Editors note: This is one more in a series of posts on the upcoming, May 15th, US State Department hearing on the “size and scope” of the Refugee Resettlement Program for fiscal year 2014.
For all of our posts and background information on the meeting go to our special category here.
A reader from Washington State shared his views with us after having sent this below to the State Department:
Dear Ms. Spruell,
I am writing to comment on the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for FY 2014.
It is my understanding, backed up by several well-documented sources, that the vast majority (upwards of 90 percent) of the “refugees” resettled under this program have been under no threat of persecution in their home countries, and are simply seeking the economic advantages of living in the U.S. Once resettled here, they frequently make return trips to their countries of origin, undermining any claim that they their safety or freedom had been in danger. They (and their financially-motivated sponsors) are taking advantage of the goodwill and naivety of the American people, who believe their country is engaged in helping people whose lives are under serious threat.
Our nation’s entire immigration system has become corrupted by moneyed interests, and is imposing on the American people displacement levels of immigration that they have not asked for and do not want. We now resettle more than three times the number of refugees as the rest of the industrialized world combined. Numerous small towns, in states like Maine and Minnesota, have been transformed beyond recognition after being targeted as resettlement locations for Somalis and Ethiopians. We have been given virtually no say in these decisions, nor even been told by the government what is actually going on.
In reviewing the Refugee Admissions Program for FY 2014, I ask that you:
· Drastically scale back the total number of refugee admissions granted each year. A ceiling of 20,000 would still leave us as the leading country of resettlement in the world.
· Consult with local and state jurisdictions before a community is chosen for resettlement, always giving them the right of refusal.
· Make clear that resettlement in the U.S. is the option of last resort, with humanitarian efforts focused on helping displaced persons remain in their countries of origin.
Thank you for your attention.
Readers should, from time to time, visit this site where the State Dept. tracks arrivals. So far this year (6 months into the fiscal year) we had resettled 34,243 refugees which means we will likely have a banner year and surpass 70,000 (the largest number of refugees usually arrive at the end of the fiscal year). We are also on target for the largest Somali resettlement numbers in recent years.