Rep. Trey Gowdy must go beyond questions about refugee resettlement in his district to help other towns grappling with refugee overload

05/05/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Rep. Trey Gowdy says he has no role in the resettlement process occurring in his district:

“…. our office does not have a role under the law in the implementation of such a [resettlement] plan….”

He, above all other Members of Congress, does have a role when it comes to who is resettled in American towns and from where they hail!

Gowdy has taken a good first step, but he can do much much more as he sits in the ‘catbird seat’ as chairman of the subcommittee responsible for overseeing the entire Refugee Admissions Program

Gowdy is chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security and he could hold oversight hearings tomorrow and help other struggling towns by helping concerned citizens get answers as to how and why the secrecy surrounding resettlement plans for the last 35 years.

And, indeed, he and all members of his Judiciary Committee and those on the Senate Judiciary Committee have the opportunity (requirement!) UNDER THE LAW to review the Presidential Determination Letter and supporting documents that are submitted to Congress every September by the White House/US State Department.

Here is the one submitted for FY2015. And, here is the full report submitted to Congress for FY2015. (This is the 78-page document in pdf format.)

I wonder did Mr. Gowdy ever even lay eyes on these documents?

I asked once if I could attend the submission of the Presidential Determination Letter to Congress, but was denied. And, my best guess is that there isn’t even any formal presentation to attend because Congress has a history of rubber-stamping it!

In fact, we have heard from reliable sources that Congress NEVER makes a change to what the President asks for, and I will bet a buck no one even seriously examines the plan for the country.

Did anyone in Congress ever question the large numbers of refugees coming now from countries where the people hate us or are sympathetic to the Islamic State—from Somalia, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Bosnia, Burma (yes, we are taking Muslims from Burma!) and now Syria? Many of those ethnic groups were mentioned in the Presidential plan over the years.

There are two good articles this morning on the latest from Rep. Trey Gowdy’s office.

Gowdy did hear back from the US State Department with answers to his original set of questions and has now responded with a new set.

It is a lot of information, but serious students of the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program should read carefully, first, Richard Falknor’s post at Blue Ridge Forum:

Trey Gowdy Has An Oversight Duty For Refugee Programs

And, then Leo Hohmann’s latest at World Net Daily:

Congressman seeks to unlock secret refugee program

There are two points that interested me that I don’t believe were mentioned in either of those two excellent articles.

Where was Senator Tim Scott? Was he invited?

Although, as we learned from the State Department, Senator Lindsey Graham’s office was asked to participate in meetings over a year ago to discuss the “plan” for Spartanburg, there is no mention of South Carolina’s other US Senator Tim Scott. What? Since Graham was a known quantity on immigration as one of the infamous Gang of Eight promoting amnesty….

…did the US State Department think maybe the more conservative Scott should be kept out of the process?

And then in the last line (question 17) of the US State Department’s response to Gowdy we learn this:

PRM requires that the local affiliates [their name for subcontractors–ed] convene a community consultation to plan for submission of this proposal.

The Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration in the US State Department is telling us that there is supposed to be community consultation before the ABSTRACT we told you about here is sent to Washington. Where is the consultation in the over 190 cities and towns where federal resettlement subcontractors are working?

Everyone concerned with refugee overload in your town, or the possibility of refugees being resettled in your town anywhere in a hundred miles of one of those subcontractor offices listed here, should call the subcontractor and ask for their most recent ‘abstract’ and ask when they will be holding the next COMMUNITY CONSULTATION so that you can attend!

Call Gowdy and tell him to HOLD HEARINGS! 202-225-6030!

For new readers, we have a growing archive on ‘Spartanburg’ so click here for background.

Europe must follow Australian model (turn back the boats) or die!

05/04/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It is so clear to anyone with a brain, that the only way to stop the ‘Invasion of Europe’ from North Africa is to stop the boats before they even launch from Libya and other ports in North Africa.

The UNHCR could then care for the so-called asylum seekers in camps in Africa.

But, the European Union is saying NO WAY! So, I guess they will all go down as the European ship sinks!

From the Malta Independent:

The European Union will not be adopting Australia’s migration methods despite Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s claim that some Europeans are seeking policy advice.

The EU’s executive Commission says Canberra does not respect the international standard on protecting refugees of “non-refoulement,” which is a U.N. principle prohibiting expulsion to a country where they could face violence or prison.

Commission migration spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said Monday that the EU “applies the principle of non-refoulement — we have no intention of changing this — so of course the Australian model can never be a model for us.”

Australia’s migration model was widely cited in debate at the European Parliament last week, as the EU struggles to cope with thousands of migrants seeking to enter Europe via Libya.

Read it all here.

