Update: You might want to see what Tennessee is doing—-a Legislative Committee wants to know what refugee resettlement costs the state taxpayer, here yesterday.
You knew this was coming! Democrat Mayor Sarno of Springfield has figured out how to be politically correct while complaining about the overload of impoverished third worlders being dropped off in his city—just join forces with the contractors and tell the taxpayers they need to pony-up more of their hard earned cash to help refugees.
Sarno says the median income of Springfielders is $32,124, but get this! If you haven’t seen the news about the CATO study everyone was looking at yesterday, then you don’t know that Massachusetts is in the top five states in the nation where it pays more to be on welfare than to work! Here is the Wall Street Journal:
Refugees and Asylees are entitled to all of this! (See our fact sheet, here, for more goodies!)
WSJ:
The state-by-state estimates are based on a hypothetical family participating in about seven of the 126 federal anti-poverty programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families; the Women, Infants and Children program; Medicaid; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and receiving help on housing and utilities.
In Hawaii, that translates into a 2013 package of $49,175 — up $7,265 from an inflation-adjusted $41,910 in 1995. Rounding out the top five areas for welfare benefits, along with their 2013 amounts, were: the District of Columbia ($43,099), Massachusetts ($42,515), Connecticut ($38,761) and New Jersey ($38,728).
So how much more do Sarno and the contractors (who launder tax dollars through their supposed non-profit groups) want from you?
Here is the latest from Springfield about a meeting next Wednesday. Concerned taxpayers should show up in mass!
In a letter to refugee support agencies, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno unveiled a four-point proposal that would call for more state and federal funding to extend assistance services and improve immigrant housing and neighborhoods.
In preparation for an Aug. 28 meeting designed to discuss concerns about refugees in Springfield, Sarno sent a request to officials at the Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, Lutheran Social Services and the Catholic Charities Agency requesting a variety of data about refugees settled in the city and the services they receive. [Let’s see if they are more forthcoming with data than their compatriots elsewhere in the US!—ed]
The meeting was scheduled after Sarno released a letter he sent to the U.S. State Department asking that requests for future resettlement of refugees in the city be denied. It was met with strong criticism from the three agencies and other social service organizations in Springfield. [Again, these agencies are invested in Springfield. They have offices and staff members and receive their taxpayer dole by being paid by the head to resettle refugees—no refugees no payola!—ed]
More money please!
Sarno called for the state and local agencies to join him in advocating for more funding for services through the state and federal government.
We will be anxiously waiting to see an explanation of how the contractors (and the US State Department) pick their resettlement targets!
He also asked for an explanation of the transitional assistance offered to families including initial and long-term cash assistance, employment services, educational support for children, medical assistance, psychological counseling and housing support.
“I would like to obtain a copy of any documents indicating and corresponding to the applicable criteria used to select what communities refugees are placed in…and whether there is some attempt to measure the impact on the host community of the significant number of refugees living at or below the poverty line,” he wrote.
Here is how they do it! They just put pins in a map, quietly resettle a bunch of refugees, and see if anyone squawks. If they can keep any complaints out of the media, then that town or city becomes “welcoming” and the spigot is opened wide! Once a “preferred” community is established (with contractor offices in town,etc.), it is very hard (virtually impossible) to dislodge them.
See all of our previous posts on Springfield by clicking here.