In letter to Sec. of State John Kerry, Rep. Trey Gowdy demands answers about planned Spartanburg resettlement

04/13/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update April 14th: There is more here and here today as Gowdy causes a stir.

This press release and letter (below) were issued today by the office of South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy. For new readers, click here, for background on the controversy. Gowdy is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee responsible for the Refugee Resettlement Program. As Chairman, Gowdy needs to know that this is how the whole program operates nationally—in secrecy!

Maybe due to Gowdy’s swift and decisive action, other communities, which are being kept in the dark, will get some relief!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: April 13, 2015

Contact: Amanda Duvall amanda.duvall@mail.house.gov 202-225-6030

Gowdy Requests Information on Spartanburg Refugee Resettlement Program

Washington, DC—Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) today sent a letter to the State Department, requesting information on plans for a refugee resettlement in Spartanburg.

Please see text of the letter:

The Honorable John Kerry Secretary U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Kerry,

I write regarding the potential resettlement of refugees to the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area. It has been reported by media outlets, and confirmed by staff within your Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), that a resettlement agency submitted a proposal to open an office in Spartanburg. In addition, it is my understanding that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) approved the request to resettle a certain number of refugees in Spartanburg.

As the Member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing the Spartanburg area, I am deeply concerned about the lack of notice, information, and consultation afforded to me and my constituents about this issue. As such, please provide the information requested and answers to questions below:

1. Please provide a copy of the proposal submitted by the resettlement agency and any subsequent correspondence between your Department and the resettlement agency.

2. When was the resettlement agency’s proposal submitted? When was it approved by USRAP?

3. How were the claims made in the proposal as to Spartanburg’s readiness to resettle refugees verified for accuracy by USRAP prior to approval?

4. What, if any, steps were taken to notify and consult with local government officials (elected or otherwise) prior to the approval of the resettlement proposal? If so, who was contacted and did they approve the proposal?

5. Which officials/employees of the South Carolina State government reviewed and approved the resettlement agency’s proposal? When was such approval given? Were these officials/employees contacted by USRAP to independently ensure approval was given?

6. What types of, and how much, funding will the resettlement agency receive from the federal government? How much of that amount must be provided to the refugees and how much can be kept by the resettlement agency?

7. When are the first refugees expected to arrive in Spartanburg?

8. What federal, state, and local benefits are the refugees entitled to receive a) upon designation as a refugee and b) upon resettlement in the Spartanburg area?

9. How many refugees will be resettled in the Spartanburg area?

10. How are the refugees chosen to resettle in Spartanburg?

11. What is the country of origin of each of the refugees to be resettled in the Spartanburg area?

12. Who is responsible for ensuring housing, employment, and education services for the resettled refugees?

13. Who is responsible for ensuring resettled refugees maintain employment, as opposed to tracking employment for the first few months after being resettled?

14. How many of the refugees to be resettled in the Spartanburg area are of the age to attend K–12 schools? Of those, how many need the local government to provide interpreters or teachers who speak the native language of the refugee for the students?

15. Do any of the refugees to be resettled in the Spartanburg area have criminal convictions? If so, for what crimes has each been convicted?

16. Please explain the background check process performed on refugees scheduled to be resettled in Spartanburg.

17. Will this be the only time refugees will be resettled to the Spartanburg area pursuant to the agency’s proposal? Or can additional refugees be resettled pursuant to the proposal?

I request that any plans to resettle refugees in the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area be placed on hold until my constituents and I receive your substantive responses to the questions and information requested in this letter. Additionally, before moving forward, both the Spartanburg community and I should have time to substantively review the information and be comfortable with the information provided.

As previously stated, I am troubled by the lack of notice and coordination with my office and the Spartanburg community, particularly local officials, regarding the plans to resettle refugees in the area. In that vein, I request at least one month’s notice prior to the arrival of the first refugee in the Spartanburg area. Please contact my Chief of Staff, Cindy Crick, with such notice (864-241-0175 or cindy.crick@mail.house.gov).

