Montana Mayor Apologizes for Signing onto Appeal for 95,000 Refugees for 2020

I guess he got an earful from Montana citizens!

You can see Mayor Kelly’s apology on Facebook, along with many comments here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1599690420155315&id=321698611287842

In case you are wondering, Mayor Bob Kelly didn’t send a letter to the US State Department in response to the President’s reform effort that we have been writing about almost daily, but had earlier joined a list (apparently still growing) of elected officials across 46 states which were demanding that the President admit 95,000 refugees in FY2020 before he actually set the ceiling at 18,000.

[Don’t forget, Democrat candidates for President are saying they want over 100,000. Biden says 125,000 and Warren says 175,000.  Bernie is vague but does say he wants at least 50,000 climate refugees alone in his mix.]

However it seems that the list that I published here last September, which at the time had 361 officials requesting 95,000 refugees, is making the rounds and I saw it again a couple of days ago with 400 listed!

See Welcome Refugees!

 

Look around and see what jumps out at you.

There is no contact information to indicate who is behind the effort.  I presume it is the nine federal refugee contractors or its lobbying arm—the Refugee Council USA—but no where is there any information that would guide elected officials when making a decision to sign on.

Even before I saw Mayor Kelly’s mea culpa I wondered who would be so irresponsible to sign this letter without any information on who is pushing it?

As I did in September, I am publishing the whole list below as a useful guide (in case it disappears) in helping you decide who to work to remove from office!

By the way, in 2017 there was much talk about China (yes, the country of China!) opening a meatpacking plant in Montana, but I have no idea if that played at all into the mayor’s thinking when he signed onto the letter in support of more refugees (more low-skilled laborers).

Here is the headline from the Great Falls Tribune:

Mayor apologizes after signing letter to Trump in support of refugees

Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly apologized Wednesday for a letter he signed last year asking President Donald Trump to support an increase in the number of refugees allowed to settle in the United States.

While Kelly said that he remains deeply concerned about displaced people in the world, including 25 million refugees, he apologized for using the mayor’s office to support the cause.

“I realize, however, that as mayor of our community, it may not be a concern you share,” Kelly wrote to residents in a post on his mayor’s Facebook page. “By implying your inclusion in my concern, I misrepresented you. For that, I am sorry. As mayor of our wonderful community, I try very hard to navigate only toward local issues or state issues that affect local communities. The national issues that currently divide us deserve little, if any role in our decision-making process at the local level.”

Here we are, just what I wanted to know.  The federal refugee contractors are behind the effort to ‘out’ supporters of more refugees for your towns and cities.

Soft Landing Missoula, which assists refugees in resettling in the western Montana community, asked Kelly to support the national effort.

Soft Landing is a subcontractor of the International Rescue Committee.

Located in Missoula, Soft Landing is 165 miles from Great Falls which means that they have aspirations for expansion beyond their Missoula home base.

More here.

See my rather extensive Montana archive for more on what has been happening there on the contentious issue of refugees.

Did your elected officials sign on?

Go here and see that they (whoever they are!) say they plan to continue to update the list and reissue it as one more bit of news presumably with which to bash the President in advance of the 2020 Presidential contest.

LOL! Wait a few days, refresh the list,  and see if Mayor Kelly’s name is removed.

You might want to compare lists, see the list I published in September. Is your elected official a newbie to the list?

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Louisiana
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Maryland
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Massachusetts
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Michigan
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Minnesota
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Missouri
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Montana
Kim Abbott, State Representative, Helena
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Bob Kelly, Mayor, Great Falls
Connie Keogh, State Representative, Missoula
Jasmine Krotkov, State Representative, Neihart
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Nebraska
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New Hampshire
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New Jersey
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New Mexico
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New York
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North Carolina
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Nancy Vaughan, Mayor, Greensboro

North Dakota
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Ohio
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Rob Dorans, City Councilman, Columbus

Oklahoma
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Oregon
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Pennsylvania
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Jordan A. Harris, State Representative, Philadelphia
Art Haywood, State Senator, Philadelphia
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Joanna McClinton, State Representative, Philadelphia
Dan Miller, State Representative, Pittsburgh
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Chris Rabb, State Representative, Philadelphia
James Reichenbach, City Council President, Lancaster
Rosita C. Youngblood, State Representative, Philadelphia

Rhode Island
Jorge Elorza, Mayor, Providence
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South Carolina
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South Dakota
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Tennessee
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Texas
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Utah
Jacqueline Biskupski, Mayor, Salt Lake City
Jani Iwamoto, State Senator, Salt Lake City
Mark A. Wheatley, State Representative, Salt Lake City

