In Twin Falls, Idaho last night, US State Department official: we don't force refugees on communities that don't want them

Correction!  Bartlett didn’t say we don’t place refugees in unwelcoming communities, he said “unsafe” ones implying that those who are critical of the program might actually hurt the refugees—what a slap in the face!
Regular readers know that we have been closely following the controversy that has been brewing for months about the refugee resettlement program on-going in the Magic Valley of Idaho.  See our post last week where we outlined a public meeting format that would be fair to all sides in the controversy (so it wouldn’t appear as a “dog and pony show”).

Bartlett: We don’t resettle refugees into communities that don’t want them.

Initial reports are that it was surprise! a “dog and pony show,” and that the Times-News refused to use any of the suggestions coming from the citizens in opposition that might have helped community members feel confident that the meeting was a fair one.
In fact, according to a leader of those who are questioning the program, Rick Martin, the public meeting might well be characterized as a meeting one would expect in “communist Cuba.”
We are anxiously waiting for a video tape of the entire meeting and will have more for you then.
However, here are a few nuggets to satisfy your curiosity in addition to the astounding statement reportedly made at the end of the nearly 3-hour meeting by Lawrence Bartlett representing the US State Department—we don’t send refugees to communities not willing to welcome them.  (We will get the exact wording from the video taped recording).
From a first hand account:

  • The meeting was delayed because the line to get in stretched for about a mile and everyone was subjected to screening by a metal-detector and some were frisked.
  • Those in favor of more refugees being resettled in Twin Falls brought in van and car loads of people from outside of town (presumably from Boise).  Some of those were refugees themselves (we have previously mentioned that ploy to play on public sympathy by using refugees as pawns at such meetings).
  • About 725 people were in attendance.
  • A New York Times reporter was there, so look for news from the NYT.
  • Disgusted with the biased way in which the moderator asked questions, about ten in the audience walked out after about 45 minutes. One man shouted, “this is propaganda.”
  • Opposition leaders were happy with the opportunity to distribute their informational handouts.
  • There was much discussion about the national security fears of residents.
  • Questions about the health status of refugees and whether any presented serious medical threats to the community were not satisfactorily answered.
  • Opposition leaders say only about four of the fifty or so questions they submitted were asked and then the question was paraphrased (spun!) by the moderator.   By the way, we had recommended that the paper should not have allowed its editor to moderate the meeting because of previously demonstrated bias, but the paper refused to replace him with a retired judge.

Much more later when we have had an opportunity to view the entire videotape of the meeting.
Oh, and I nearly forgot, you can read the Times-News account of the “forum,” here.   (They don’t like RRW to excerpt their material, presumably so you will go and see their advertisers.)
All of our previous coverage of the Twin Falls controversy and the growing Pocket of Resistance’ there can be found by clicking here.

Vast majority of US Muslims are Democrats, so why would Marco Rubio want more?

Julia Hahn, who has been doing a fantastic job at Breitbart on the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program has another good article yesterday entitled, ‘REPORT: MUSLIMS ARE THE FASTEST GROWING IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY‘  (hat tip: Cathy).

Here is how she begins (with some much-needed data!):

Zuckerberg
Trump, never shy to speak up, said in August that the billionaire Facebook founder and No Borders advocate, Mark Zuckerberg, had his own personal US Senator—Marco Rubio. http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/donald-trump-marco-rubio-mark-zuckerberg-immigration/2015/08/18/id/670708/

“Muslims are the fastest growing bloc of immigrants, according to new census data published by the Center for Immigration Studies.

The report, which analyzes data from American Community Survey (ACS), finds that the foreign-born population in the U.S. hit a new record high 42.4 million in July 2014.

The report details that some of “the sending countries with the largest percentage increases in the number of immigrants living in the United States since 2010 were Saudi Arabia (up 93 percent); Bangladesh (up 37 percent); Iraq (up 36 percent); Egypt (up 25 percent); Pakistan, India, and Ethiopia (all up 24 percent); Nigeria and Ghana (both up 21 percent).”

“In contrast to most sending regions and countries, the number of immigrants from Europe and Canada declined,” the report notes.

As Breitbart News has previously documented, every year the United States voluntarily imports more than a quarter of a million– or 280,000– Muslim migrants. This number includes 117,423 migrants who were permanently resettled with Legal Permanent Resident status, as well as an additional 122,921 temporary Muslim workers and foreign students, and 39,932 Muslim refugee and asylees. This means that each year, the U.S. admits a number of Muslim migrants larger in size than the entire population of Des Moines, Iowa.”

