Category: 2020 Presidential campaign

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

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 1 Comment

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?

Alabama
Neil Rafferty, State Representative, Birmingham

Alaska
Andrew Josephson, State Representative, Anchorage

Arizona
Ylenia Aguilar, School Board Member, Phoenix
Lela Alston, State Senator, Phoenix
Richard Andrade, State Representative, Phoenix
Isela Blanc, State Representative, Tempe
Andres Cano, State Representative, Tucson
Steven Chapman, School Governing Board Member, Phoenix
Cesar Chavez, State Representative, Phoenix
Andrea Dalessandro, State Senator, Green Valley
Devin Del Palacio, Tolleson Union School District Governing Board Member, Tolleson
Elora Diaz, School Governing Board Member, Phoenix
Kirsten Engel, State Representative, Tucson
Diego Espinoza, State Representative, Phoenix
Charlene Fernandez, State Representative, Yuma
Rosanna Gabaldon, State Representative, Phoenix
Kate Gallego, Mayor, Phoenix
Carlos Garcia, District 8 Councilmember, Phoenix
Betty Guardado, District 5 City Councilwoman, Phoenix
Berdetta Hodge, Tempe Union Governing Board President, Tempe
Lauren Kuby, Vice Mayor, Tempe
Jennifer Longdon, State Representative, Phoenix
Juan Mendez, State Senator, Tempe
Otoniel “Tony” Navarrete, State Senator, Phoenix
Katie Paetz, Osborn School Board Member, Phoenix
Channel Powe, Balsz School District Governing Board President, Phoenix
Pamela Powers Hannley, State Representative, Phoenix
Stanford Prescott, Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board Member, Phoenix
Martín Quezada, State Senator, Phoenix
Rebecca Rios, State Senator, Phoenix
Tony Rivero, State Representative, Phoenix
Diego Rodriguez, State Representative, Laveen
Jonathan Rothschild, Mayor, Tucson
Athena Salman, House Minority Whip, Tempe
Victoria Steele, State Senator, Phoenix
Monica Trejo, School Board Member, Tempe
Raquel Teran, State Representative, Phoenix

Arkansas
Lioneld Jordan, Mayor, Fayetteville
Sarah Marsh, Vice Mayor and City Council Member, Fayetteville
Teresa Turk, City Council Member, Fayetteville

California
Eric Garcetti, Mayor, Los Angeles
Ben Allen, State Senator, Santa Monica
Tom Butt, Mayor, Richmond
Bob Blumenfield, City Councilmember, Los Angeles
Laura Friedman, Assemblymember, Glendale
Paul Koretz, City Councilmember, Los Angeles
Sheila Kuehl,  County Supervisor, Los Angeles
Marc Levine, Assemblymember, San Rafael
Don Saylor, County Supervisor, Yolo County
Scott Wiener, State Senator, San Francisco

Colorado
Michael Hancock, Mayor, Denver
KC Becker, State Representative, Boulder
Kendra Black, City Councilwoman, Denver
Candie CdeBaca, City Councilmember, Denver
Jolon Clark, City Councilmember, Denver
Monica Duran, State Representative, Denver
Stephen Fenberg, State Senator, Boulder
Kevin Flynn, City Council Member, Denver
Stacie Gilmore, City Councilmember, Denver
Julie Gonzalez, State Senator, Denver
Leslie Herod, State Representative, Denver
Nicole Johnston, City Council Member, Aurora
Paul Kashmann, City Councilmember, Denver
Robin Kniech, City Councilwoman-at-Large, Denver
Dominick Moreno, State Senator, Commerce City
Deborah Ortega, City Councilmember-at-Large, Denver
Adam Paul, Mayor, Lakewood
Jamie Torres, City Councilwoman, Denver
Amanda Sandoval, City Councilmember, Denver
Amanda Sawyer, City Councilwoman, Denver
Dave Young, Colorado State Treasurer, Greeley