See our ‘Invasion of Europe‘ series here, and check out how Australia is saving migrants’ lives (and discouraging more illegal migration) by turning boats back to the countries from which they launched (Australia category, here).

And, remember American readers, this is about you too as we are taking some of Malta’s illegal aliens and dropping them into your towns (most recently South Carolina, here).

That practice was begun, illegally I contend, by the Bush Administration.

RRW Weekly Wrap-up (for last week!)

05/04/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I haven’t posted a weekly wrap-up for a few weeks, so really wanted to do one on Saturday or Sunday, but just never got to it.

My primary reason for wanting to post one now is that we have so many new readers who may not know how to navigate RRW (you will see instructions below) and because I want to apologize for not answering everyone’s e-mails. It is just me here (no staff, no interns, just me) and now that I’m getting out to speak to groups and meet new people (and do radio interviews) it is hard to research, write and keep up with correspondence in addition to doing my spring farm chores.

So please accept my apologies for not being the greatest correspondent!

Now to the top three posts last week (top daily posts are in the right hand sidebar) so you can see what interests readers the most:

1) Idaho to get an influx of Syrian refugees beginning in October

2) Our Fact Sheet

3) UN wants the West to take in one million refugees over 5 years; Wilders calls it invitation to Jihadist infiltrators

Top ten countries from which readers arrived at RRW in the last week (excluding the US of course):

Canada

Australia

European Union (don’t know why this is separate from individual EU countries)

South Africa

Germany

Sweden

France

Netherlands

New Zealand

For new readers!

Since we get new readers every day, here is my usual spiel with two points I need to continue to make:

First, we do screen our comments (sometimes I don’t get to them right away!) and I don’t post any that threaten any kind of violence or ones filled with foul language. An occasional expletive might slip in if the comment is otherwise a good one. You are always free to disagree with our point of view if you follow those two simple rules.

And the other thing I want to mention is about e-mails that come to you every time we post. They come directly from wordpress to subscribers. We don’t send out e-mails. So, if we are posting too much for your e-mail inbox, then just unsubscribe and visit RRW when you have the time. I understand completely about too many e-mails! You might want to simply follow us on twitter or on facebook (below).

This is where you can find information (in addition to our fact sheet). We have over 6,000 posts.

* See our categories (left hand sidebar)

* See the tag clouds (right hand sidebar)

* Also, we have a great search function and since neither the categories nor the tags go all the way back to our first posts more than seven years ago, use the search window with a few key words. You might want to first try your city, state, or country to see what we have reported from there over the years.

Readers from Europe should search for key words ‘Invasion of Europe’ for all of our many posts on the migration crisis on the Continent.

By the way, our category entitled ‘where to find information’ is filled with reports and documents, but with 337 posts archived there, it is pretty unwieldy now.

Past weekly roundups can be found in our category entitled ‘blogging.’

If you wish to be notified when we post, consider subscribing or follow us on twitter (@refugeewatcher) or facebook (RefugeeInfoResource). ‘Like us’ on facebook! (We are no longer posting every story we write at RRW to facebook so as not to overload your facebook feed either.) We also have some content on facebook that isn’t posted here first, so like us and follow us (I do have a volunteer helper at facebook—Kelly Monroe Kullberg).

And apologies to all who e-mail and comment, sorry if I don’t respond much, there are just not enough hours in my day!

Thanks to all of you for following RRW. The subject is on fire (maybe you have noticed)!

P.S. I have added two photos of myself to our About page, if you need one for any reason.

St. Cloud Times weaves conspiracy theory about “secret conversations;” says private meetings no longer allowed in America

05/04/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

An editorial yesterday in the St. Cloud Times makes me laugh!

It was only last week that they called on a professional communicator, Professor Aric Putnam from a Catholic college, to call me out for promoting conspiracy theories, here.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the St. Cloud State Muslim Student Association organized a public meeting in St. Cloud in April. That tells you who is running the show in St. Cloud. And, by the way, has the St. Cloud Times checked CAIR’s “facts?” Could someone point me to that story. Photo: Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com

Now, that very same paper says that citizens in America are no longer allowed to exercise their Constitutional right to peaceably assemble in a group of like-minded people!

Our meeting was by invitation only!

We were receiving threats that “progressive activists” were planning to disrupt a meeting we (ACT for America chapter leader and myself) were holding in St. Cloud.

We wanted our guests to not be subjected to hateful vitriol by a bunch of Leftwing community agitators.

And, frankly, remember readers, you are not obligated to invite hostile media to any meeting in America!

Is the St. Cloud Times saying here that it is not permitted, in the people’s republic of Minnesota, to hold private meetings? Could they be spinning conspiracy theories themselves?

