basis, has been effectively overrun by Jihadists who are even more extreme than the Muslim Brotherhood. If Morsi, Egypt’s president, can’t set foot in Rafah, there is simply no way he can help Coptic Christians to move back into the city.

The ethnic cleansing of Coptic Christians from Rafah is of great consequence. Rafah is the place where, according to tradition, Jesus Christ crossed into ancient Egypt soon after his birth to avoid his detection and murder by King Herod in Bethlehem in a story told in the Gospel of Matthew.

By acquiescing to the cleansing of Christians from Rafah – where one church (out of three in the city) has been recently destroyed – Morsi is cooperating with the Islamist project of separating Christianity from its historical and geographical roots in the Middle East.

So what happens next?

Eventually, the refugee crisis inside Egypt will spill over its borders and become an international problem.

How will Western leaders and intellectuals respond?

One commenter to the story suggests that Israel might take them.   But ‘Raymond in DC’ said this (I have no idea if this is true!):

Won’t happen. Egypt’s Cops number some 8 million, while Israel’s total population is roughly 7.5 million. Besides, when Jews did live in Egypt they weren’t especially well treated by Cops, and many are, as you suggest, as anti-Semitic as their Muslim brethren.

So what happens when the Muslim immigrant population reaches critical mass?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Just ask Denmark!   You think it won’t happen here in the US, it will, it’s just a few decades away.

From Soeren Kern writing at the Gatestone Institute (emphasis mine):

Muslim immigrants in a town near Copenhagen have forced the cancellation of traditional Christmas displays this year even while spending lavishly on the Islamic Eid celebration marking the end of Ramadan.

The controversy has escalated into an angry nationwide debate over the role of Islam in post-Christian Denmark, where a burgeoning Muslim population is becoming increasingly assertive in imposing its will on a wide range of social and civic issues.

The latest dust-up involves the Egedalsvænget housing complex in Kokkedal, a town situated some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Copenhagen where Arab and Turkish immigrants now comprise more than half the total population.

At a recent meeting of the Egedalsvænget tenants’ association, the Muslim majority on the Board of Directors refused to authorize spending 7,000 Danish kroner ($1,200) for the community’s annual Christmas event.

The vote came shortly after the same Board of Directors authorized spending 60,000 kroner ($10,000) on a large communal celebration of the Muslim holiday Eid. Five out of nine of the board members are Muslims.

Convert Denmark into a Muslim country?  Nah, they need to adapt to Denmark (good luck with that!).

The dispute, which is the latest in an ever-growing list of Muslim-related controversies in Denmark, was first reported by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) on November 7. Since then, the issue has snowballed into a national scandal and has become a key topic for public debate in the Danish media as well as in political circles.

A spokesman for the Danish Conservative Party, Tom Behnke, says he fears there are people who want to convert Denmark into a Muslim country. In an interview with DR News, Behnke said: “I think it is deeply alarming that our integration efforts are so ineffective that the moment there is a Muslim majority, we do away with good-old Danish traditions and introduce Muslim traditions instead. We are living in Denmark, and people have to adapt to the situation that applies here.”  [Sounds about as mealy-mouthed as some American “conservatives.”—ed]

When asked whether housing associations with a Muslim minority should sponsor an Eid party, Behnke replied: “We have to remember that in the past, an Eid festival was the Muslims’ victory celebration after they had slaughtered the Christians, so I don’t know how much there is to celebrate in Denmark. Still, people should be allowed to celebrate whatever festivals they want to, but they also must respect the festivals in the country they have come to.”  [Can you say paper tiger?—ed]

It is worth reading the whole article.  The last section is about the immigrant gangs:

The immigrant gangs are involved in countless criminal activities, including drug trafficking, illegal weapons smuggling, extortion, human trafficking, robbery, prostitution, automobile theft, racketeering and murder.

Many of the gang members are ethnic Arabs, Bosnians, Turks and Somalians. They also include Iraqis, Moroccans, Palestinians and Pakistanis.

I just looked back at our many posts on “welcoming” Denmark—a model country for refugee resettlement.  Note that in 2011, the country took a Left turn and elected leaders who are pro-immigration after the former government had tried to slow the trend, here.  Don’t you wonder why it’s so hard to learn from history?

Diversity Visa Lottery is for “new seed” immigration

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I was looking for something else and came across this information page at the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) a pro-open borders organization.   (Have a look at IPC’s background here at Discover the Networks.)

We have from time to time over the years touched upon this legal immigration program called the Diversity Visa Lottery or Greencard Lottery and I plan to be writing about it more often.  For some of you I know it’s hard to believe that we have a lottery so that we can collect greater diversity from around the world.

Here is what the Immigration Policy Center says in its fact sheet about the lottery.