Connecticut
Matt Blumenthal, State Representative, Stamford
Raghib Allie-Brennan, State Representative, Bethel
Robin E. Comey, State Representative, Branford
Hacibey Catalbasoglu, Alderman, New Haven
Patricia Dillon, State Representative, New Haven
Josh Elliott, State Representative, Hamden
Roland Lemar, State Representative, New Haven
Matthew Lesser, State Senator, Middletown
Robyn Porter, State Representative, New Haven

District of Columbia
Muriel Bowser, Mayor
Brianne Nadeau, Councilmember
Elissa Silverman, At-Large Councilmember

Delaware
Rysheema Dixon, City Council Member-at-Large, Wilmington
Linda Gray, 1st District Councilwoman, Wilmington
Debra Heffernan, State Representative, Wilmington
Hanifa Shabazz, City Council President, Wilmington

Florida
Buddy Dyer, Mayor, Orlando
Trish Becker, County Commissioner, St. Augustine
Erica Connor, Supervisor, Ponte Vedra Beach
Nicholas Duran, State Representative, Miami
Anna Eskamani, State Representative, Orlando
Kristin Jacobs, State Representative, Coconut Creek
Al Jacquet, State Representative, Mangonia
Evan Jenne, State Representative, Hollywood
Shevrin Jones, State Representative, West Park
Dotie Joseph, State Representative, Miami
Amy Mercado, State Representative, Orlando
Cindy Polo, State Representative, Hialeah
Carlos Guillermo Smith, State Representative, Orlando
Victor Torres, State Senator, Kissimmee

Georgia
Yterenickia Bell, City Council Member, Clarkston
Anthony S. Ford, Mayor, Stockbridge
Patti Garrett, Mayor, Decatur
Deana Holiday Ingraham, Mayor, East Point
Ted Terry, Mayor, Clarkston

Idaho
David Bieter, Mayor, Boise
Cherie Buckner-Webb, State Senator, Boise
Mathew Erpelding, State Representative, Boise
Maryanne Jordan, State Senator, Boise
Mark Nye, State Senator, Pocatello

Illinois
Lori Lightfoot, Mayor, Chicago
Alma Anaya, County Commissioner, Cook County
Luis Arroyo Jr., County Commissioner, Cook County
Scott Britton, County Commissioner, Cook County
James Cappleman, Alderman, Chicago
Kelly Cassidy, State Representative, Chicago
Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Treasurer, Chicago
John Cullerton, Illinois Senate President, Chicago
John P. Daley, County Commissioner, Cook County
Bridget Degnen, County Commissioner, Cook County
Sara Feigenholtz, State Representative, Chicago
Laura Fine, State Senator, Glenview
Robyn Gabel, State Representative, Evanston
Will Guzzardi, State Representative, Chicago
Maria Hadden, Alderwoman, Chicago
Brandon Johnson, County Commissioner,  Cook County
Matt Martin, Alderman, Chicago
Donna Miller, County Commissioner, Cook County
Kevin B. Morrison, County Commissioner, Cook County
Harry Osterman, Alderman, Chicago
Toni Preckwinkle, President, Cook County
Debra Silverstein, Alderman, Chicago
Peter N. Silvestri, County Commissioner, Cook County
Deborah Sims, County Commissioner, Cook County
Michele Smith, Alderman, Chicago
Larry Suffredin, County Commissioner, Cook County
Anna Valencia, City Clerk, Chicago
George Van Dusen, Mayor, Skokie
Daniel Diedech, State Representative, Buffalo Grove

Indiana
John Hamilton, Mayor, Bloomington
Zach Adamson, City County Councilor, Indianapolis
Brian Wagner, Lafayette School Corporation Board of Trustees, Lafeyette

Iowa
Marti Anderson, State Representative, Des Moines
Art Staed, State Representative, Cedar Rapids
Stacey Walker, County Commissioner, Linn County

Kansas
Brandon Johnson, City Council Member, Wichita
Mary Ware, State Senator, Wichita

Kentucky
Logan Nance, City Council Member, Midway
Kathy Plomin, City Council Member, Lexington
Susan Westrom, State Representative, Lexington

Louisiana
Erika L. Green, City Councilwoman, Baton Rouge

Maine
Pious Ali, Council Member At-Large, Portland
Kristen S. Cloutier, Mayor, Lewiston

