Barnett: Trump could take one simple step to give states back the power to withdraw from the refugee program

Don Barnett lays it out (what Donald Trump could do virtually overnight) in the Washington Times on Tuesday.
First some of the background:

When the Obama administration raised the refugee admission quota for fiscal 2017 to 110,000, New Jersey, Maine, Kansas and Texas formally withdrew from the resettlement program.

Actually, this is a program states can never leave. A Clinton-era regulation prevents states from meaningfully withdrawing from the federal refugee resettlement program. If history is any guide, those states that left the program are getting more refugees now than they would have had they stayed in the program.

ted and bill
Yucking it up! Ted and Bill—two of the main reasons you have refugees secretly placed in your states against the will of most of the voting public.

The only reason it is not evident is because the national quota for 2018 was lowered by the Trump administration to 45,000; the fiscal year will likely end with a number even smaller than that.

Reform the law while President Trump is in power, or else!

By law the president can zero out the quota altogether and a new president could increase it to 200,000 or higher. Before that happens, it may be wise to look at reforming the program.

First step!

At least one reform would fit in with the president’s goal of putting the federal government back into its proper constitutional role vis a vis the states.

The Refugee Act intended to insulate states from program costs. The bill’s Senate sponsor, Edward Kennedy, noted the program would “assure full and adequate federal support for refugee resettlement programs by authorizing permanent funding for state, local and volunteer agency projects.”

Unlike other legal immigrants, refugees are eligible for all federal welfare programs on the same basis as citizens upon arrival. (This is a lifetime entitlement for refugees who become citizens.)

[….]

Substantial costs have been purposely shifted to state taxpayers over the years.

[….]

Likely in response to rumblings from state governments about exiting the program, the Clinton administration promulgated regulation 45 CFR 400.301 in 1994 allowing resettlement contractors to continue operations in a state regardless of state objections. This arrangement allowed private contractors to operate independently with no input from state government. Regulatory fiat guaranteed that a state could never get out of the program or escape its fiscal impact on state revenues.

Prior to 45 CFR 400.301 the states were participating in and paying for a voluntary program from which they had every right to withdraw at any time with the expectation that no refugees would be resettled in the state.

Repeal it Donald! Repeal it!

Repeal of 45 CFR 400.301 would have the immediate effect of allowing states to withdraw from the U.S. refugee resettlement program.

tenth amendment
It is the Tenth Amendment stupid!  (Off topic, but don’t you think it’s riot that the state of California is pushing back against the US Justice Department on immigration using the States’ Rights provision of the Constitution!)
Barnett wraps up…..

Regulations can be repealed and they can be reissued. A judicial decision on the Tennessee lawsuit’s principle question on just how far the federal government can impose on a state’s control over its own resources is still needed and extends beyond the refugee resettlement program.

More here.
Come on DOJ, get moving on the Tennessee lawsuit, surely AG Sessions knows how significant this case is!
And, then as I intone on a regular basis—Where is Congress? The original Refugee Act of 1980 must be dumped and rewritten (if the voters want a rewrite). And, the window is open now while Trump is in office!
Forget the ‘humanitarian’ mumbo-jumbo….
I suspect it is the Republican leadership driven by the Chamber of Commerce and giant corporations that keep the law from ever being seriously reviewed by Congress.
Looking for something to do?
Contact the White House and tell the President that federal regulation 45 CFR 400.301 violates the Tenth Amendment and you want him to dump it.  Tell him also to get moving with long term reform to the Refugee Act of 1980 that set up the present system of paying (on a per head basis) NGO contractors to place refugees in your towns without notice or discussion.

Minneapolis: Somali and African American students in high school brawl

…..and not for the first time!

Diversity is Beautiful alert!

Yesterday this brief news item was brought to my attention (hat tip: Anne Marie) and I see that Frontpage magazine is on the story too.
Although we know that the conflicts between Somalis and African Americans are more widespread and not limited to Minnesota, rarely does the media report on the tension.

Southwest high
There are no photos of the brawl that I could find. But, don’t miss the story about a student being assaulted at the same school yesterday because he was carrying a Trump flag across the street from the ‘peace’ walkout.  http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/03/14/trump-flag-assault/

My guess is that these incidents are not brought to the public’s attention because it goes against the PC multiculti myth (a myth that the media loves to advance) that those of the same brown skin color couldn’t possibly hate each other, but we have seen that clearly in the xenophobic unwelcoming black South Africans as well.
Here is the headline from Alpha News:

Safety concerns arise as violence continues to escalate at Minneapolis Southwest High School

And here are a few snips from the story:

MINNEAPOLIS – Safety concerns arise as violence continues to escalate at Southwest High School.

On top of an already failing administration, Southwest High School staff are struggling to maintain peace between students. Last Friday, March 2, multiple fights broke out during the school’s second lunch period. Despite attempts to sweep the issue under the rug and downplay the violence, persistent students and parents forced the administration to address the situation.

[….]

The fight was not limited to the two students, who were reported by classmates to be a Somali-American and an African American.

Over 20 students joined the chaos soon after the first punches were thrown and the original videos that surfaced were titled “Somalis vs. Blacks.” The original videos have been taken down due to pressure from school administration. The school’s resource officer was present in the cafeteria. In an attempt to control the situation, school officials put the cafeteria on lockdown for 15 minutes after the allotted 30-minute lunch period, keeping any students from leaving or entering, including the ones not involved. All staff members that were not otherwise occupied were called to action.

No police but, wow! 15 student resource officers called in from other schools!

The police were not called, but 15 student resource officers from other schools were called for backup. In an eyewitness video taken by a student, the administration’s inability to diffuse the skirmish in a timely, appropriate, and safe manner was made clear.

More here.  Why parents leave their kids in schools like this is beyond me.

Five years ago another such incident happened (one that we know of!) at another Minneapolis high school. 

 

South High injuries
The cafeteria riot at South High five years ago resulted in injuries.  Fights were between Somalis and other students (African American and Native American). Somali activists said the school administration wasn’t doing enough to make Somalis feel welcome.  That is the line Minnesota Public Radio was pushing.   https://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/02/20/education/racial-tension-south-high-brawl

 
Here is my story from February 2013:

Minneapolis High School riot reveals tensions between Somalis and American blacks

And, looking back in my archives from 2008 I see that an African American attempts to explain the tension between the supposed African ‘brothers’ (Somalis v. African-Americans).

More on the friction between Black Americans and Black African refugees

And, don’t miss the terrible news from St. Cloud in 2015 where a Somali teen murdered a 20-year-old African American man:

St. Cloud residents hammer Rep. Emmer on Refugee Program; Somali teen murders African American

The fight that ended the life of the African American was because the Somali teen was aggressive toward the American black girl and I will bet that much of this tribal violence is over turf and girls.
For new readers, I have a huge archive on Minnesota and especially on Somalis in Minneapolis and St. Cloud.  Use key search words in the window at the top of the left hand side bar.  But, don’t miss one of my top stories of all time—-Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis from 2011, here.