It was less than two weeks ago that we told youabout the stand-off between Interior Minister Salvini and the forces arrayed against him demanding he allow the latest migrant transport ship to unload its cargo.
Father Francesco Soddu of Caritas: After all they weren’t in detention! They “voluntarily” departed!
He relented once a commitment was made for most of the 144 to be placed in the care of other countries.
Additionally dozens were to be taken in by the Catholic Church (we cheered that agreement where the migrants would not be a cost to the taxpayers of Italy).
Guess what?
It is those the church took in who have disappeared in to Europe!
Around 50 of the 144 migrants recently allowed into Italy after being stranded for days on a coastguard vessel have disappeared from reception centres, the country’s hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said on Wednesday.
Matteo Salvini
These migrants “were so in need of protection, a roof and a blanket that they decided to leave and disappear,” Salvini said on Facebook.
“This is the umpteenth confirmation that those who arrive in Italy are not skeletons fleeing war and famine,” he claimed.
The migrants were picked up by the Diciotti coastguard ship on the night of August 15th and were left stranded at sea for ten days as Salvini refused to allow the vessel to dock in an Italian port. The interior minister, who heads the anti-immigration League party, finally relented after Ireland, Albania and the Italian Catholic church agreed to lake most of them in.
The head of Catholic charity Caritas, which was hosting the migrants at its Rocca di Papa reception centre south of Rome, said it was a “voluntary departure”.
The group was not in detention, Father Francesco Soddu told Ansa news agency, and suggested that they may be trying to reach other countries in Europe.
Of course he doesn’t mean permanently, but for more than a year until they are on their feet.
“….why not give them an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is?”
(Reihan Salam)
At the outset, I don’t know where to begin with Reihan Salam’s reform proposal at The Atlanticyesterday because I don’t believe the writer is a serious longtime student of the US Refugee Admissions Program, but I like one of his proposals!
And, I am happy to see that he is opening a discussion of reform of our present flawed system.
Affluent city dwellers are some of the most vocal champions of refugee admission—and they’re in a position to assist.
This I know—-the refugee industry is likely going nuts over any serious reform idea being proposed that would break-up their cushy and financially lucrative arrangement with the federal government.
Again, author Salam makes so many points I don’t know which to address first so we will take them in the order he gives them.
Here are a few snips leading up to what I think is his key point. Emphasis is mine.
Without the consent of Congress, President Trump can only do so much to curb immigrant admissions overall. But he does have expansive authority over refugee admissions, and he is using it to implement at least part of his restrictionist agenda.
Under the Refugee Act of 1980, the president, in consultation with Congress, is charged with setting a refugee ceiling, a hard limit on total refugee admissions, which can be adjusted in tune with changing foreign-policy priorities.
Then here (below) I agree there was/is bipartisan support in Congress, but not because the program was “an invaluable foreign-policy tool!” It is because it brings in cheap legal labor for the Chamber of Commerce and big business on the political right, and it brings in reliable future Democrat voters on the left. (The foreign-policy tool argument is a recent refugee industry talking point they have sold to the likes of the Heritage Foundation.)
Salam continues:
Before Trump’s singular presidential campaign, widespread skepticism about the wisdom of admitting refugees in large numbers had little effect on policy makers, as leading members of both major parties shared a commitment to the refugee resettlement program, often because they saw refugee admissions as an invaluable foreign-policy tool.
That elite bipartisan consensus is now a thing of the past. Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top policy advisers, has pressed for even steeper reductions in the refugee ceiling for the coming fiscal year, to the consternation of senior diplomats and military officials. We’ll soon know if Miller will get his way. I would be surprised if he did not. For one, Trump apparently believes that lowering the refugee ceiling is good politics, and there is reason to believe he’s right.
Unlike almost every other tool of immigration policy at the president’s disposal, lowering the refugee ceiling is virtually backlash-proof.
I guess Salam does not read RRW or he would know how vigorously the nine federal contractors*** are attempting to whip up the backlash.
But, hey, okay let’s go with the idea that Trump will gain more politically by lowering refugee admissions than he will lose!
Salam then goes to the subject of “public charge” which is an old concept that this administration is hopefully bringing back and that is the idea that immigrants to America should not become dependent on welfare. It is a story for another day.