Maryland
Malcolm Augustine, State Senator, Hyattsville
Brian Feldman, State Senator, Annapolis
Jessica Feldmark, State Delegate, Columbia
Dannielle Glaros, County Council Member, Prince George’s County
Ana Sol Gutierrez, State Delegate, Chevy Chase
Edouard Haba, City Councilman, Hyattsville
Julian Ivey, State Delegate, Cheverly
David Moon, State Delegate, Silver Spring
Joseline Peña-Melnyk, State Delegate, College Park
Paul Pinsky, State Senator, Hyattsville
Jeffrey Slavin, Mayor, Somerset
Kate Stewart, Mayor, Takoma Park
Deni Taveras, County Council Member, Prince George’s County
Rocio Treminio-Lopez, Mayor, Brentwood
Jeff Waldstreicher, State Senator, Annapolis
Jheanelle Wilkins, State Delegate, Silver Spring
Patrick L. Wojahn, Mayor and Council, College Park

Massachusetts
Harriette Chandler, State Senator, Worcester
Annie Gilbert, Selectwoman, Andover
Laura Gregory, Selectwoman, Andover
Daniel Koh, Select Board Member, Andover
Alex Morse, Mayor, Holyoke
David J. Narkewicz, Mayor, Northampton
Tram Nguyen, State Representative, Andover
Denise Provost, State Representative, Somerville
William Reichelt, Mayor, West Springfield
Shannon Scully, School Committee Member, Andover
Jeffrey Thielman, School Committee Member, Arlington
Holly Vietzke-Lynch, School Committee Member, North Andover

Michigan
Christopher Taylor, Mayor, Ann Arbor
Rosalynn Bliss, Mayor, Grand Rapids
Raquel Castañeda-López, City Council Member, Detroit
Stephanie Chang, State Senator, Detroit
Abdullah Hammoud, State Representative, Dearborn
Brandon Haskell, County Commissioner, Eaton County
Kara Hope, State Representative, Holt
Ruth Kelly, City Commissioner, Grand Rapids
David LaGrand, State Representative, Grand Rapids
Steven Maas, Mayor, Grandville
Karen Majewski, Mayor, Hamtramck
Kurt Metzger, Mayor, Pleasant Ridge
Kurt Reppart, City Commissioner, Grand Rapids
Robert Wittenberg, State Representative, Huntington Woods
Jack Eaton, City Council Member, Ann Arbor

Minnesota
Tim Walz, Governor, Minnesota
Melvin Carter, Mayor, St. Paul
Jacob Frey, Mayor, Minneapolis
Andrew Johnson, City Council Member, Minneapolis
Jennifer Julsrud, City Councilmember, Duluth
Fue Lee, State Representative, St. Paul
John Lesch, State Representative, St. Paul
Sandra Pappas, State Senator, St. Paul
Dave Pinto, State Representative, St. Paul
Mitra Nelson, City Councilmember, St. Paul
John Marty, State Senator, Roseville
Kaohly Her, State Representative, St. Paul

Missouri
Daniel Guenther, 9th Ward Alderman, St. Louis
Lyda Krewson, Mayor, St. Louis
Kip Kendrick, State Representative, Columbia
Annie Rice, Alderwoman, St. Louis
Martha Stevens, State Representative, Columbia
Brian Williams, State Senator, St. Louis

Montana
Kim Abbott, State Representative, Helena
Dick Barrett, State Senator, Missoula
Emma Kerr-Carpenter, State Representative, Billings
Mary Ann Dunwell, State Representative, Helena
John Engen, Mayor, Missoula
Jessica Karjala, State Representative, Billings
Bob Kelly, Mayor, Great Falls
Connie Keogh, State Representative, Missoula
Jasmine Krotkov, State Representative, Neihart
Margaret MacDonald, State Senator, Billings
Mary McNally, State Senator, Billings
Andrea Olsen, State Representative, Missoula
David Strohmaier, County Commissioner, Missoula
Katie Sullivan, State Representative, Missoula

Nebraska
Tony Vargas, State Senator, Omaha

New Hampshire
Safiya Wazir, State Representative, Concord
Karen Zook, City Councilor, Lebanon

