Month: September 2018

Refugee program costs US taxpayers $125 billion over ten years

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

“The costs are staggering. The costs are truly staggering!” 

(Don Barnett, Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies)

 

I reported a few days ago on the ‘Report to Congress’ released by the US State Department as part of the consultation with Congress requirement of the Administration when determining how many refugees will be admitted to the US beginning on Monday.

cover fy19 report

Here LifeZette analyzed a portion of that report about what you pay for the program (actually only a small portion of the costs!).

America’s refugee program cost taxpayers more than $125 billion over a 10-year period, according to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report to Congress on a proposed cut in the émigré cap.

The report accounts for refugees resettled from abroad, foreigners in the United States granted asylum, and people participating in special programs set up for Iraqis, Cubans, Haitians, and Amerasians from Vietnam.

The cost to federal taxpayers for refugees and individuals granted asylum in fiscal years 2005 through 2014 came to $74.7 billion, plus an additional $21.9 billion for state matching funds for programs available to refugees.

The total cost was $96.65 billion. Including spouses and children, the overall cost to state and federal taxpayers rises to $125.696 billion.

That total includes the cost of relocating refugees, services provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), child care subsidies and three main welfare programs — Medicaid, Medicare, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, President Donald Trump alluded to the cost in arguing that U.S. generosity is better demonstrated near locations from which refugees come.

[….]

The nearly $126 billion estimated cost over 10 years, however, represents but a fraction of the total taxpayer investment. It does not include more than a dozen other programs, such as Social Security, various tax credits, education spending, and other welfare.

[Other welfare supplied by federal and state taxpayers would include food stamps, and other costs include federally required interpreters for courts, medical care and schools, the criminal justice system and most often ignored—remittances—money the refugees send home and out of our economy.—-ed]

[….]

Don Barnett, a fellow at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), told LifeZette that it makes sense to take a comprehensive approach to assessing refugee costs that go beyond just the relocation expenses.

Unlike other immigrants, who must wait five years before they are eligible for government-assistance programs, refugees and individuals granted asylum immediately can receive welfare.

“The costs are staggering. The costs are truly staggering,” said Barnett.

[….]

nowrasteh-aljazeera-10-25-13
The Libertarian CATO Institute has been talking about reform that would include private citizens sponsoring refugees. It does have its appeal. But, he knows that not enough sponsors would be found especially if they were on the hook for all of the care of a refugee or refugee family, so CATO is not proposing abolishing the present contractor system of resettlement. CATO wants both systems at the same time—the same as Canada!

The government report estimates that in a typical year, major HHS programs cost about $3,300 per refugee.

A 2015 study by CIS, which favors lower levels of immigration, attempted to account for a broader range of costs imposed by refugees. The study found that the five-year cost of relocating refugees from the Middle East came to $64,370 per person and $257,481 per household.

[….]

Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute, did not dispute the government’s cost estimates.

[….]

A better approach than a bureaucratic, taxpayer-funded refugee system, Nowrasteh said, is to allow private citizens and organizations to sponsor refugees and take financial responsibility for them. He said Canada has such a system and that the United States has had similar policies in the past.

More here.

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society launches election year campaign

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

They call it…. VOTE FOR WELCOME!

As a non-profit federal grantee they need to be especially careful about lobbying and getting in to electoral political activities.  See here.

If the Refugee Admissions Program survives, the most important reform we need is a prohibition (in the law itself) on federal refugee contractors***, like HIAS, from political organizing and advocacy/lobbying while being funded by you and me, the taxpayers.

Better still, take all nine contractors out of the resettlement business completely!

HIAS received over $186 million from the federal Treasury since 2008, here. And, they have been organizing rallies like this one (with Keith Ellison) against President Trump.

Now this….

 

Screenshot (1464)

Screenshot (1466)
This is a screenshot so link is not hot.  Go here:        https://www.hias.org/election-campaign?utm_source=hias.org&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=election_campaign&utm_content=09_28_18

 

 

***Here below are the nine federal refugee resettlement contractors.

You might be sick of seeing this list almost every day, but a friend once told me that people need to see something seven times before it completely sinks in, so it seems to me that 70, or even 700 isn’t too much!

And, besides I have new readers every day.

The present US Refugee Admissions Program will never be reformed if the system of paying the contractors by the head stays in place and the contractors are permitted to act as Leftwing political agitation groups, community organizers and lobbyists paid on our dime!

And, to add insult to injury they pretend it is all about ‘humanitarianism.’

The number in parenthesis is the percentage of their income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees into your towns and cities and get them signed up for their services (aka welfare)!  And, get them registered to vote eventually!

From my most recent accounting, here.  However, please see that Nayla Rush at the Center for Immigration Studies has done an update of their income, as has James Simpson at the Capital Research Center!

