Sheesh! Can you believe it! Senators Rubio and Graham, two chief proponents of ‘COMPREHENSIVE immigration reform,’ had no clue that the US State Department, at the behest of the UN, was contemplating bringing in possibly tens of thousands of Syrian refugees while thousands of their constituents know about it and disapprove. So much for comprehensive!
Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), two lawmakers who are part of the gang of eight immigration bill, are unaware of the administration’s willingness to accept thousands of Syrian refugees into the United States.
Rubio, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Breitbart News, “Well this country has a long history of asylum and taking people who are fleeing oppression. On the other hand, given the nature of the Syrian conflict, like any asylum seeker, that they be carefully vetted. That’s my initial take. It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
[….]
“I don’t think that would go over very well. It’s news to me. I haven’t heard that,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the armed services committee, remarked to Breitbart News. He added, “I think it would be better policy to help the rebels build militarily than to bring them here. I think it would be big backlash [if the administration tried to brings the refugees here.]”
Be sure to visit the Breitbart story with quotes from other clueless Senators, so fixated on the Hispanic vote they haven’t any idea of who else is coming to America.
Readers might want to visit this postin which I discuss the Presidential Determination for FY2013. Obama set the cap for refugee admissions for 2013 at 70,000. They are on target to meet that number despite high unemployment rates and high welfare use rates for refugees. And, btw, the President sends his determination to Congress for approval and it has been reported to us that NO ONE ever challenges it.
I do believe that the Refugee Act of 1980 (Kennedy, Biden, Carter!) has a provision for an ’emergency’ situation that would allow them to go over the cap and admit tens of thousands of Syrians. I’ll have to do some research on that.
Keep up the pressure on your US Senators against S.744 and tell them NO to Syrians!
LOL! Sarah Palin said in a speech yesterday in Washington—these are all Muslims squabbling in the Middle East, so let Allah solve their problems!
Faithful readers of RRW know that European countries are having an awful time with illegal aliens arriving and asking for asylum—some countries have it worse than others, little Malta*, Italy, Sweden and Greece come to mind. But, asylum seekers are camping on the streets of Berlin and in churches in Vienna. Many are moving from country to country looking for the best deal.
So, does the new “law” mean that Malta must release its detained “asylum seekers?”
I know that many readers here are more interested in what is happening in the US with refugees and asylum seekers, but it’s important to know that millions of migrants are on the move around the world looking to escape persecution (mostly by Muslim countries) and others, the larger numbers, are economic migrants claiming persecution which is a huge problem because there is a limit to how many poor people can be absorbed before a government collapses. We should be looking to Europe now as the “canary in a coal mine” and take a lesson—LOL! in what NOT to do.
One country cannot make stricter regulations than another country!
On Wednesday 12 June the European Parliament amended EU legislation on asylum after long and complex negotiations. The changes that have been brought are in UNHCR’s view a welcome step towards the establishment of a Common European Asylum System.
The ultimate objective of these changes is a uniform asylum system which is valid across the European Union. This would ensure that, regardless of the Member State in which an application for international protection is lodged, the application should receive the same treatment.
Detention is discouraged, asylum seekers should be let go until their cases are adjudicated.
….further regulation of the use of detention. Systematic detention of asylum-seekers will no longer be possible. Important new guarantees include the requirement that any detention be necessary and proportionate; that detention is an exceptional measure and can only be justified for a legitimate purpose on defined grounds.
If a case is not processed within 6 months, the asylum seeker is allowed to work.
Last, is earlier access to the labour market. In cases where claims for international protection are not decided within six months, asylum-seekers will have access to the labour market not later than nine months following the date when their applications were lodged.
UNHCR believes that the legislation agreed has potential to contribute to more harmonized asylum systems in the European Union. The agreed legislative package should further improve protection standards and practices across the 27 Member States – soon to be 28 – with Croatia’s imminent accession.
In the US many asylum seekers who arrive on our borders and in our airports are simply allowed to go where they wish and are expected to show up at their appointed court date. Some simply disappear. One infamous example of an asylum seeker who never showed up in court was Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the first World Trade Center bombing.
* Have a look at our many posts on Malta, the tiny island nation where the US State Department (cheered on by the Jesuits) transforms Malta’s migrant arrivals, mostly launched from Libya, into “refugees” destined for your American towns and cities.
This is the second part of my report from the Pennsylvania Refugee Conference which I attended earlier this week in Lancaster, PA. If you haven’t read my earlier report it might be useful to check it out and then come back here for part II.