New Jersey
Joshua Fine, Borough Council Member, Highland Park
Catherine Gural, Deputy Mayor, Montgomery
Sadaf Jaffer, Mayor, Montgomery
Gayle Brill Mittler, Mayor, Highland Park
Marvin Schuldiner, Township Committee Member, Montgomery=

New Mexico
Timothy Keller, Mayor, Albuquerque
Gerald Ortiz y Pino, State Senator, Albuquerque
Renee Villareal, Councilwoman, Santa Fe

New York
Noam Bramson, Mayor, New Rochelle
Byron W. Brown, Mayor, Buffalo
Kathy Sheehan, Mayor, Albany
Lovely Warren, Mayor, Rochester
Patricia Fahy, Assemblymember, Albany
Liz Krueger, State Senator, New York
Amy Paulin, Assemblymember, Scarsdale
Linda B. Rosenthal, Assemblymember, New York
Al Stirpe, Assemblymember, North Syracuse
Steven Weinberg, Mayor, Village of Thomaston
David Weprin, Assemblymember, Fresh Meadows
Gregory Young, Supervisor, Gloversville
Rachel May, State Senator, Syracuse

North Carolina
Pam Hemminger, Mayor, Chapel Hill
Steve Schewel, Mayor, Durham
Marikay Abuzuaiter, City Council Member-At-Large, Greensboro
Vickie Adamson, County Commissioner, Wake County
Jessica Anderson, Mayor Pro Tem, Chapel Hill
John Autry, State Representative, Charlotte
James Barrett, School Board Member, Chapel Hill
Natalie Beyer, Board of Education Member, Durham
Javiera Caballero, City Council Member, Durham
Heidi Carter, Durham County Commissioner, Durham
Jay Chaudhuri, State Senator, Raleigh
Christy Clark, State Representative, Huntersville
Susan Fisher, State Representative, Asheville
Brenda Howerton, County Commissioner, Durham
Mark Jackson, Town Councilman, Archer Lodge
Wendy Jacobs, Chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, Durham
Jillian Johnson, Mayor Pro Tempore, Durham
Michelle Kennedy, City Council Member, Greensboro
Audra Killingsworth, Town Council Member, Apex
Lydia Lavelle, Mayor, Carborro
Nasif Majeed, State Representative, Raleigh
Stef Mendell, City Council Member, Raleigh
Graig Meyer, State Representative, Chapel Hill
Wiley Nickel, State Senator, Raleigh
Renée Price, County Commissioner, Orange County
Damon Seils, Alderman, Carrboro
Kandie Smith, State Representative, Greenville
Karen Stegman, Town Council Member, Chapel Hill
Nicole Stewart, City Council Member-At-Large, Raleigh
Jennifer Weaver, Mayor Pro Tempore, Hillsborough
Mike Woodard, State Senator, Durham
Nancy Vaughan, Mayor, Greensboro

North Dakota
Tim Mahoney, Mayor, Fargo
John Strand, City Commissioner, Fargo

Ohio
Nan Whaley, Mayor, Dayton
Elizabeth Brown, City Council President Pro Tempore, Columbus
David Donofrio, South-Western City Schools Board of Education Member, Columbus
Emmanuel Remy, Councilmember, Columbus
Peter Ujvagi, City Councilman, Toledo
Rob Dorans, City Councilman, Columbus

Oklahoma
Carrie Blumert, County Commissioner, Oklahoma County
James Cooper, City Councilmember, Oklahoma City
JoBeth Hamon, Ward 6 City Councilmember, Oklahoma City
Carri Hicks, State Senator, Oklahoma City
Cyndi Munson, State Representative, Oklahoma City
Collin Walke, State Representative, Oklahoma City

Oregon
Denny Doyle, Mayor, Beaverton
Chloe Eudaly, Commissioner, Portland
Alissa Keny-Guyer, State Representative, Portland
Rita Moore, PhD, Portland Public Schools Board of Education Director, Portland
Janeen Sollman, State Representative, Hillsboro
Lori Stegmann, County Commissioner, Portland
Stephanie Stephens, David Douglas School District School Board Member, Portland

