President Trump issues new Executive Order on refugees as old one expired yesterday

10/25/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Trump and Sessions — The Attorney General will report to the President on his findings in 180 days.

Apparently Donald Trump isn’t finished reviewing the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program and yesterday set forth in a new Executive Order plans to continue to study the many concerns surrounding the USRAP for another 180 days.

That, however, hasn’t stopped the flow of refugees in to the country in the first 24 days of this fiscal year. The number, as of this morning, is 1,236 entries since October 1. (See the graph below showing monthly admissions over the last ten years.

Here are a couple of critical sections of the new EO (read all of it here). Hat tip Richard at Blue Ridge Forum.

(ii) Within 90 days of the date of this order and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall determine, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, whether any actions taken to address the risks to the security and welfare of the United States presented by permitting any category of refugees to enter this country should be modified or terminated, and, if so, what those modifications or terminations should be. If the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines, at any time, that any actions taken pursuant to section 3(a)(i) should be modified or terminated, the Secretary of Homeland Security may modify or terminate those actions accordingly. The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State shall administer the USRAP consistent with the determinations made under this subsection, and in consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence.

And, then this section is especially interesting. The Justice Department is required to do a study of the effect of refugee resettlement including its effect on the “general welfare of the United States.”

(b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General shall, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, and in cooperation with the heads of other executive departments and agencies as he deems appropriate, provide a report to the President on the effect of refugee resettlement in the United States on the national security, public safety, and general welfare of the United States. The report shall include any recommendations the Attorney General deems necessary to advance those interests.

We will be watching for that in April!

But, all the more reason you all have to make news where you live so that we can maybe, just maybe, get the attention of the Attorney General! (See St. Cloud!)

Here from Wrapsnet is a month by month accounting of refugee admissions going back to FY2007. Again, as of today, we have admitted 1,236 refugees in the first 24 days of October.

To reach anywhere near Trump’s FY18 ceiling of 45,000, we would have to admit refugees at a rate of over 3,500 a month. Each refugee is, as you know, a paying client for one of the nine federal refugee contractors.***

Screenshot (1010) — Take a few minutes to look at this chart. Notice the ceiling and then the actual admissions number. Obama set his last ceiling at 110,000. I don’t know why it isn’t even reported here. But, be sure to see how he came in at only in the 50,000s for a few years when most media reports leave readers with the impression that somehow Trump has cut numbers in half! That 53,

This post is filed in my Refugee statistics and Where to find information categories.

*** For new readers, these are the nine federal refugee contractors placing refugees into towns and cities in most of your states.

House Immigration Subcommittee to hold oversight hearing on refugee program tomorrow

10/25/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update October 26th: Hearing was a bust in my opinion, see here.

Here is the press release (hat tip Joanne): from the Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee with jurisdiction over the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program.

See the list of Subcommittee members below. If any of those members are your representatives you should reach them today with your opinion on the program.

Raul Labrador — To have some real impact on this hearing, folks in Idaho must get to Rep. Labrador today! https://labrador.house.gov/contact-me/

Supposedly they will be addressing “fraud” (we’ll see!) and lack of consultation with communities!

Contacts on the press release are these:

CONTACT:
Kathryn Rexrode or Jessica Collins
(202) 225-3951

Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 9:00 a.m., the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the United States Refugee Admissions Program.

The Refugee Admissions Program is tasked with vetting and resettling refugees in the United States and is administered by the Department of State in conjunction with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services. In recent years, there have been concerns that the program is susceptible to fraud and poses national security concerns due to the inability to thoroughly screen refugees seeking resettlement. In addition, the program has been criticized for its resettlement process, including that state and local governments are not consulted when refugees are resettled in their communities. The Trump Administration has taken these concerns seriously and is implementing changes to enhance the security of the program and the processes to ensure smooth resettlement.

At this week’s hearing, members of the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee will hear from officials from the agencies that administer the Refugee Admissions Program on what steps they are taking to address concerns about the program. Additionally, the Subcommittee will hear from the Government Accountability Office regarding their reports on fraud and security issues within the program.

Editor: Of course they NEVER hold a hearing with citizen witnesses who have vast experience in how the program has gone wrong where they live. Watch these witnesses spin! Please restrain yourselves from throwing a shoe at the screen!

Witnesses for the hearing are:

Mr. Simon Henshaw, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Department of State [Shamefully Trump has made no move to put his own choice to head the program at State.—ed]

The Honorable Lee Francis Cissna, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security

Mr. Scott Lloyd, Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Department of Health and Human Services

Ms. Rebecca Gambler, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Unit, U.S. Government Accountability Office

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) issued the statements below in advance of this hearing.