Vermont
Anne Watson, Mayor, Montpelier
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Tim Briglin, State Representative, Thetford
Thomas I. Chittenden, City Councilor, South Burlington
Ali Dieng, City Councilor, Burlington
Meaghan Emery, City Council Vice Chair, South Burlington
Maxine Grad, State Representative, Moretown
Jack Hanson, City Councilor, Burlington
Debbie Ingram, State Senator, Williston
Kristine Lott, Mayor, Winooski
Karen Paul, City Councilor, Burlington
Franklin Paulino, City Councilor, Burlington
Ann Pugh, State Representative, Montpelier
Helen Riehle, City Council Chair, South Burlington
Lisa Ryan, Alderwoman, Rutland
Robin Scheu, State Representative, Middlebury
Joan Shannon, City Councilor, Burlington
Michael Sirotkin, State Senator, South Burlington
Michael Yantachka, State Representative, Charlotte
Maida F. Townsend, State Representative, South Burlington
Theresa Wood, State Representative, Waterbury
Michael Yantachka, State Representative, Charlotte
David Zuckerman, Lt. Governor, Montpelier

Virginia
Justin Wilson, Mayor, Alexandria
Creigh Deeds, State Senator, Charlottesville
Kaye Kory, State Delegate, Falls Church
Mark Levine, State Delegate, Alexandria
Alfonso Lopez, Delegate, Arlington
Dave Marsden, State Senator, Burke
Scott Surovell, State Senator, Mt. Vernon

Washington
Jay Inslee, Governor, Olympia
April Barker, City Council Member, Bellingham
Breean Beggs, City Councilmember, Spokane
Reuven Carlyle, State Senator, Seattle
Jeannie Darneille, State Senator, Tacoma
Mona Das, State Senator, Auburn
Todd Donovan, County Councilmember, Bellingham
Jake Fey, State Representative, Tacoma
Joe Fitzgibbon, State Representative, West Seattle
David Frockt, State Senator, Seattle
M. Lorena González, City Councilmember, Seattle
Mia Gregerson, State Representative, SeaTac
Bob Hasegawa, State Senator, Seattle
Sam Hunt, State Senator, Olympia
Monica Jurado Stonier, State Representative, Vancouver
Karen Keiser, State Senator, Des Moines
Jeanne Kohl-Welles, King County Councilmember, Seattle
Patty Kuderer, State Senator, Olympia
Mary Leavitt, State Representative, University Place
Debra Lekanoff, State Representative, Bellingham
Michael Lilliquist, City Council Member, Bellingham
Kelli Linville, Mayor, Bellingham
Liz Lovelett, State Senator, Anacortes
John McCoy, State Senator, Tulalip
Gerry Pollet, State Representative, Seattle
Chris Roberts, City Councilmember, Shoreline
Christine Rolfes, State Senator, Bainbridge Island
Cindy Ryu, State Representative, Seattle
Rebecca Saldana, State Senator, Seattle
Sharon Tomiko Santos, State Representative, Seattle
Lillian Ortiz-Self, State Representative, Mukilteo
Tana Senn, State Representative, Mercer Island
Derek Stanford, State Senator, Bothell
Hannah Stone, City Council Member/At-Large Representative, Bellingham
Gael Tarleton, State Representative, Seattle
Javier Valdez, State Representative, Seattle
Pinky Vargas, City Council Member, Bellingham
Amy Walen, State Representative, Kirkland

Wisconsin
Carousel Andrea Bayrd, County Commissioner, Dane County

Wyoming
Charles Pelkey, State Representative, Laramie

 

 

MN Rep Ilhan Omar Demonstrates Ignorance about US History

Since I’m on the subject of Minnesota Somalis this morning, see this story about how a Supreme Court decision this week helped show us again how Socialist Open Borders advocates, like Somali US Rep Omar, are ignorant of US immigration history.

From Bizpac Review:

Ilhan Omar’s ill-conceived tweet about immigration under Trump backfires

 

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s attempt to jab President Donald Trump over an immigration policy backfired as her own dirty laundry was exposed.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-23/ethics-complaint-filed-against-rep-ilhan-omar-accused-immigration-tax-and-student

The Minnesota Democrat was slammed on social media after she tweeted her reaction to a Supreme Court decision in favor of the Trump administration’s new immigrant wealth test.

Omar quoted from Emma Lazarus’s famous poem etched on the Statue of Liberty in her tweet Monday, asking her nearly two million followers to retweet “if your immigrant ancestors wouldn’t be let in if this means tested immigration policy was in place then.”

The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote on Monday on the public charge rule***, handing Trump a victory in enforcing the new immigration policy unveiled last August which allows officials to reject efforts to obtain green cards, visas and entry into the U.S. for anyone who might need to rely on public benefits, such as Medicaid and food stamps.