The diversity visa lottery was created to encourage legal immigration to the U.S. from countries other than the major immigrant sending countries.  The current immigration system favors individuals who have close relationships with family members or employers in the U.S.  People who do not have close family or employment in the U.S. have very few opportunities for permanent, legal immigration to the U.S.

The diversity immigrant category was created by the Immigration Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-649) to stimulate “new seed” immigration from parts of the world that are under-represented in the U.S.  The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act of 1997 (NACARA) temporarily reduced the 55,000 annual ceiling by up to 5,000 annually to offset immigrant visa numbers for certain NACARA beneficiaries.  As of now, the diversity visa ceiling is still set at 50,000, and it is unclear how many more years the offset will continue.

The diversity lottery makes visas available each year to natives of countries with fewer than 50,000 total immigrant admissions over the preceding five years.  Natives of Mexico, India, China, and other countries that send large numbers of immigrants to the U.S. are not eligible.

[…..]

Each year, diversity visa winners make up about 4% of all LPR admissions.  In 2009, there were 47,879 green cards issued to diversity visa winners.  Of those, 26,243 were principal applicants, 10,157 were spouses of principal applicants, and 11,479 were their children.  The vast majority were new arrivals to the U.S. (46,602 vs. 1,277 adjustments of status for immigrants already in the U.S.).   [This last part means that someone already in the US with another visa program or I suppose illegally in the US as well, can apply—ed]

This is what they say about the 2010 batch of “seeds:”

The single largest number of visas went to Ethiopia (3,987 visas), followed by Egypt (3,447), Uzbekistan (3,279), Nigeria (2,937), Bangladesh (2,800), and Kenya (2,279).   [I’ll bet you the majority of those are Muslims—ed]

Readers:  I’m adding a new category today—Diversity Visa Lottery.  But, for more that we have previously written on the topic over the last five years, type in ‘diversity visa’ and you’ll find a bunch of older posts.

Note to all of  you who say, “I’m o.k. with LEGAL immigration, it’s illegal that I have problems with.”  So is this program which brings in 50,000 a year O.K too?

Refugees used as props again in Thanksgiving puff-piece stories

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

A few years back some of us heard that the federal refugee contractors were urged to use Thanksgiving as a time to get fluffy media stories out about how the refugees are just like the original Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock.  No they aren’t.

And, before critics say I’m being too cynical, this isn’t about the individual human beings enjoying a feast, I’m cynical because the contractors who want to stay in business use them for media stunts.   Catholic Charities, a contractor, could quietly hold a dinner like this one in Jacksonville, Florida without the press, right?

And, one important thing the Pilgrims (or generations of immigrants that would follow) didn’t have  is the social safety net paid for by you—-food stamps, subsidized housing, job training, language lessons, education, medical care etc.  They had to make it or die.   Later many immigrants returned to their home countries if they couldn’t make it in America.

So, when people say we are a Nation of immigrants—the immigrants were different from today’s, they were largely European and Christian and they had to make it on their own.    We can’t have mass immigration and a socialist welfare nation, eventually we run out of other peoples’ money!
  

Here is the story from Jacksonville, but know it’s like many that have crossed my desk in the last few days from around the country.

Food is the universal tie that binds.

Refugees from Burma, Bhutan, Colombia, Cuba, Iraq and Sudan are not necessarily familiar with the concept of sweet potato pie with marshmallows on top. But they enjoyed it just the same at the Thanksgiving feast held for them Tuesday by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Augustine, which runs a resettlement program to help such new arrivals acclimate, learn the language and find jobs.

[…..]

The guests of honor at the feast, held at Jacksonville’s Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, were 60 or so refugees. Most have been in the United States six months or less. In addition to sampling a variety of food from a long table filled with holiday delicacies, they played get-to-know-you games and learned about the origins of the holiday, with the help of translators.

“In many ways refugees from around the world who come to America today reflect the story of the original pilgrims that landed at Plymouth Rock,” Karolak said. “They are fleeing persecution themselves and seek a life of freedom and safety in our country.”

[…..]

The United States offers protection to thousands of refugees each year through the program, which resettles them in collaboration with rights groups and faith-based organizations such as Catholic Charities. Before coming to America, refugees must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in their homelands, according to Catholic Charities.

Florida Catholic Charities rolling in federal tax dollars!  This isn’t private charity!

I just checked USA Spending.gov and see that Catholic Charities in Florida directly benefits from US taxpayer ‘generosity’ to the tune of $17,405,034 in recent years.  This figure does not include what is surely coming through the refugee funds that are laundered through the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Florida readers might want to check out the Refugee Services Department for the State of Florida here.  They say $80 million came in from the feds to support 62 projects in Florida.

