Editor: Here comes another one! We haven’t seen them all yet!  I am still sorting my e-mail in search of the testimony you sent to the US State Department in response to the DOS request for public comment on the “size and scope” of the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program for FY2017.
The day before the deadline for submission of testimony I noticed (maybe you were all ahead of me and noticed!) that the dates were wrong in the Federal Register.  I happened to see a comment sent by lawyers to the DOS asking that the comment period be re-opened because citizens, who might like to have testified, didn’t think the notice was for a comment period this year, but for last year.   See here.
So far no sign that the State Department is re-opening the comment period.  Have any of you seen a new notice?
From Earl who obviously spent a great deal of time researching:

Testimony re: 2017 Refugee Resettlement Program

The Syrian refugee situation is merely “the tip of the iceberg” – a tiny part of the real issue. The “iceberg,” itself is the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP). The RRP was established by legislation in 1980, and so is far older than the Syrian situation, and the Fedral Government has illegally and dramatically expanded the program’s hegemony since then.

There is so much seriously wrong with the current form of the RRP that it would take a book to cover it all. Some of its major critical problems (drastically condensed) include:

1. The RRP is unconstitutional.

a. It forces states to fund state programs resulting from a Federal program without their agreement – a violation of states’ rights that the U. S. Supreme Court has already ruled unconstitutional.

b. It gives over a billion dollars a year to nine commercial contractors (called VOLAGS – “Voluntary Agency”) most of which are religious organizations. What this means is that the Federal Government is taking taxes from all Americans, and donating them to religious groups selected by the government. The Federal Government has no right to select which religious charities anyone has to support, but that’s exactly what’s happening. The Constitution clearly requires separation of church and state; a requirement grossly ignored by the RRP.

c. There is no part of the Constitution’s “enumerated powers” which compels or even allows the Federal Government to finance, arrange, or promote immigration from anywhere.

2.  The RRP is illegal.

The 1980 RRP legislation clearly and narrowly defined who can be considered a refugee for purposes of the program – people who can prove they have or are subject to persecution because of their political views or because of membership in a racial, ethnic, religious, or social group.

The vast majority of refugees seeking asylum in the U. S. are economic (“seeking a better life”) refugees, or are fleeing war zones – neither condition qualifies them for refugee status.

Therefore, the RRP is violating its own establishing legislation because Congress has ignored the legal definition of “refugee.”

3. The RRP is dangerous.

a. On October 8, 2015, FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress that the FBI cannot guarantee Islamic terrorists won’t get into the US in the Syrian flow that is about to start. On October 21, 2015, Director Comey informed the House Homeland Security Committee that it is impossible to screen Syrian refugees entering the U. S.

b. During a speech at the National Defense University, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, head of the House Homeland Security Committee, reported that intelligence officials have revealed that it’s no longer just a threat, but an actual occurrence – ISIS terrorists have tried to use the refugee program to enter the United States.

c. Membership in a U. S. – registered terrorist group is not a bar to entry through the RRP as long as the refugee was not thought to be a “direct participant” in “terrorist” activity. What an absurd standard!

d. Approximately 95% of U. S. – bound refugees are selected by the U. N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or were relatives of U. N. – picked refugees. The UNHCR signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 1988, according to an OIC statement. The OIC has been described as the new Islamic Caliphate (world-wide government), although ISIS has also laid claim to that title.What kinds of refugees do you think the OIC pressures the UNHCR to select?

e. Refugees are not tested for many diseases, such as HIV, and they also constitute approximately half of the TB cases in America.

f. If you look at news photos of the hoards of refugees flooding Europe, you’ll be struck by the fact that 95% of them are men in the specific age bracket from which most terrorists are drawn. They don’t look anything like the warm, friendly-looking refugee families that our media and the Federal Government portray as “typical.” Once the fickle media spotlight is off the refugee situation, refugees coming here are almost certain to reflect the same young-male Muslim demographic Europe is struggling with – a dangerous demographic.

g. The Obama administration has repeatedly bragged about the extensive investigative process used for refugees – supposedly taking from 12 to 18 months. Recently, the process has been shortened to three months, proving that the process is merely a political ploy to promote acceptance of dangerous refugees by a gullible public.

4. The RRP is incredibly expensive.

a. The Federal Government spends about 1.2 billion dollars a year just to bring refugees to the U. S. It pays the “VOLAGS” another approximately 1 billion dollars a year to handle the distribution of refugees to the states. These funds could assist 500 times as many refugees if safe havens were established in refugees’ own or nearby countries. Why do you suppose that wealthy Arab oil-producing countries refuse to accept any refugees whatsoever?

b. State and Federal welfare programs are available to refugees the same as to citizens. Refugees qualify for at least 14 welfare programs, the cost of which is never counted or revealed. The total program cost is estimated to be 10 to 20 billion dollars a year when welfare is included, and refugees use welfare at much higher rates than citizens – four times higher for SSI, for example. The VOLAGS grossly under-report welfare costs becausethey don’t actually track them – they estimate them with absurd assumptions that are intended to conceal the huge amounts – much of which comes out of state budgets.

c. The RRP is laced with fraud and corruption at all levels, as is true for many, if not all, U. N. enterprises. U.N. personnel often sell access to the program, and once here, refugees make false claims of family relationships in order to bring other “refugees” into the program. In effect, the RRP is a “stick in the spokes” of U. S. foreign policy, because other countries can refuse refugees, knowing that the U. S. will probably take them.

d. Our country and states are hobbled by ancient, deteriorating infrastructure, bloated social services, underfunded school systems, and inadequate fire and police protection. State and Federal agencies are regularly asked to cut spending. Eliminating the RRP could free funds desperately needed for more worthy and delayed projects.

5. The RRP can destroy our communities.

a. Few Middle-Eastern refugees/immigrants “assimilate” into their host communities. Paul Harpole, mayor of Amarillo, Texas, says that, “…it’s a huge disservice to bring in refugees that we’re not able to handle. We create small ghettos…. A group of Somalis came in to say they had elected a mayor of their community…. Then another faction claimed they had their own leader. We come to find out that rival tribes – slaves and masters – were being settled together.” There are now about 22 different languages spoken in the Amarillo schools by 660 refugee kids who don’t speak English, and the U. S. Department of Education says they have to be at grade level within one year. Many of these third-world kids don’t even know how to use a bathroom. Plus, the federal Government pays schools only $100 per refugee student per year.

b. Refugees will work for minimum wage, and, so, take jobs from Americans. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the meat-packing industry used to pay about $20/hour to employees. Now, it’s closer to $10/hour, on average, because of the refugees. The meat-packing industry is a major lobbying group promoting higher refugee numbers, making campaign contributions all over the country.

The Refugee Resettlement Program must be rescinded.

It is immoral, unethical, and unconstitutional for the Federal Government to bring Muslim refugees to the United States.

 
This is the twentieth testimony in our series leading up to the deadline for comments to the Dept. of State on May 19th.
Go here for where they are archived to see what your fellow citizens have said.
I intend to keep posting testimonies until I have exhausted my long list! I had no idea so many of you would respond to my offer!  But, thank you for your hard work!
Don’t forget!  If you sent testimony to the State Department, be sure to send it to all of your elected officials and ask that they look into the program and give you a response (it is not too late to send it!). When corresponding with elected officials always ask a question and try to force them to respond to you.