Vermont “refugee” agency closes its doors due to lack of funding; helped illegals get into Canada

Gee, just when we were hoping Vermont might take all of the tens of thousands of illegal alien children surging across our border (their elected officials all say they are “welcoming!”), one of their illegal alien support groups has run out of money.

I’m guessing the ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement), which has been sending your money to this group, is cutting funds to little dogs like this one because the big-dog contractors*** are monopolizing all of the federal dollars especially since they even have Washington, DC lobbyists helping them acquire your money.

Little outfits like this one—Vermont Immigration and Asylum Advocates—which prides itself for helping illegal aliens reach Canada are just being out-competed in the federal grant wars.

So, while we are on the subject of the asylum racket (see previous post this morning), from Seven Days:

Long-simmering immigration issues boiled up again recently as tens of thousands of Central American children crossed into the U.S. Some of approximately 57,000 unaccompanied minors who have made the journey since last October could land in Vermont. Gov. Peter Shumlin has expressed a desire to help house them, while also noting that the state lacks the large facilities that federal officials are seeking.

In the past, Burlington-based Vermont Immigration and Asylum Advocates, the state’s leading authority for refugees seeking asylum for 30 years, would likely have been preparing to spring into action, representing the children in court and helping them adjust to their new surroundings.

But, they have run out of money:

VIAA had less than $108,000 in revenues in 2012, according to publicly available tax records. The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement contributed more than half of that. VIAA’s second largest chunk of revenue came from individual donors, who collectively kicked in more than $19,000. Several organizations, including the Vermont Bar Foundation and the Sisters of Mercy, contributed as well.

They proudly worked with “friendly” border guards to get illegal aliens into Canada:

The organization launched in 1987 as Vermont Refugee Assistance, to support refugees who had fled civil wars in Central and South America. Most were in Vermont en route to Canada, which has historically been more receptive to asylum seekers than the U.S.

In the old days, Jenness said, friendly border guards would tip them off when people had difficulty crossing into Canada. She and other staffers carried pagers so they could fetch and house those refugees who needed help.

They also did those phony-baloney asylum cases:

 The organization gradually evolved into what essentially became a pro bono legal clinic, representing detained immigrants — who are not eligible for public defenders and often face removal hearings without attorneys — and asylum seekers, who have to navigate a complex legal landscape.

Great, now this is something to really toot your horn about!

They made the national news for helping hundreds of Pakistanis trapped at the US/Canadian border due to changing laws (laws probably related to national security after 911).  If the Pakistanis had nothing to hide, why were they running to Canada?

The group made national news in 2003 when it assisted hundreds of immigrants, mostly Pakistanis, who sought asylum in Canada after the United States enacted new laws forcing them to undergo a special registration process with federal officials. Nervous about getting arrested or deported, many of the Pakistanis tried to flee to Canada but became stuck in Vermont after Canada enacted a new law allowing its border agents to send asylum-seekers back to the United States while their cases were pending.

There is more, it’s a long story and I only snipped a small portion of it.

Honestly, let’s send all of the ‘unaccompanied alien children’ to Vermont.  There isn’t a more deserving state!  It could be the Petri dish of sorts—we could find out what size immigrant population will crash the economy of a state and be the “tipping point” for the American public’s patience.

***The federal refugee resettlement contractors (we may have to start adding grant recipient big dogs Baptist Child and Family Services and Southwest Key Programs to our list):

Our complete archive on ‘unaccompanied minors’ goes back several years, click here for all of those posts.