Pennsylvania
James F. Kenney, Mayor, Philadelphia
William Peduto, Mayor, Pittsburgh
Danene Sorace, Mayor, Lancaster
Danilo Burgos, State Representative, Philadelphia
Faith Craig, City Councilmember, Lancaster
Jason Dawkins, State Representative, Philadelphia
Janet Diaz, City Councilwoman, Lancaster
Elizabeth Fiedler, State Representative, Philadelphia
Isabella Fitzgerald, State Representative, Philadelphia
John Graupera, City Councilmember, Lancaster
Jordan A. Harris, State Representative, Philadelphia
Art Haywood, State Senator, Philadelphia
Malcolm Kenyatta, State Representative, Philadelphia
Joanna McClinton, State Representative, Philadelphia
Dan Miller, State Representative, Pittsburgh
Eric Papenfuse, Mayor, Harrisburg
Maria D. Quinones Sanchez, City Councilmember, Philadelphia
Joseph Schember, Mayor, Erie
Michael Schlossberg, State Representative, Allentown
Erika Strassburger, City Councilmember, Pittsburgh
Chris Rabb, State Representative, Philadelphia
James Reichenbach, City Council President, Lancaster
Rosita C. Youngblood, State Representative, Philadelphia

Rhode Island
Jorge Elorza, Mayor, Providence
Gayle Goldin, State Senator, Providence

South Carolina
Stephen Benjamin, Mayor, Columbia
Carol Jackson, City Council Member, Charleston

South Dakota
Reynold Nesiba, State Senator, Sioux Falls
Ray Ring, State Representative, Vermillion
Linda Duba, State Representative, Sioux Falls

Tennessee
David Briley, Mayor, Nashville
Madeline Rogero, Mayor, Knoxville
Fabian Bedne, Metro Council Member, Nashville
John Ray Clemmons, State Representative, Nashville
Jason Powell, State Representative, Nashville

Texas
Steve Adler, Mayor, Austin
Eric Johnson, Mayor, Dallas
Ron Nirenberg, Mayor, San Antonio
Sylvester Turner, Mayor, Houston
Clay Jenkins, County Judge, Dallas
Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Judge, Houston

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
Miro Weinberger, Mayor, Burlington
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

 

 

Daniel Horowitz sounds off at Breitbart: Republican Governors Betrayed the President

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 2 Comments

Daniel Horowitz at Conservative Review has gotten his teeth firmly sunk into the issue of the deceptive and dysfunctional Refugee Admissions Program and is sounding off much more articulately than I could ever do—he says many Republicans who claim to be conservatives aren’t really in the battle over the major issue of our time (or any time), immigration.

As author of ‘Stolen Sovereignty,’ Horowitz knows what he is talking about when it comes to the subject of transforming America. https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Sovereignty-Unelected-Transforming-America/dp/1944229299

Case in point is the number of Republican governors, endorsed by Trump, who have now turned tail and “betrayed” him, says Horowitz

He also throws sharp barbs at so-called ‘conservative’ media that is mesmerized by impeachment and what the Democrat candidates are saying at their boring debates while a major civilizational issue goes unnoticed.

BTW, I noticed that other than Tucker, Fox News did not follow the Republican governors pandering to the Left and kissing-up to the refugee contractors.  I’m not sure Texas Governor Abbott’s tough stand was even mentioned.

If you read nothing else over the weekend, please read this Breitbart story (and you can also access the audio of the interview):

(LOL! And, I am going to know if you click on the link to read the story because my blog stats tells me how many of you follow a link!)

Daniel Horowitz: Trump-Endorsed GOP Governors Betray President’s Immigration Agenda

Most Republican governors endorsed by President Donald Trump during their gubernatorial campaigns are “betraying” the president’s immigration agenda said Daniel Horowitz, host of the Conservative Review podcast, offering his remarks on Thursday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with host Rebecca Mansour and special guest host John Binder.

Horowitz mentions Breitbart reporters John Binder (pictured) and Neil Munro as two conservative writers who do focus on the greatest issue for the future of America First—immigration.