[….]

Omar’s finger-pointing backfired as Twitter users pointed out that when their “immigrant ancestors” did come to America, there were no welfare programs to subsidize their assimilation.

See her tweet and many responses.

Here is just one of those responses to her ignorant tweet.

 

Know the history! 

If you don’t know the real story about that dumb poem on the Statue of Liberty read my 2015 post on how it came to be there.

 

*** And before you get too excited, know that there are many categories of migrants to America that are exempt from the “public charge” rules.

From ABC News on the decision:

The rule requires immigration officials to assess factors including an applicant’s age, health and assets, while expanding the list of off-limits public services to include Medicaid, food stamps and housing subsidies.

Pregnant women, children, refugees, asylum seekers and certain members of the military are generally exempt.

 

Minnesota: Somali ‘Community’ Rallies Around Mom as Social Services Removes Kids

Diversity is beautiful alert!

Read the story and tell me what jumps out at you!

From the Sahan Journal:

(emphasis is mine)

A northwestern Minnesota county removed a Somali mother’s kids. Somalis want to know why.

Somalis in Minnesota and the world are watching the case of an East Grand Forks mother whose children were removed by child protective services. Somali community members believe she’s being treated unfairly, but the facts are not black and white.

Nimo Khalif, 33, mother of six surrounded by supporters outside of the Polk County Court House.

CROOKSTON, Minn. — More than 100 Somali people packed the hallways of the Polk County Courthouse Monday, praying and then pressing officials to explain why the six children of a Somali mother had been taken away from her.

Nimo Khalif, 33, a widow who came to America from a refugee camp in Kenya in late 2014, had been raising the children ages 10 months to 16 years alone in East Grand Forks. Suddenly, the kids were in the custody of Polk County child protective services.

A distraught Nimo posted a video pleading in Somali for help. She said she wasn’t told why the children, ages 10 months to 16 years old, were removed and didn’t know what to do. Later, she would describe it as a “kidnapping.”

The Somali community across Minnesota responded. The widely shared video helped deliver supporters to the courthouse Monday, including many who drove nearly five hours from the Twin Cities. [Who helped her create her video to disparage America?—ed]

They left without answers. It turns out the case is more complicated than those responding to Nimo’s pleas might have realized. While concerns remain in the Somali community that Nimo’s being treated differently because she’s Somali, the facts are not yet black and white.

Polk County is five hours from the heart of Little Mogadishu (Minneapolis).

It began when one of Nimo’s daughters allegedly told a teacher in an email that she did not feel safe at home and was afraid to live with her mother.

[….]

The case has reverberated across Minnesota and the world. Somali National TV sent a reporter to cover the hearing. The video it posted on Facebook has nearly 150,000 views.

Somali community members who know Nimo said they couldn’t understand how she suddenly lost custody of her children.

Nimo strived to make sure her children were successful in their academic and Islamic education, said Abdirizak Duale, chair of Al-Huda Islamic Center of East Grand Forks.

[….]

Nimo, 33, works as a teacher’s assistant at Central Middle School, the same school where two of her daughters were taken into protective custody. She remains an employee of the district and has not been put on leave.

She said her husband, the children’s father, died 10 months ago in Uganda, leaving her to raise their children in far northwestern Minnesota without immediate family nearby.

There are many more details and photos, here.

So now tell me, what jumped out at you? 

Was it the fact that she, a “widow,” was resettled in Minnesota, or so we were told in 2014, lives alone struggling to raise six children on a low wage job (surely with the help of MN welfare), but now has a 10-month-old.

Where is the baby-daddy? 

Why isn’t he helping the family? Or, is it possible that the refugee mom traveled back to where she ‘escaped’ from, Africa, 19 months ago for a conjugal visit with her ‘husband’ who is now conveniently dead.

The next time someone tells you that refugees don’t cost state and county taxpayers anything, remember this story.

Nimo Khalif  and her brood will cost plenty—kids’ education, courts, social services, food stamps, housing assistance, medical care!  And what does Polk County and America get other than worldwide criticism?

By the way, anyone seen CAIR Minnesota riding to her rescue?

Border Guards Thwart Effort by Muslim Migrants to Break into Hungary this Week

Invasion of Europe News!

From Reuters:

Warning shots fired as migrants rush Serbia’s border with Hungary

HORGOS, Serbia (Reuters) – A Hungarian security officer fired three warning shots early on Tuesday after about 60 migrants tried to force their way through a checkpoint on the border with Serbia, and Serbian police said later they had arrested 37 people for trying to cross the frontier illegally.