One of the many things that I found revealing about the conference was that problems with the program to resettle over 100,000 “refugees and asylees” to your towns and cities each year was not discussed (your classic hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil!). There was no direct discussion about problems with assimilation, tensions in communities, crime problems, cost to local communities, school conflicts, housing shortages for refugees etc. except for one session dedicated to how to silence people who might like to complain—the keynote speaker talked about how ‘Welcoming America’ was working to get YOUR minds right about your new refugee neighbors (and, they received a federal grant from ORR to do it!).
Before Susan Downs-Karkos from ‘Welcoming America’ spoke, we had been alerted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Director of Placement, Mitiku Ashebir that (gasp!) “three pockets of resistance against new arrivals” had developed. He assured the gathering it was not widespread and that Pennsylvania, thankfully, was not one of them. Drum roll please! Here are the pockets of resistance and Mr. Ashebir’s brief description of the unwelcoming problems:
New Hampshire—some mayors have problems, said Ashebir
David Lubell, founder of ‘Welcoming America,’ doing work for George Soros!
Georgia—budget reductions for some service providers
Tennessee—they want to control arrival numbers! Imagine that!
But, Welcoming America is on the case! They want to “transform” communities by “Building a Nation of Neighbors”!
Downs-Karkos described her organization’s job as “promoting understanding and support for refugees.” The whole concept is that YOU must improve your attitude to your new neighbors, not that the refugees must learn to fit into American society. We are a Nation of immigrants, they are coming, so get used to it was the basic message.
The refugees and immigrants are the seeds and your community is the soil into which they are being planted is how she described what is happening. Her group is working on improving the soil.
She said ‘Welcoming America’ was created by David Lubell of TENNESSEE who had successfully launched ‘Welcoming Tennessee’ a few years ago where he mobilized support for refugees in Nashville and Shelbyville and promoted the propaganda film—Welcome to Shelbyville. If you are a new reader here you might want to visit our many posts where we traced the history of that deceptive film from its origin when a Hard Left documentary film group was funded to visit Shelbyville (where community tensions had developed around a large influx of Somali refugees who had arrived there to work for Tyson Foods)–-it is a classic case study in how to produce propaganda.
“Is everything perfect in Tennessee now?” asked Downs-Karkos. No, she answered herself, “but it is improving.” Really?
Follow the money!
Here is a summary from Welcoming America’s websiteabout how the organization got its start (with the help of George Soros). Our friends in Tennessee will be amazed at the spin about their state! “Changing communities” indeed. I wonder does David Lubell understand what just happened in Manchester, TN last week?
The history of ‘Welcoming America’:
In 2005 the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), inspired by the Iowa campaign’s message and approach, started to make plans for a “Welcoming Tennessee Initiative” (WTI). Since launching in 2006, The Welcoming Tennessee Initiative – the model for all subsequent welcoming initiatives – has substantially improved the climate for immigrants within the state. Statewide polling by Middle Tennessee State University has demonstrated an increase in positive opinions towards immigrants, and thousands of Tennessee residents have become active supporters of Tennessee’s increased diversity as a result of the project.In 2009 WTI was awarded the E Pluribus Unum Prize for exceptional immigrant integration initiatives. [LOL! an award!—ed]
The success of Welcoming Tennessee inspired several additional immigrant support organizations across the country to follow its lead. In July of 2007, seven organizations interested in starting Welcoming campaigns met to combine efforts and expand Welcoming campaigns past Tennessee. Hosting the meeting was Four Freedoms Fund, a funding collaborative that has played a crucial role in the formation and development of Welcoming America.
Four Freedoms Fund: This organization was designed to serve as a conduit through which large foundations could fund state-based open-borders organizations more flexibly and quickly.
Longtime readers know that Soros has had his proteges installed as Asst. Secretaries of State for Population, Refugees and Migration throughout the Obama Administration. Type ‘George Soros’ into our search function for more.
A chuckle for Tennesseans—Tom Negri is on the board of ‘Welcoming America’! You may remember the story from back in 2009: Negri, who manages the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in downtown Nashville (hotels need cheap immigrant labor and that’s why so many are behind open borders), broke a contract just days before a conference that I and others (from around the country) had registered to attend saying we might be a danger to their other guests. Maybe the Muslim protesters would be a danger, but not us! The conference went on peacefully at another “welcoming” hotel!