Readers, although the number of refugees and asylees is lower than some other categories, remember that they are eligible for all forms of welfare immediately upon arrival as compared to those who entered under other legal immigration programs.  They also get a federal resettlement contracting agency to hold their hands as they sign up, so they are much more costly to the US taxpayer.

What is up with Rubio? 

Muslim immigrants (like most immigrants) are going to vote for Democrats, so why should Senator Marco Rubio be open to inviting more to America?   On the Syrian issue he squished out here earlier this month by saying he was “open” to taking in Syrians Muslims who are now swamping Europe.
Hahn continues at Breitbart:

According to Pew Research, only 11 percent of Muslim Americans identify as Republican or leaning-Republican, making them one of the most reliable Democrat voting blocs in the country.

[….]

Despite the fact only 11 percent of Muslim voters say that they “lean” Republican, many Republican presidential candidates would like to see the number of Muslim immigrants expanded even further.

For instance, GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)—whose campaign predicts he will be in first place by February—has introduced a new foreign worker bill which would substantially increase Muslim immigration. His bill, known as the I-Squared bill, has been described as the “gold standard of high-tech reform,” by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s immigration lobbying group.

[….]

In addition, Rubio has also his argued that the United States should increase the number of poor Muslim migrants the United States admits as refugees— on top of the tens of thousands already admitted each year. Experts project that the cost of admitting just ten thousand additional refugees will cost U.S. taxpayers $6.5 billion dollars.

There is much more, continue reading here.
I have a hunch that Fox News is hankering for a Rubio/Fiorina ticket in 2016 (or at least that could be Fox owner Rupert Murdoch’s dream team), here.  Both could be counted on to do as they are told and support bringing in cheap immigrant labor for big business, something Murdoch has been openly supporting.

Jewish groups blast Obama: No leadership! Proposed Syrian refugee numbers too low

Of course this is no surprise to long-time readers, but it is one of the first strong criticisms I’ve seen of Obama who has been the darling of the one-worlders of the No Borders American Hard Left.  Back in 2007, there was no reluctance to excoriate George W. Bush when he was going cautiously on admitting Iraqi Muslims to the US.

Hetfield from twitter
Hetfield: Obama is not showing leadership on Syrian resettlement numbers. 10,000 is too low! We want 100,000! https://twitter.com/markjhetfield

Remember that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society*** is paid by the head to resettle refugees of all religious persuasions (including the mostly Muslim Syrians) as very few Jews are in the refugee stream to America these days.  HIAS and the other eight federal resettlement contractors would have to close up shop without their infusion of your money!
I’m so sick of lazy (or purposefully deceptive) reporters who never mention the financial incentives behind resettlement.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Two U.S. Jewish organizations said the Obama administration’s offer to absorb at least 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year was inadequate.

“Increasing the total number of refugees from 70,000 to 85,000 for next year and to 100,000 for the year after is a nice symbolic gesture,” Mark Hetfield, the president of HIAS, a Jewish group that assists in refugee resettlement and advocates for immigration reform, said Sunday in a statement. “It is a baby step in the right direction. But it is not leadership.”

The Reform movement also said in a statement Monday that Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposed numbers did not meet the mark.

See all of our coverage of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, here.  Go here to see if HIAS is working in your city.  If one is near you, call the office and ask how many Syrian Muslims they are bringing to your community.  Ask them point blank if they will advocate for the persecuted Christians first!
Our huge archive on Syrian refugees is here.
*** Have a look at the most recent Form 990 for HIAS (which re-branded itself and dropped the word Hebrew from its name awhile back).  It is a $31 million dollar a year supposed ‘non-profit’ group that receives 55% of its funding from the US taxpayer.
Federal grants total just over $16 million and that is to resettle refugees!  And they receive other funds related to their refugee resettlement efforts including over $500,000 in processing fees for loans (refugee air fare loan collections).
Hetfield pulls down a salary (and related income) of just over $300,000 per year and there are 5 other employees in the six-figure range.

Germany: ISIS recruiting among refugees

Invasion of Europe news……

Of course, what else would you expect!
From the UK Express:

Hans Georg
Germany’s Security Agency head Hans-Georg Maassen: we fear Islamists are exploiting refugees. (Duh!)

There are now 7,900 Salafi*** jihadists roaming the streets of Germany, according to Germany’s security agency, with many trying to lure asylum-seekers into their ranks.

The agency – the Office for the Protection of the Constitution – said numbers had risen from 7,500 in June.