I realize now why I’m having such trouble with Salam’s op-ed—-because he is all over the map and now we jump back to the idea that there is not much of a public constituency for ever larger refugee admission numbers. But he does give us an idea for those of you working on Congressional campaigns! On the campaign trail try to pin down the Democrats on the issue of refugees! Salam suggests they are avoiding expressing support for more refugees!
….Refugee immigrants aren’t an especially large or vocal political constituency. Recent arrivals are chiefly concerned with gaining a foothold in American life, while those who arrived in the country decades ago from one country aren’t necessarily motivated by a burning desire to welcome refugees from others. Though there are many activists who will sharply criticize the Trump administration for admitting so few refugees, and though there is majority support for admitting refugees in the abstract, don’t expect Democratic congressional candidates in competitive races to be among them.The recent arrest of Omar Ameen, an Iraqi refugee who stands accused of concealing that he was a murderer who had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State, is a discomfiting reminder that the vetting of humanitarian migrants has never been foolproof. A Trump White House consumed with scandal would love nothing more than to make refugee admissions a central issue, which is why Democrats are unlikely to take the bait.
Author Salam then tells us that the military wants especially Iraqi refugees admitted as a kind of bait to get them to help us there (we told you about ithere). Why the heck are we still there offering one-way tickets to America to Iraqis anyway?
Next he throws out the ‘help them where they live’ argument. Yes, good.
And, finally we get to the nub of it….
Reform the refugee program by setting up private sponsorship which is something worth seriously looking at, but not as an add-on to the present flawed system.
(I’m breaking up these final paragraphs because I find them almost unreadable as written!)
Salam continues:
Does this mean that there is no place for humanitarian immigration to the U.S.?
Not at all. There will always be compassionate Americans who long to shelter families from strife-torn corners of the world, and there should be avenues open to them. However, our current approach to refugee resettlement does a poor job of leveraging this desire to do good. For decades, the State Department has worked in concert with a set of voluntary agencies, or “volags,” that are provided with a modest amount of federal funding to help refugees establish themselves on American soil.
Because most recent refugees to the U.S. have modest skills, the process of adjustment can be exceptionally difficult. Even when they do secure employment relatively quickly, their market incomes tend to be quite low, which is why they often depend on safety-net benefits, refundable tax credits, and other transfers designed to keep Americans out of poverty.
Other countries, including, most prominently, Canada, allow for private sponsorship, in which individuals, families, and community groups pledge their own resources to help refugees navigate their new lives for up to a year. The Niskanen Center, a centrist think tank, has proposed a private sponsorship system for the U.S. as a means of boosting refugee resettlement, and though the idea hasn’t gained much ground under Trump, a modified version of it could have bipartisan appeal. [The great flaw in the Libertarian Niskanen Center’s proposal is that it is designed to get MORE refugees in to the US as it would be in addition to the present system.—ed]
Trump aide Stephen Miller (right) is considered the chief architect of the President’s policies regarding refugees.
Restrictionist critics of the status quo often point to the fact that the volags [I call them federal contractors—ed] often resettle refugees in struggling communities, where costs are low and federal funds go further—yet where local public services are often stretched thin, and the long-term labor market prospects of refugees aren’t as bright as they might be in more prosperous communities.
At the same time, some of the most vocal champions of refugee resettlement are affluent cosmopolitans who reside in well-off communities, and who might see devoting some portion of their incomes and their daily lives to assisting refugee immigrants as a source of pride and fulfillment.The Stephen Millers of the world might deride such women and men as romantic cosmopolitans, and perhaps they have a point. But why not give them an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is?
Imagine an overhauled Refugee Act that allows for private sponsorship. The executive branch could set one ceiling for refugees who’d be provided for under the existing refugee resettlement program (for example, the 15,000 that’s been reported in the press as the Trump administration’s target for the coming fiscal year) and another (say, an additional 45,000) for refugees who’d be cared for by carefully vetted U.S. families who volunteer to provide for their basic needs for an extended period—I’d recommend a much longer period than a single year, as under the Canadian system, as expecting refugees to achieve self-sufficiency in such a short time strikes me as unrealistic and, just as importantly, the commitment involved shouldn’t be entered into lightly.
Private sponsors should be subject to oversight, as it would be outrageous to allow Americans to take advantage of refugee immigrants, and outcomes for the refugees they sponsor should be carefully monitored, so as to help identify best practices for researchers and future sponsors.