Negri’s move was a stupid one because it just confirmed for all of those who knew about it (including thousands of readers of Newsmax) what dirty tricks the open borders advocates and Lefties are willing to use to silence speech they don’t like!
Bottomline is that ‘Welcoming America’ is spreading throughout the US–they are “community organizers”with affiliates in twenty plus states, here.If you are in one of those states, sign up for the group and begin learning what they are planning for your community. And, then spread the word!
For new readers: If you would like to learn more about those pockets of resistance in New Hampshire, Tennessee and Georgia, simply type the state name into our search function and dozens of posts will be available. Also, note that we have a separate category on Nashville (50 posts!) because it has been such a controversial site for refugee resettlement (by Catholic Charities!) and Islamic activism.
This little piece just came up in my alerts at Foreign Policy. I don’t know if the bills were voted on yesterday to extend the program, but its one more thing to watch for. Remember when I told you about the breakdown of who we would be bringing as “refugees” for 2013, here. SIVs were expected to number 4,000. Doesn’t that sound like an awful lot of people acting as interpreters? I bet the definition gets stretched!
U.S. lawmakers are set to vote on two different pieces of legislation Friday that could impact thousands of former and current Afghan interpreters who are seeking U.S. visas (Post). The Afghan Allies Protection Act was passed in 2009 to help Afghans who were risking their lives by working for the U.S. mission, and are seen as legitimate targets by the Taliban and other militant groups, move to the United States once their work had concluded. But only a small percentage of these visa requests -32 of more than 5,700 applications – has been approved.A Senate bill would extend the program, set to expire next September, to 2015 and broaden coverage to include interpreters for coalition forces, media organizations, and non-governmental organizations. A House proposal would also extend the program but would cut the number of available visas by two-thirds.
Here is an overview of the program run by the US State Department. The SIVs are treated as refugees and are placed by a contractor in your community and are eligible for all forms of welfare, just like a refugee or asylee.
That’s a question I’ve been wondering about for the last six years.
Do federal refugee resettlement contractors love (really love!) the people they are bringing to your cities and towns or is it just a job? Or, perhaps it’s the case that they are more in love with the idea of helping third-worlders come to America and are set back by the reality of the actual refugees who oftentimes complain to the agency, don’t do what they are instructed, want ever-more stuff, and don’t exhibit sufficient gratitude.
Steve Weitcamp, JVS Director of Refugee Services at his desk. Photo: Emily Henson
And, never mind the troublesome Americans who have certain expectations of the agency and their new neighbors.
Those are all the things this story about Jewish Vocational Services, coincidentally from Missouri (multicultural St. Louis has dominated our news in the last few days), brought to mind. From Kansas City’sNortheast News back in February, thanks to a reader (emphasis mine):
February 20, 2013
Recently here at the House of News we’ve been having issues with people illegally dumping their trash bags on our property next to our dumpster. Last week, we caught the culprit in the act, an African woman who was recently settled in the house behind us by the folks at Jewish Vocational Services.We advised the woman that she had free trash service, allowing up to two bags weekly at her curb. The language barrier barred any two-way communication, however, until another member of the household stepped out and we were able to communicate the necessary information regarding their scheduled trash day.
We then contacted JVS and spoke with Director of Refugee Programs Steve Weitkamp in regard to the acclimation training JVS says they give all of their settled refugees. When this feisty newshound asked Weitkamp if trash day was part of their refugee training, his initial response indicated his tacit endorsement of his client illegally dumping trash on someone else’s property. When queried again about whether anyone at JVS tells their re-settled refugees about proper trash disposal, his insensitive and completely callous response was, and we quote: “We don’t tell them to go out in the streets and light themselves on fire, but they do anyway.”
We’ll just let that sink in for a moment. This is the director of Refugee Programs throwing the re-settled refugee community wholly under the bus with his cynical and uncaring response to a genuine concern about the behavior of someone JVS re-settled and failed to educate properly on how trash is disposed of in Kansas City.
This news-pooch isn’t exactly sure what prompted such a callous response from the person charged with overseeing programs administered to and for refugees, but we think it speaks volumes as to his elitist and condescending attitude toward the very refugee clients he allegedly serves through JVS.
Mr. Weitkamp, if you think so little of the refugees your agency is literally dumping in Northeast, this newshound thinks maybe it’s time you found another line of work.
Jewish Vocational Services of Kansas City has had problems going back for several years as we note in our archive on the troubled contractor.
I assume from this list of fundersthat JVS is still a subcontractor of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
