….if members of Congress do not grow spines and begin to revamp/rewrite the Refugee Act of 1980, anything President Trump does now will be lost in 4 or 8 years.
And, whether Trump’s EO does even half of what it promises will depend on who becomes the Asst. Sec. of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, and who becomes the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS).
Here is Betsy McCaughey writing at the New York Post about beleaguered school districts coping with large numbers (and costs) of refugee children the school system wasn’t expecting (due to the secrecy surrounding their placement).
I don’t have time to link all of the places we have identified in the past having such problems, but search RRW for Lancaster, PA, Amarillo, TX, Manchester, NH and Utica, NY.
New York Post (hat tip: Judy and others):
Public schools beleaguered by waves of refugees will get a breather thanks to President Trump’s executive order suspending refugee entry for 120 days. And under Trump’s new policy, when the US reopens its doors to refugees, local communities will be consulted. That beats the Obama administration’s dictatorial approach, which has overwhelmed many school districts. [Bush and all the Presidents before him did nothing to allow communities any say either—-ed]
Until now, refugee children have been placed in districts with little or no advance notice. Arriving from countries like Congo, Burma, Somalia and Syria, they speak no English and bear the signs of trauma from their ordeals. They need interpreters, counselors and attention. But often they’re placed in the poorest school districts — which can least afford them.
School authorities try to be welcoming, but no good deed goes unpunished. The American Civil Liberties Union is targeting these communities, claiming they’re not doing enough for refugees. On top of the costs of educating the refugees, towns are getting slapped with lawsuits and legal fees.
The State Department decides where refugees are settled. The feds pay nonprofits such as Catholic Charities to rent and furnish apartments for refugees, enroll them in English class and put their children in public school.
In New York, upstate cities like Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica are magnets for resettlement because the $900-a-month housing stipend goes a lot farther than in New York City or on Long Island.
Buffalo has absorbed 10,000 refugees in the last decade. At Lafayette High School there, 45 languages are spoken, 70 percent of students are just learning English and nearly 40 percent missed years of schooling before arriving.
More here.
BTW, George Soros is one of the ACLU’s biggest sugar-daddies!
See tag ‘Where is Congress’ on this and other refugee-related issues (hint: most are hiding!).