Talk about scare tactics! It is a joke—“secret conversations!” No wonder small city newspapers are dying.

Here is the editorial yesterday (hat tip: Margaret):

Let’s keep talking, but let’s have those talks in public.

[….]

Unfortunately, there also have been some bad — or worse — secret conversations. [EEEK!!!—ed] Topping that list was the April 23 visit from Ann Corcoran, editor and founder of Refugee Resettlement Watch. She traveled all the way from Maryland to host an invitation-only meeting to promote her organization’s mission to “educate citizens about Refugee Resettlement Policy of the U.S. Government.”

Corcoran’s presentation was not open to the public. So while it’s impossible to know what she covered, a sampling of her opinions posted online indicate her message was likely rooted in disparaging all Muslims and especially those from Somalia.

To be clear, there are valid questions to ask federal elected officials about U.S. immigration policies they refuse to change.

However, Corcoran’s tactics — from secret meetings to extremist stereotyping — don’t have Washington, D.C. as their target. Instead, she’s much more focused on exploiting and expanding local fear of the unknown. Then, of course, it’s time for her to pack her bags and move to the next struggling community.

Struggling communities, here I come!

By the way, go here (scroll down to April 23, Part 1 and Part 2) to listen to my radio interview immediately following our “secret meeting,” so you can hear the gist of what we discussed in private—that every town in America receiving third world refugees (chosen by the UN) has the right to the FACTS on what is happening to their community.

Hey, I will bet you a million bucks that CAIR has held private meetings in St. Cloud and that the St. Cloud Times never threw a hissy-fit about their private (secret) conversations! Why? Fear!

Baltimore: Thousands of impoverished refugees poured into city in last ten years; fuel for the fire?

05/03/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Is Baltimore a failed social experiment in the government’s (and big business’s) push for more diversity in your towns and cities?

Can we call it a first spectacular failure for Obama’s Task Force on New Americans plan to seed communities with third-worlders?

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is one of the Top Nine refugee resettlement contractors in the country and it is headquartered in one of Baltimore’s better neighborhoods. This is what we said in 2014: Gotta keep up their real estate holdings! The Lutheran Center (LIRS headquarters) is a six-story structure constructed in 1999 on property owned by Baltimore’s historic Christ Lutheran Church. The building is located near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in the historic Federal Hill neighborhood, a charming area rich with history and an eclectic array of eateries and shopping venues. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2014/07/08/lutherans-may-be-operating-centers-for-unaccompanied-minors-in-your-state/

Baltimore, a majority African American (63%) city where we hear jobs are scarce and poverty is profound, with by several accounts amounting to 25% of the population living below the poverty level, the US State Department and its refugee resettlement contractors have nevertheless been pouring more diversity and consequently more poverty into the city for at least a decade.

In fact, Baltimore is a preferred refugee resettlement site according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement!

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fell for the feds ‘progressive’ scheme here in 2012 when she said that bringing more refugees and immigrants to the city would boost the economy completely failing to understand that, just because African Americans are black, they wouldn’t simply ‘welcome’ the rainbow colors of the world to compete with them for jobs, housing and scarce social services.

The hard truth was revealed in the New York Times of all places. African Americans don’t take kindly to diversity!

Here is one shocking little fact that was buried in a New York Times story about the recent riots:

Black gang leaders directed angry rioters to Asian and Arab shops while protecting stores owned and run by fellow African Americans.

Then he described how he and some Bloods had stood in front of black-owned stores to protect them from looting or vandalism. He said they had made sure no black children, or reporters, were hit by rioters. They pointed them toward Chinese- and Arab-owned stores. Charles said Mr. Gray had brought gangs together.

So much for the diversity-is-beautiful myth!

How much diversity has been brought to Baltimore to compete with poor African Americans?

This morning I went to the data base and checked out the numbers of refugees deposited in Baltimore since 2005. I’m listing only countries of origin if there were more than 10 refugees resettled there. There were many other countries represented by smaller numbers.

Baltimore’s new diversity (these are newly resettled from abroad since 2005, not secondary migrants from elsewhere in the US):

Azerbaijan (10)

Bhutan (1,352)

Burma (1,109)

Burundi (11)

Cent. African Republic (16)

Congo (26)

DR Congo (253)

Eritrea (374)

Iran (136)

Iraq (404)

Liberia (99)

Nepal (10)

Pakistan (13)

Palestine (19)

Russia (196)

Somalia (217)

Sudan (225)

Syria (26)

Uzbekistan (36)

Vietnam (15)

All are in direct competition with African Americans for jobs, education, housing and social services. And, these numbers do not include the thousands of illegal aliens welcomed to Baltimore in the last decade!