Agency head Hans-Georg Maassen, said: “We are very concerned Islamists in Germany are trying, under the cover of humanitarian assistance, to exploit the situation of the refugees for their own ends and to proselytise and recruit among asylum-seekers.”

So far 740 radical Muslims had left Germany to join jihadists in Syria and Iraq, 20 percent of them female. Around one-third have returned to Germany, while about 120 of them have been killed.

He said spies are keeping close watch on jihadists given their “significant radicalisation potential” within the migrant community.

He added: “We are keeping a particularly close eye on unaccompanied minors among the refugees, who could be easy targets for Islamists.

See our complete ‘Invasion of Europe’ archive by clicking here.  More on Germany here.
*** In Germany they use the word ‘Salafi’ to accurately describe the Sunni Muslim extremists, while in the US, the media, if it mentions it at all, simply says ‘radical Islam’ assuming you are too dumb to be given the grown-up words.  See simple discussion of the Salafi movement, here.   Don’t you just want to pop those Fox News commentators every time they say radical Islam!

Trump: NO Syrian refugees, take care of Americans first!

I missed this one yesterday, but the ever-watchful Leo Hohmann at World Net Daily spotted it.  Trump’s campaign manager made clear Mr. Trump’s position on the Syrian ‘refugee’ issue and the broader issue of refugee resettlement to America.   The spokesman alluded to the abuse of the word ‘refugee’ which might escape the average listener’s ear.

Lewandowski and Trump
Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. https://gma.yahoo.com/meet-donald-trumps-campaign-manager-corey-lewandowski-171042980.html

A legitimate refugee must prove he or she is personally persecuted for religion, race, political persuasion, they CANNOT simply be running from a war (or crime or a bad economy).  The media and the NO Borders Left (the one-worlders) have been perverting the word for years.
They want any person running from anything to be classified as a ‘refugee’ eligible for admission to the first world.
Here is the news from Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, making it clear that Americans come first!
World Net Daily:

Donald Trump has issued very few specifics in how he would deal with the world’s refugee crisis, but on Tuesday his campaign manager offered a bombshell sure to score him points with the GOP’s conservative base.

Corey Lewandowski said the United States “should take in zero” Syrian refugees.

“This is very simple, the bottom line is we should take in zero,” Lewandowski said when asked by radio host John Fredericks what a President Trump would do about the refugee crisis.

“And the United States, to be clear, has a process for bringing refugees into the country, and an individual must qualify as a refugee to begin that process, is how it works,” Lewandowski continued. “Individuals caught in a civil war do not necessarily qualify as refugees.

“If Mr. Trump were the president of the United States, we would not be bringing refugees into the country under this criteria,” Lewandowski said.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced Sunday plans by the Obama administration to increase the number of refugees brought directly from the Third World to America, from 70,000 this year to 85,000 in 2016 and 100,000 in 2017.

WND reported Monday that two bills are now in play in the House, one introduced by Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, that would halt all refugee resettlement pending a full investigation of the program’s financial and security impact; and the second authored by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, would require congressional approval of all resettlements and require priority to be given to Christian refugees.

Put Americans first!  

In the Tuesday radio interview, Lewandowski delivered a much stronger line of argument, saying “it is time – and Mr. Trump has said this, time and time again – to put Americans first.”

“While I understand our position in the global economy, and how important the United States is in world public affairs, it is time to look at the people who are in our country first who are struggling – the middle class, the bottom class of people who can’t survive – and give them opportunities,” said Lewandowski. “And this is exactly what the issue is, when it comes to not just bringing in refugees, but illegal immigrants.

Continue reading here.  Hohmann lists the towns and cities in America already ‘welcoming’ Syrian refugees (whether they know it or not!).
A reminder that when I first tell a new person about how the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions program works, they are outraged and ask—-but what about the poor and homeless people we have in our town already?  Can’t we take care of them first (before we import more poverty)?
Be sure to see Hohmann’s article this week about the actions going on in Congress with the McCaul and Babin bills.   After discussing the bills, Hohmann reports that these 2016 Republican Presidential candidates are supporting the Obama Syrian resettlement plan.  We will let you know if others get on board with Obama.

Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham and John Kasich have all said the U.S. should consider taking in more Syrian refugees, essentially agreeing with the policy of Obama and Democrats in Congress.

Of course they could modify their positions and say that we will only take persecuted Christian Syrians in reasonable numbers, to be cared for privately by individual churches, but don’t hold your breath!