And, cool, they have a handy statistics page for you too—here.  You can even see what “services (welfare)” are being provided and to how many in each county!

Earlier this year we posted on the Archbishop of Miami insisting on more refugees for Florida, here.

By the way, I see a lot of readers recently are searching for information on how many refugees are coming to their state (or city).  Use the WRAPS stats here.   There are several data bases, but I find the one titled, ‘Destination city, by nationality by FY’ or the similarly titled one …by CY’ very useful.   If you visit you’ll see that St. Augustine is not listed as a destination city, but Jacksonville is.

From 2007 to 2012 Jacksonville received 4,363 people in need of services and jobs.

Others may have come to Jacksonville as secondary migrants.

‘Secondary migrants’ in refugee industry lingo are refugees who were resettled in one city and have since migrated elsewhere.  They are pretty much free to leave their resettlement city as early as 3 months after arrival (in many cases) and no one tracks where they go.

Syracuse: Palestinian lottery crooks thought their scam made sense (in their world!)

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

There is lots of interesting information in this story, and some questions.  First, I want to know where are all the Palestinians coming from?  We didn’t previously take Palestinian refugees.   So, what LEGAL immigration program are they using to get in?

Seems that two Palestinian brothers in Syracuse whose parents own a convenience store (ah-hah a convenience store again, there is a tip-off) scammed the legitimate owner of a $5 million lottery ticket out of his ticket.  Suspecting a fraud, the authorities then put out a bogus news story to smoke out the crooks causing some journalists to fret about whether that was ethical.

Without further ado, here is the story (hat tip: first to Gary, then a second reader who discovered a story where the reporter had the guts to reveal the nationality of the perps.).

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — The New York State Lottery put out false information to snare two Syracuse-area brothers accused of scamming a customer out of a winning $5 million scratch-off ticket.

Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman put out the bogus story last month, saying that 34-year-old Andy Ashkar legitimately bought the ticket in 2006 but waited several years before trying to claim the prize in March. Ashkar planned to share the money with his brother, 36-year-old Nayel Ashkar, according to the Lottery.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said Lottery officials used the media to get the real winner to come forward after suspecting that the Ashkars were not the legitimate winners partly because they asked for a lesser amount if they skipped a news conference.

The brothers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of attempted grand larceny, conspiracy and possession of stolen property. Officials allege they duped the real winner, a 49-year-old married father of two, when he tried to cash in the ticket.

The Ashkars’ lawyer, Bob Durr, said his clients maintain they bought the ticket legitimately and had good reason for not immediately cashing the winning ticket.

Feared potential embarrassment in their small Palestinian Muslim community from winning at gambling, a forbidden practice!

Fitzpatrick said the ticket owner came forward after the lottery’s planted story went public. He said the man had been fooled into giving up the winning ticket when he went to cash it at the Ashkar family’s Green Ale market in October 2006.

Fitzpatrick said Andy Ashkar told the man he had won $5,000 and successfully offered him $4,000 in cash to avoid taxes and other complications.

The brothers’ lawyer said Wednesday they did not immediately cash in the ticket because they worried about the family’s safety in the rough neighborhood if it became know they had come into money and about the potential embarrassment in their small Palestinian Muslim community from winning at gambling, a forbidden practice.

“They don’t understand why this is happening,” Durr said. “They think everything they did made sense in their world.” [So, what is their world versus our world?–ed]

According to the state lottery division’s original account, Andy Ashkar claimed in March that he bought the ticket at his parents’ convenience store in Syracuse in 2006, decided to share it with his brother, and delayed claiming the prize until shortly before it would have expired because he didn’t want the money to influence his engagement and subsequent marriage.

We are now taking small numbers of Palestinian refugees.  We didn’t previously take many because as long-time readers here know the Arabs would have a fit if we started taking too many because everyone knows they remain as “refugees” in Gaza—sixty years after they left their homes in what is now Israel— for the purpose of keeping a thorn in the side of Israel.

I just checked the stats at WRAPS (using the data for destination city by nationality by fiscal year) and it seems Syracuse has gotten a total of 4,986 refugees of all nationalities since 2007  and 102 Palestinians were distributed around New York state which had a total of over 22,000 refugees, again of all nationalities, resettled there in that time span.

However, it’s possible that this pair are not refugees but that the parents’ convenience store is part of the burgeoning foreign investment we allow into the US.  We give a special “treaty” visa for anyone (from certain countries) coming in to start a business (even if he/she is only employing a few family members).  Jordon is a Treaty investor visa country, here, and Jordon has a substantial Palestinian population, so that could be the explanation for how they got here and purchased a store (and the right to stay!).

There are also many other visa programs, here, through which the Ashkar brothers could have gotten into the US.

Question is, can we now deport them?  (after they do time that is)