If broad-minded Americans were to come forward en masse to sponsor refugees under these demanding conditions, it would demonstrate the seriousness of their support for welcoming newcomers who’ve endured profound torments while giving the likes of Trump and Miller an implicit rebuke. If they didn’t, we’d at least know where we stand.
Okay, let’s do it! Let’s assume Reihan Salam has a serious reform proposal for consideration by Congress.
Calling all wealthy humanitarians!
Let’s see how many “broad-minded” wealthy people will come forward to sponsor refugee families for more than a year, pay for all their needs, find them health care, apartments and jobs, teach them English, get the kids in school, fill out all their government paperwork, etc.
But we do it as the only system for admitting refugees and we get rid of the contractor middlemen listed below!
Readers, send me your guesses as to how many wealthy city-dwelling Americans will raise their hands to sponsor impoverished Somalis, Iraqis and Congolese (others!) for a year or more in their neighborhoods!
(Reihan Salam had above suggested 45,000 could be privately sponsored!)
***These 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 Studieshas done an update of their income!
The news is in the science magazine Nature (thanks to reader James for sending it).
And, why are they getting desperate? Being registered as an asylum seeker under the age of 18 is a ticket to the good times in Europe and in the US! The great flood of “unaccompanied minors” across the world, many of whom are grown men claiming to be teens, is one of the greatest scams being perpetrated on ‘welcoming’ countries such as Germany.
But horrible murder cases, where the victim is a German woman (young or old!), has caused the heretofore complacent Germans to get out of their comfort zones and into the streets.
Just this week Abdul D was sentenced to only 8 and 1/2 years in prison for the brutal murder of his German girlfriend Mia. When he entered Germany in 2016 he claimed asylum as a 14-year-old! Vlad Tepes blog has the whole sad story here: https://vladtepesblog.com/2018/02/21/germant-mias-killer-is-20-years-old/
European scientists seek ‘epigenetic clock’ to determine age of refugees
When local authorities in Hildesheim, Germany, didn’t believe an asylum seeker who claimed to be under 18 years old — and thus eligible for privileged treatment — police turned to a blood-based age test sold by a California company.
The test, offered by Zymo Research in Irvine, uses chemical modifications to DNA that accrue over a lifetime, called an ‘epigenetic clock’, to determine a person’s age. Forensic scientists — aware of its potential benefits but also of its current lack of precision — sounded an alarm.
In a paper published online1 in May, a team led by forensic-medicine specialist Stefanie Ritz-Timme of the University of Dusseldorf in Germany said that these tests were not ready for use in sensitive forensic evaluations.
But now, in the charged political atmosphere that has accompanied the arrival of millions of refugees to Europe, forensic scientists across the continent are joining forces to improve epigenetic-clock-based tests — with a focus on whether they might be used to help determine the age of refugees whose claims to be under 18 are disputed.
They hope that, with time, such tests could replace existing methods, which assess the maturity of bones or teeth to determine an individual’s age but are imprecise, and can be controversial.
“The race is now on to develop a more accurate clock that would be more predictive than the anatomical tests — and also more practical for use in forensic science,” says cell biologist Wolfgang Wagner at the University of Aachen, Germany. He has teamed up with other German forensic scientists to overcome these challenges, not only for the test’s use on refugees, but also for other forensic uses.
A call for sensitivity (really!)
Mia is dead and they are calling for sensitivity toward suspected liars?
The development of scientific methods that could feed into decisions about who is granted asylum and how refugees are treated are likely to elicit criticism, says Denise Syndercombe-Court, a forensic geneticist at King’s College London. She says that some scientists, herself included, are wary of these efforts.
But Niels Morling, a forensic geneticist at the University of Copenhagen who is running a national epigenetic-clock programme, defends the development of tests that are more accurate. Given that the law treats those under 18 very differently from adults, he says, then “you have a duty to make sure that it can be implemented fairly”.
[….]
Since 2014, Europe has received around 4 million refugees, many of whom arrived without identity documents. More than 1.5 million refugees have sought asylum in Germany, around one-third of whom are registered as minors. In Europe, minor status usually leads to better care and an increased chance of being granted asylum. Minors also have a higher chance than adults of gaining permission for family members to join them. And, if convicted of a crime, people under 18 usually receive shorter sentences — served in special prisons for juveniles.
Actually, no, it is due weeks before the 30th of September as we told readers here in 2015!
Is Congress shirking its duty to America on refugee admissions? Yes, and has done so for more than 2 decades!