Refugee arrivals picked up this month

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It is what happens every year at this time.

The State Department pours refugees in at a much higher rate in the final month of the fiscal year, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that, with only a couple more days to go in this month, we are above the average admission rate for the previous 11 months.

Rohingya in Phoenix
Rohingya refugees protesting in Phoenix.  979 came to the US this year. 109 were welcomed by the Trump State Department since September first! https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2017/09/20/arizona-rohingya-refugee-story-from-poor-refugee-to-political-agitator/

Checking the data at Wrapsnet, as of this morning we are at 22,469 refugees admitted.

That is 2,570 more than we had on September first.

The average for the previous 11 months was 1,809.

Nevertheless, it is nearly official—and it will be official on Sunday evening—that this is the lowest number of admissions since the Refugee Act of 1980 was signed in to law by Jimmy Carter.

Top ethnic groups arriving since September 1 are from these countries:

DR Congo (1,058)

Burma (381)

Ukraine (363)

Of the total 2,570 September arrivals, 418 are Muslims of one sect or another.

Most concerning to me is that 109 of the Burmese are devout Rohingya Muslims.

P.S.  I’m going to be away over the weekend, but will give you year-end numbers on Monday or Tuesday next week.

Rampage at Minnesota amusement park sparked by roving Somali youths, say witnesses

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been watching the news unfold for a couple of days about what happened at Valley Fair, an amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, not far from Minneapolis when fights broke out throughout the park—enough fights to require hundreds of police being called to clear the area.

The mainstream media in Minnesota says, ho hum, nothing to see because no one was hurt. And they steadfastly refuse to use the word “Somali” when discussing the incident they say involved “multiple-ethnicities.”  (Could there ultimately have been multiple ethnicities fighting back against the roving gangs of Somalis?)

 

Somalis at valley fair 2
From a video taken by a witness….Multiple ethnicities?

 

Here is Laura Loomer writing at Big League Politics:

On Saturday September 22, 2018 at the ValleyFair amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, police and emergency responders had to evacuate all guests after a mob of Somali teenagers and men rushed through security and caused several violent fights to break out inside the park.

According to eyewitnesses who were at the park to celebrate Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, a group of nearly 100 Somali men mob rushed past security and amusement park staffers at the front entrance, and proceeded to run through the park and instigate fights among themselves and with guests.

map Minneapolis surrounding
Shakopee is 30 minutes from Minneapolis. Interesting! When I looked at the map I recognized other US State Department refugee resettlement sites. Bloomington, Burnsville, Eagan, St. Paul and Roseville have all ‘welcomed’ Somali refugees in the last ten years.

As several violent fights broke out, guests began to panic as reports of people being stabbed and shot began to circulate.

Cliff Hallberg, who was inside the park with his children at the time the fights broke out said it was very frightening for his children. “I saw about 60 Somali teenagers push their way through lines and scream at guests.”

[….]

The violent fights erupted during Law enforcement appreciation day when the park was full of police officers and other members of law enforcement who received discounted tickets so that their families could enjoy the amusement park. An estimated 263 police officers responded to the fights inside the park, according to witnesses.

“This looked like a targeted attack on law enforcement,” Hallberg added.

Hallberg also told Big League Politics that his car was spit on and that the rioters were setting off car alarms and causing chaos in the parking lot, all of which can be seen in video that was exclusively obtained by this reporter.

[….]

According to eyewitnesses and police officers who wish to remain anonymous, they believe the media is covering up the fact that the violent rioters were Somali men because the media and police don’t want to offend the Muslim Somali population or influence the upcoming election.

Officers in Minnesota have told this reporter that they are often told to avoid using the word Somali when discussing crimes committed by members of the Somali population because police and local Democrats have asked them to “stand down” in an effort to create positive community relations between Minnesota natives and the continually increasing Muslim Somali “refugee” population.

In the United States, Minnesota is the state with the largest Somali population.

Continue here where Loomer has much more plus videos from witnesses who were at the park last Saturday evening.

When you search around on the story, you will see that a mention of the Somalis at Valley Fair comes only in a story attacking Loomer which (I know firsthand!) is par for the course in that state!

Just like Lake Calhoun intimidation!

When I read Loomer’s story, I was reminded of a similar incident at Lake Calhoun, five miles from downtown Minneapolis, two years ago.  Although involving fewer people, a similar scenario was described by eyewitnesses as gangs of Somali youths roamed the park and the adjoining neighborhood threatening whoever they encountered.  The frightening incident was swept under the rug by the police department there.

Read about Lake Calhoun, here.

Monday a big day for refugee contractors, expect more stories like these….