Thank you in advance for your prompt response and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Trey Gowdy

Concerned about refugees coming to your state? Get your state plan!

04/13/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

According to regulations promulgated under the Refugee Act of 1980, every state resettling refugees must submit a plan to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (at HHS) and keep it current. That means every state, but Wyoming (so far).

This ORR map gives you some idea of the number of cities with refugee resettlement offices. They got ahead of themselves and put a Casper, WY office in when that program seems to be stalled. Map is here if you want to try to get a clearer look at it: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/fy2014-reception-and-placement-rp-network-affiliates-map

I would like everyone concerned about the Refugee Resettlement Program to contact your state coordinator today and ask for your state’s plan.

The coordinators are listed here. Tell them that according to the 45 CFR Section 400.4 and 400.5 they should have a current plan on file.

If you get a runaround, get their address and send them a formal letter.

Here are the regulations from 45 CFR Section 400.4:

(b) A State must certify no later than 30 days after the beginning of each Federal fiscal year that the approved State plan is current and continues in effect. If a State wishes to change its plan, a State must submit a proposed amendment to the plan. The proposed amendment will be reviewed and approved or disapproved in accordance with §400.8.

From Section 400.5, this is what the plan must include:

The plan must:

(a) Provide for the designation of, and describe the organization and functions of, a State agency (or agencies) responsible for developing the plan and administering, or supervising the administration of, the plan;

(b) Describe how the State will coordinate cash and medical assistance with support services to ensure their successful use to encourage effective refugee resettlement and to promote employment and economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.

(c) Describe how the State will ensure that language training and employment services are made available to refugees receiving cash assistance, and to other refugees, including State efforts to actively encourage refugee registration for employment services;

(d) Identify an individual designated by the Governor or the appropriate legislative authority of the State, with the title of State Coordinator, who is employed by the State and will have the responsibility and authority to ensure coordination of public and private resources in refugee resettlement in the State;

(e) Provide for, and describe the procedures established for, the care and supervision of, and legal responsibility (including legal custody and/or guardianship under State law, as appropriate) for, unaccompanied refugee children in the State;

(f) Provide for and describe (1) the procedures established to identify refugees who, at the time of resettlement in the State, are determined to have medical conditions requiring, or medical histories indicating a need for, treatment or observation, and (2) the procedures established to monitor any necessary treatment or observation;

(g) Provide that assistance and services funded under the plan will be provided to refugees without regard to race, religion, nationality, sex, or political opinion; and

(h) Provide that the State will, unless exempted from this requirement by the Director, assure that meetings are convened, not less often than quarterly, whereby representatives of local resettlement agencies, local community service agencies, and other agencies that serve refugees meet with representatives of State and local governments to plan and coordinate the appropriate placement of refugees in advance of the refugees’ arrival. All existing exemptions to this requirement will expire 90 days after the effective date of this rule. Any State that wishes to be exempted from the provisions regarding the holding and frequency of meetings may apply by submitting a written request to the Director. The request must set forth the reasons why the State considers these meetings unnecessary because of the absence of problems associated with the planning and coordination of refugee placement. An approved exemption will remain in effect for three years, at which time a State may reapply.

(i) Provide that the State will:

(1) Comply with the provisions of title IV, Chapter 2, of the Act and official issuances of the Director;

(2) Meet the requirements in this part;

(3) Comply with all other applicable Federal statutes and regulations in effect during the time that it is receiving grant funding; and

(4) Amend the plan as needed to comply with standards, goals, and priorities established by the Director.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0960–0418)

[51 FR 3912, Jan. 30, 1986, as amended at 60 FR 33602, June 28, 1995; 65 FR 15443, Mar. 22, 2000]

Let us know what you find!