Binder invited Horowitz’s comment on a federal judge’s blocking of Trump’s executive order allowing communities and states to stop refugee resettlement.

“A judge can’t affirmatively grant a visa,” explained Horowitz. “Even if the judge would be correct on the merits, there is no standing. Refugees can’t get standing to come here. So what do they do? They have non-profit groups — and this is unbelievable, it’s as self-censored as it gets — the nine VOLAG (Volunteer Agency) groups, these are the contractors that get taxpayer funds — $3.5 billion over ten years to transform our neighborhoods and our communities — they get standing to say, ‘Wait a minute. Well, if states can reject refugees, then there will be fewer of them admitted and resettled, and guess what? We’re going to get less revenue, so we have an actionable grievance.’”

[….]

Horowitz went on, “It’s the most vivid illustration of what I call, ‘social transformation without representation.’ The key decisions in a republic have to flow directly from the people or through the people’s representatives, and there’s no greater decision that a society makes than the future orientation of that society, [who] become members, the future of their communities, their neighborhoods, and here, like you mentioned, you have all unaccountable, unelected players — the U.N., State Department bureaucrats, and private, self-centered, taxpayer-funded contractors whose executives get $400,000 salaries — [transforming] our neighborhoods with no questions about the prudence of their decisions.”

[….]

Horowitz said, “Trump gave us a gift where we could decide a national civilization issue at a local grassroots level and yet the left is on the field — our side didn’t even know this was happening — they’re winning in counties Trump carried by 40 points, Burleigh County, North Dakota, and that is because 90 percent of the Republicans that are elected are on the other side. Trump endorsed most of these governors, almost all of them, and yet we have this generic tweet — ‘Tough on crime. Good on immigration.’ — and incidentally, they’re all terrible on crime and immigration.”

“Someone needs to get to the president and say, ‘Look, these guys are betraying what you started doing,’” determined Horowitz.

Read it all.

I’ve only snipped a small segment of Horowitz brilliant analysis of where we are on the issue of refugee resettlement and immigration generally, but indeed much of what he says applies across the board on where the Republican elected officials stand today—mostly not in the fight at all.

See my post yesterday.  I said that our side isn’t organized enough and that this episode with the governors demonstrated that. 

The three major immigration restriction groups (headquartered in the Washington, DC area) are not doing any significant grassroots organizing on the issue of refugee resettlement and so we have to establish something new and I hope to be working on rectifying that soon.

But, first, as we start to build a network, be sure to find your place in the Presidential campaign.  We need to buy another four years with Trump at the helm and he has to know that if he wins he is going to be beholden to immigration hawks!

See my post from a couple of months ago about what you need to be doing right NOW!

After Maryland Judge’s Decision, What is Next?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 1 Comment

I don’t know.  I guess we wait for the Justice Department’s response to the decision that halted the President’s first effort to reform the US Refugee Admissions Program.

Here is a brief statement from the White House immediately after learning of the decision.

Another lawless district court has asserted its own preferred immigration policy in place of the laws of the United States – and, in so doing, robbed millions of American citizens of their voice and their say in a vital issue directly affecting their communities. President Trump rightly and justly recognized that your communities are unique, and while some cities have the resources to adequately support refugees and help them be successful, not all communities can sustain the substantial and costly burden. Knowing that, the Trump Administration fulfilled a key promise by giving States and localities a seat at the table in deciding whether or not refugees will be placed in your communities. In addition, under the Refugee Act of 1980, Congress explicitly afforded the President authority over the refugee resettlement process, including by taking local consultation into account. This is a preposterous ruling, one more example of nationwide district court injunctions run amok, and we are expeditiously reviewing all options to protect our communities and preserve the integrity of the refugee resettlement process.

So what happens to the Executive Order and the process it spawned to obtain consents, or non-consents, for the placement of refugees in states and counties?  I’m assuming it all grinds to a halt for now.

Daniel Horowitz at Conservative Review suggests that the President is a lame duck right now if he doesn’t challenge these rogue court decisions, see here.

News reports are coming in about how county elected officials are sighing with relief that they don’t have to go on record as for or against refugee arrivals for their towns and cities because of the court ruling.