Chairman Goodlatte: “For generations, the United States has been a safe haven for those around the world fleeing persecution in their home countries. We must maintain our nation’s generosity toward those in need but must also ensure that our nation’s humanitarian programs are not abused by those seeking to harm our nation and our citizens. This week, the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee will closely look at the Refugee Admissions Program and examine the concerns that have been raised about it in recent years, including fraud and abuse, vetting procedures, the lack of consultation with state and local communities, and the arbitrary annual ceiling. I look forward to hearing how the Trump Administration is addressing these concerns to enhance the safety of our nation and ensure that the program works as intended to benefit those most at risk of persecution.”

Subcommittee Chairman Labrador: “As Americans, we have a long tradition of helping refugees who are fleeing persecution and wish to become contributing members of our society. However, our refugee program needs to be reformed to keep pace with the security challenges of today’s world. President Trump recognizes those challenges, and I look forward to hearing how his administration is working to restore confidence in the refugee program. Congress has a role play, as well. I’ve introduced legislation, H.R. 2826, which enhances refugee screening, curbs fraud, and gives states and communities a voice in refugee settlement decisions. This bill has already been approved by the Judiciary Committee, and I am eager to hear from the witnesses how the solutions featured in my bill can further improve the refugee program.”

This hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast live at judiciary.house.gov.

Here are the subcommittee members as of July 2017:

Screenshot (1008)

I have little confidence (after 10 years of observing the issue) that Congress is going to ever go so far as to trash or seriously reform the US Refugee Admissions Program (hearings like this one are extremely rare), but hope springs eternal, and if you would like to tell them what is happening where you live, try contacting those contacts listed above. Good luck!

But, don’t stop working hard where you live! See here.

No such thing as ‘Minnesota nice’ as St. Cloud mayor and council play dirty

10/25/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We told you that a St. Cloud, Minnesota councilman was planning to introduce a resolution on November 6th asking for a moratorium on refugee resettlement in order to understand better the economic impact of thousands of mostly Somali refugees being placed in the town over recent years by a Lutheran resettlement agency.

(Don’t miss yesterday’s post about Lutherans being paid directly by meatpacking companies to find and retain labor, here.)

So what happens the week before the planned debate on the moratorium resolution?

On Monday night (on the 23rd):

The Mayor and most of the council sprung a “welcoming” resolution, with no advanced warning, and allowed only a few minutes of discussion before voting in support in front of a large audience that was out of control.

Here Leo Hohmann at World Net Daily tells us what happened. Embedded in the story is a video of the meeting that was described by many as total chaos.

What happened at the St. Cloud, Minnesota, City Council on Monday night is being described as a well-organized “ambush” designed to shut down a citizen uprising or “pocket of resistance” against runaway refugee resettlement in the small city.

Screenshot (1005) — Councilman Jeff Goerger, who introduced the “Welcoming and Just City” resolution before his colleague’s resolution could be introduced and voted on.

College-age students filled the council chambers. Only five people were allowed to approach the podium and speak, all of them in favor of unlimited refugee resettlement with no accountability to the taxpayer.

A resolution was hastily introduced, read and voted on.

Mission accomplished.

The ambush was successful.

And the local Somali community is now celebrating.

It all started when several of the council members who support unlimited refugee resettlement with no financial accountability to the taxpayer were informed that one of their colleagues, Councilman Jeff Johnson, planned to introduce a resolution at their Nov. 6 meeting calling for a moratorium on all resettlements in St. Cloud until an economic impact study could be completed.

Johnson’s resolution would also require the city to verify that it is in full compliance with all facets of the federal Refugee Act of 1980 as signed by then-president Jimmy Carter.

But Johnson’s opponents, clearly having collaborated among themselves beforehand, sprung a new resolution on the public at the Monday, Oct. 23, meeting and passed it 5-1 after begrudgingly allowing only a few minutes of debate.

The efforts by Johnson to support financial accountability were undercut before they were even heard in a public forum.

Councilman Jeff Goerger made sure of it.

[….]

Councilman Jeff Goerger, who introduced the “Welcoming and Just City” resolution before his colleague’s resolution could be introduced and voted on.

Goerger stated, to a resounding applause, that the city has absorbed the thousands of Somalis “without an impact on the city budget or our quality of life.”

The families of the 10 people stabbed at the mall by Dahir Adan last year might disagree with that “quality of life” remark.

There is much, much more, continue reading here.

‘Minnesota nice’ is dead and gone!

Actions like this (playing dirty) are all the more reason for citizens to organize in towns with mayors and councils like this one in St. Cloud and campaign to elect your own people to local office. See what I said here.

You might not win the first time, or even the second time, but nothing beats the publicity you can get for your greatest concerns than having your own candidates voice them. What do you have to lose?

The other option is to move.

See my huge archive on St. Cloud that extends back to 2008 when I first reported on the beleaguered city forever changed by Lutheran Social Services of MN.