No one was wounded in the incident, which took place at the Roszke/Horgos border crossing, Hungarian police spokeswoman Szilvia Szabo said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban erected a border fence to protect his country from hordes of Middle Eastern and African migrants. Human rights activists cried foul as the fence has a slight electric charge. https://balkaninsight.com/2017/07/04/hungarian-smart-fence-opposes-eu-values-ngo-says-07-04-2017-1/

Hungarian police said the group tried to enter the European Union member state at the crossing at about 0430 GMT, prompting the security officer on site to fire the warning shots.

There are thousands of migrants stuck in Serbia, with more than 6,000 migrants living in government-operated camps.

On Tuesday, in the village of Horgos, on the Serbian side of the border crossing, a group of about two dozen migrants from Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Morocco said they were beaten up by Hungarian police and sent back to Serbia.

[….]

The crossing was the scene of a large-scale riot at the peak of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, when police clashed with hundreds trying to break through the frontier into the EU.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban subsequently ordered a steel fence erected along Hungary’s border, curbing arrivals.

But migrant traffic started increasing again late last year and there are currently several hundred attempted illegal crossings per week.

More here.

See all of my ‘Invasion of Europe’ posts going back nearly ten years.  Orban came under political fire for referring to the “great replacement” at a conference in Hungary last fall.

The use of the politically verboten words “invasion” and “great replacement” brought a legal judgement against a French author here, just last week.

Some Counties Still Debating Refugee Consent even as Court has Blocked Trump Reform

Every morning I scan dozens of refugee stories and am seeing that some counties are still debating and voting to support refugee placement in their counties even as the US State Department says it has stopped seeking consent due to the success of Church World Service, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in finding a friendly court to enjoin the President’s reform initiative.

(In Minnesota the contractors sent out letters to counties to say they could stop debating the issue, and I assume that is going on elsewhere as well.)

Florida Governor DeSantis was one of a handful of Republican governors who did not say whether he was for or against more refugees for 2020 before the refugee contractors succeeded in halting the President’s reform plan.

Any governors who had not yet said yea or nay are keeping their powder dry—especially the Republican governors of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

I was surprised to see how few counties and states got their letters into the State Department prior to the Maryland court enjoining the whole process on January 15th.

Presumably the administration is working on a legal response, but in the meantime the US Refugee Admissions Program will continue to run as it has been for decades with the nine contractors*** pretty much calling the shots with the help of deep staters in the US State Department and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (in HHS).

Of course at least for now the number of refugees coming in has been greatly reduced (will have numbers on Saturday).  And, whatever happens going forward the exercise was useful for flushing out governors and city and county elected officials who are eager to admit more impoverished people to America for you to take care of with your tax dollars.

Below is what the DOS is telling visitors to their website on the Executive Order:

Remember the consent period as described in the ‘funding guidance’ would only have been in effect from June through September so that timetable must surely be seriously impaired now.

Executive Order 13888 on Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement provides that refugees may be resettled only in U.S. jurisdictions where both the state and local governments have provided their consent. Close cooperation with state and local governments ensures that refugees are resettled in communities that are eager and equipped to support their successful integration into American society.

The requirements of Executive Order 13888 are incorporated into the annual notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for resettlement agencies that wish to participate in the initial resettlement of refugees in the United States. The NOFO directs resettlement agencies to seek written consents for that fiscal year from the state governor’s office and the chief executive officer of the local government (county or county equivalent) for each state and locality where the resettlement agencies propose to resettle refugees. Currently, this NOFO is closed due to a January 15, 2020 preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court in HIAS v. Trump, PJM 19-3346.

Executive Order 13888 provides that the Secretary of State shall publicly release any written consent of states and localities to the resettlement of refugees. The following is a list of such written consents that the Department of State had received and processed as of January 13, 2020. Currently, the Department of State is not processing or publishing such consents due to a January 15, 2020 preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court in HIAS v. Trump, PJM 19-3346.

Now go here and see the consent letters that had been processed before January 15.

 

*** For new readers these (below) are the nine federally-funded refugee contractors that operate as a huge conveyor belt monopolizing all refugee placement in America.

Church World Service one of the ‘religious charities’ responsible for changing America by changing the people with a ‘Christian message.’

And, they do not limit their advocacy toward only legal immigration programs, but are heavily involved in supporting the lawlessness at our borders.

The question isn’t as much about refugees per se, but about who is running federal immigration policy now and into the future?

(I try to post this information once a day, or at least every few days!)

 

I continue to argue that these nine contractors are the heart of America’s Open Borders movement and thus there can never be long-lasting reform of US immigration policy when these nine un-elected phony non-profits are paid by the taxpayers to work as community organizers pushing an open borders agenda.