Maine: As Somali population grows, some angry Mainer takes extreme action; direct frustration at Catholic Charities instead

04/13/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Let me be clear at the outset. We do not condone vandalism or criminal activity of any sort, but this case does demonstrate that some are going to extreme means to try to halt the continued expansion of the Muslim population in America when elected officials in Washington aren’t listening.

As the UN and the US State Department continue to send refugees to rural areas (seed your communities), the tension will only increase.

The headline in the Portland Press Herald yesterday is: Anti-Muslim graffiti spray-painted on Portland Halaal Market:

Police label the incident a hate crime and seek the public’s help in identifying the perpetrator, a white male wearing a black-hooded sweatshirt who was caught on surveillance video defacing the building.

Portland Halal Market serves as a hub for the Somali community.

The Portland Halaal Market on St. John Street was spray-painted Sunday morning with graffiti offensive to Muslims, and police and the market’s owner are calling it a hate crime.

Police, who said the incident occurred at 5 a.m., were on the scene at 269 St. John St. later Sunday morning reviewing videotape from a security camera and talking to Mahdi Ahmed, owner of the market.

The graffiti, spray-painted in red capital letters on the windows and brick on the side of the building, referred to Allah and included a sexual epithet. Allah was misspelled as “Alah.”

“This is a hate crime,” Ahmed said.

[….]

The market opened in 2002 and serves the Somali community and others. It sells halal foods that are allowed under Islamic dietary guidelines.

[….]

The store also serves as a hub for the Somali community.

[….]

Jalali [a Muslim author at the Univ. of Southern Maine] estimated that the Muslim population in Maine is about 6,000. There are seven or eight mosques, he said, half of them in the Portland area.

“Long live the West”

Jalali said the last anti-Muslim incident in Portland that he could recall was in 2011. In that case, someone spray-painted “Go home,” “Long live the West” and other words on a wall at the Maine Muslim Community Center on Anderson Street, the city’s largest mosque.

One thing frustrated Mainers can do is to demand that no more refugees be resettled in the state. You won’t be able to stop the influx of Somalis (or refugees generally) from other states, but you might be able to put a dent in the flow directly from Africa.

Stephen Letourneau is CEO of the $25 million a year operation—Catholic Charities of Maine—and is responsible for the refugee/asylum influx to Maine.

Don’t blame the refugees!

This is the agency directly responsible for the colonization of Maine towns (especially Portland and Lewiston):

USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops)
ME-USCCB-01: Catholic Charities Maine
Address:
80 Sherman Street
Portland, ME 04101
Phone:
207-210-1501

I wasn’t planning to get too deeply into this branch of Catholic Charities, but wow, check out their most recent Form 990 here, they had a revenue stream of over $25 million and more than half comes from taxpayers in some form or another (page 9). They had over $9 million in “Medicaid fees” alone! What the heck is that?

For new readers, see our extensive archive on Maine, here. Be sure to see one of our top posts of all time—Maine the welfare magnet.

Catholic Charities encouraged the first Somalis to come to Maine.

Don’t vandalize buildings! Tell Catholic Charities and your elected officials that you don’t want any more third worlders! You can’t afford it!

And, get behind your governor’s attempts to take away the welfare magnet!

Update on the Bosnian Muslim refugees recently arrested in US on terrorism charges

04/13/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Two of the alleged terror funders: Ramiz Zijad Hodzic and his wife, Sedina Unkic Hodzic

The St. Louis Post Dispatch has a really long and detailed story of its investigation into the Bosnians arrested here in February. Reporter Robert Patrick does the kind of investigative report we rarely see anymore.

I have no time today to go through it with you, read it all here.

Remember that it was Bill Clinton who admitted as many as 100,000 Bosnians to America during his administration—laborers for his meatpacking buddies.

Notice that everytime we have a war, or even some other countries have wars (like Syria!), the UN, the US State Department and its resettlement contractors have another excuse for America to haul in more supposed ‘war’ refugees!

Click here for all of our previous posts on Bill’s Bosnians.