Although the President is tasked by law with setting the CAP (aka CEILING) for the number of refugees that could be admitted in the coming fiscal year, his administration is supposed to hold a consultation with Congress (House and Senate Judiciary Committees) after those committees have held hearings on the President’s proposed plan.
You might be saying, well yes, but if Congress holds hearings, the Open Borders Left will turn them in to a circus. That could happen, but it is no reason for the Refugee Act of 1980to be ignored as it has been for decades! Either follow the law or dump it!
What got me thinking about this today is a news story from the National Catholic Reporter which says the plan is due on September 30th (new refugees would be arriving the next day!) and where we learn that Catholic lobbyists are on the Hill trying to get the attention of lawmakers so they might rain hell down on Trump.
Rumors are that Trump may set the refugee CAP for FY19 at 15,000-25,000 the lowest since the Ted Kennedy/Jimmy Carter law came in to being in 1980 and the contractors which include the US Conference of Catholic Bishops*** are steaming mad.
As usual, the report never mentions that the contractors are paid on a per refugee head basis, and so a huge drop in numbers means a lot less of your money will flow to the Bishops’ bank account.
Advocates prepare for possible cuts in refugee admissions to the US
Amid reports that this trend [low admission levels—ed] could continue, with a possible presidential determination of 15,000-25,000 for fiscal year 2019 when the decision is due Sept. 30, Catholic groups are combatting misinformation about refugees and advocating to members of Congress and administration officials in an effort to convince Trump to raise the cap.
Most Reverend Joe Vásquez, Bishop of Austin is chairman of the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services Office. http://www.usccb.org/about/migration-and-refugee-services/who-we-are.cfm
A refugee ceiling of 15,000 during an unprecedented refugee crisis “would be so low it’s laughable,” said Donald Kerwin, executive director of Center for Migration Studies of New York, an educational institute connected with the Scalabrini International Migration Network.
During past refugee crises, “the United States’ response was central to the global response and to resolving the situations of these massive levels of refugees and it’s not playing that role right now,” Kerwin added, calling reduced support for refugees “totally antithetical to our own history and our own values.”
[….]
Although the decision of how many refugees to admit is up to the president, the administration is required to consult with members of the House and Senate judiciary committees. Congress authorizes funding for the program.
Bill Canny, executive director of the U.S. bishops’ conference’s Migration and Refugee Services and Joan Rosenhauer, executive director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, both said their organizations have been engaging with Congress and administration officials in an effort to influence the decision.
The Justice for Immigrants webinar called on participants to visit or write their representatives in Congress, or sign a letter from Catholic leaders calling for a higher presidential determination.
I’m suggesting that 15,000-25,000 is too high. It should be ZERO until Congress undertakes to reform the whole US Refugee Admissions Program.
***These below are the nine federal refugee resettlement contractors.
You might be sick of seeing this list almost every day (it has been 4 whole days since I posted it!), 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 Studieshas done an update of their income!
The National Partnership for New Americans claims that the Trump Administration is purposefully slowing the citizenship process for hundreds of thousands of migrants who are waiting to become US voters.
In the last year, over 925,000 people applied for citizenship in the United States. For many, this was years after coming to this country in search of a better life, becoming an integral part of communities across the nation, learning English, working hard, and contributing to their families and the economy. The right to naturalize is a right as old as the nation itself and was envisioned by its founders, created by the Constitution, and codified by federal law. It has also long contributed to the diversity, richness, and strength of the nation.
Unfortunately, since the Trump administration took control of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency that processes citizenship applications, the backlog of pending naturalization applications has skyrocketed to 729,400, with processing rates reaching as high as 20 months.The newest data from USCIS represents a 87.59% increase above the backlog of 388,832 applications, on December 31, 2015, during the administration of President Obama.
In response to the increasing backlog, NPNA and our partners in the Naturalize NOW Campaign are launching a national campaign, in conjunction with the release of this report update, to reduce the backlog and the waiting time for USCIS to process applications to six months, consistent with past practice, and to encourage naturalization for the millions of eligible LPRs.
You know that getting more people out to vote for the fall election and for the Presidential election in 2020 is critical to the Left’s agenda.
The Trump Administration says there is nothing nefarious about the backlog, it is simply a case of so many MORE immigrants seeking citizenship. See a recent news story here.
The NPNA will hold its annual conference in Arlington, Virginia this year.