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What is Monday?  It is the beginning of the federal fiscal year. It is the first day of FY19. It is the day when the writing will be on the wall for many refugee resettlement offices around the country.

Screenshot (1457)
Dumb way to run an organization! Did no one in the refugee industry ever question a business model where some non-profits are 97% and up federally funded?

Why? Because in 1980 Jimmy Carter signed the Refugee Act of 1980 in to law and set up a house of cards that needs to fall now. Originally (supposedly!) designed as a public-private partnership, the federal government and ‘humanitarian’ non-profit groups were to share equally in the costs of admitting tens of thousands of refugees to the US each year.

But, over the years, because Congress has been so remiss in overseeing the program (the Rs want cheap labor!), those non-profit groups (aka federal contractors) have gotten fat and confident (like Aesop’s grasshopper) on ever larger amounts of federal funding and too lazy to raise sufficient amounts of private money to see them through if for any reason the number of paying clients/refugees declined.

(An aside: The inability to raise enough private money is also indicative of the fact that there isn’t enough interest by average Americans in financially supporting the program in the first place.)

So here we are with one story after another about what Monday will bring to dozens of resettlement contractors around the country.

From Austin, Texas we learn that a Catholic contractor—Caritas—is closing its refugee program.

The Statesman:

EXCLUSIVE: As refugees dwindle, Caritas will end resettlement program

Since 1974, the organization has helped thousands of people fleeing war or persecution find a new life in Austin. But after 44 years, Caritas is ending its refugee resettlement program and as of Monday, it will no longer serve new refugees.

“It’s really a tragedy that this program has to go away,” said Jo Kathryn Quinn, executive director for Caritas.

Screenshot (1459)

[….]

For the past two years, Caritas has seen a sharp decline in the number of refugees arriving in Austin, and the development has made the program “financially unsustainable,” Quinn said. Between 2010 and 2016, Caritas resettled an average of 576 refugees each year. Since last October, Caritas has resettled 151 refugees, but the nonprofit has not received any new refugees since April.

“Having zero refugees arrive in two months was unheard of for us,” Quinn said. “It was the final alarm bell that told us that we couldn’t continue this way.”

[….]

In June, Caritas’ board of directors voted to close the program at the end of the fiscal year at the recommendation of the nonprofit’s executive leadership.

When fewer refugees arrive, less federal money comes in to support them as well. Refugees receive a one-time amount of $1,125 from federal funds for resettlement needs, including housing and food, said Adelita Winchester, Caritas’ director of integrated services. Caritas would supplement federal funds with about $1 million annually in philanthropic donations,Winchester said.  [The reporter has missed an important piece of information. The refugee gets $1,125 and Caritas gets another $1,125 for themselves per refugee.—ed]

“We didn’t have any excess philanthropic dollars to shift to aid this program,” Quinn said.

More here.

Now to California…..

From KPBS San Diego:

Budget Cuts, Layoffs And Closures Hit Refugee-Serving Organizations

Donna Duvin is executive director at the San Diego office of the national nonprofit International Rescue Committee, or IRC, one of nine federally funded resettlement agencies in the U.S. Duvin said the local office’s VESL funding dropped by 34 percent this year forcing the agency to replace some paid instructors with volunteers and interns.

miliband-in-manhattan
Red meat for readers! I love running this photo of the IRC’s David Miliband outside their Manhattan office. He is the Brit who is compensated at nearly $700,000 annually as he calls the shots about who will be placed in your towns.

“As the numbers began to fall, the support that we had from the county that passed through dollars from the federal government, those declined as well,” Duvin said.

Duvin said in past years more than three-fourths of the agency’s budget relied on government dollars, causing a loss of millions as the office’s arrivals dipped by 85.5 percent since 2016. She said the budget changes during that time forced the agency to eliminate 15 positions.

Apparently the IRC is trying to raise private money to keep some functions going.  LOL! Maybe CEO David Miliband could give up some of his nearly $700,000 in annual salary to keep some low-level staffers in a job!

The IRC is not alone.

A representative for the national resettlement agency Church World Service estimated it lost possibly hundreds of staffers when it closed 10 offices after it was forced to merge operations with other organizations in some U.S. cities. And a spokesman for World Relief said it laid off 140 employees after shutting down five offices across the U.S.

More here.

Expect more stories over the coming days.

What you can do….

If you are looking for something to do, go to this list from last year of the resettlement agencies working in your towns and cities and call them.  See if they are still in operation, or plan to close soon.

Reminder!

The 1980 structure of the US Refugee Admissions Program is still in place and the Trump Administration must push now for a complete reform of the program or in 2021 or 2025, it will be full steam ahead for these contractors.  They will quickly staff-up and a new President could say—We must make up for the lost Trump years and quadruple the numbers of refugees coming in.