Why did my Republican governor cave and consent to taking on an extra burden for taxpayers and more social/cultural unrest by telling the Dept. of State to send more refugees?

That is a question I got from a reader this morning.

Many reasons (pick one, or more!):

~Fear of being called an unwelcoming racist.

~He/she was getting pressure from groups on the religious Left (including the contractors) many of which financially benefit from refugee arrivals, or will benefit because they are Leftists who see a new voting block. Many are one-worlders working to destroy national sovereignty.

In some states CAIR was active (Minnesota and Maryland for sure) with their usual hammer—any gov who said no would surely be called an Islamophobe.

~Pressure from the Chamber of Commerce and their ilk which wants more refugees because refugees need housing and buy cars.

~Lobbying (and likely campaign donations) from large corporations including, global corporations that need the steady supply of cheap subservient labor—BIG MEAT and BIG POULTRY, for example.

And, I’m sure there are other less obvious reasons.

But, most importantly the governor knew that there were more in his/her state on the side of inviting refugees than there are of you who want to see the program constrained or flat out abolished.

Now that isn’t so everywhere. Here is a story from Tennessee yesterday about how one county commission struggled with the decision and ultimately did nothing on the same day that the Maryland judge slapped the President down.

It is an opinion piece (for more refugees) critical of the non-action taken at a county meeting this week. One line jumped out at me, from the Chattanooga Times Free Press as the reason the meeting ended with no action:

Their reticence to vote for the resolution, like Coppinger’s, was likely born because, as the mayor said, “you cannot overcome social media.”

Clearly the opposition to more refugees being placed in Hamilton County was of sufficient magnitude to at least stop the consent train.

The opposition to more resettlement in Tennessee may be the strongest and best organized in the nation.  The problem is every state doesn’t have the grassroots network that Tennessee has developed over the years.

We have to change that, if we expect to do battle with the juggernaut of Leftwing/Dems working with big business interests and RINO governors that are changing America by changing the people.

But, your first order of business is to buy more time by getting Donald Trump re-elected.

Send me an e-mail with the subject line, grassroots organizing, and I’ll try to put you together with others in your state.

RefugeeWatcher@gmail.com

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Effort to Reform Refugee Program

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 4 Comments

According to U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte you, the citizens of Anytown, USA, can never stop the federal government (the US State Department) from depositing third world poverty into your neighborhoods.

And, so much for the Tenth Amendment and States Rights!

The Judge’s decision was not unexpected after we saw the anti-Trump bias the Clinton-appointed Judge displayed when we reported on the case last week.

Mark Hetfield, HIAS CEO, says you and the President are “unkind and un-American” if you want to have a say in how your tax dollars are spent and how your towns will be changed. https://www.hias.org/news/press-releases/judge-blocks-order-allowing-state-local-officials-veto-resettlement

Needless to say the contractors are sighing in relief  because they can continue to decide if your community will be hosting Africans, Asians and Middle Easterners later this year in a secret process that involves their collaboration with ideological deep staters in Washington, DC.

And, they get paid handsomely by you while they change America by changing the people.

Here is a report from Fox News about the decision:

Federal judge blocks Trump order allowing states, local officials to refuse refugees

 

I’ll have to wait until some legal minds explain what this all means and I’ll update this post when I learn more.

However, it is an outrage that nine fake non-profits (all Leftwing political agitators)*** will continue to be paid by us, the taxpayers, while they protest, organize, lobby and file lawsuits against those of us who pay their salaries!

But, let me tell you what good the exercise of recent months has accomplished.

~ We now have a very clear idea of the Republican governors who are pandering to Leftwing activists in their states—see the 19 here:

Only TX Governor Abbott had the guts to join the President and say NO, Texas needs a break! Six others remained silent.

 

~Additionally, many of you now know which of your city and county elected officials are promoting an Open Borders agenda or kowtowing to the Chamber of Commerce and big businesses looking for cheap, subservient labor.  Time to get involved locally and find replacements for them!

~We have also educated a whole lot of new people to the failings of the US Refugee Resettlement process and so it has not been a complete loss!

So what do you do now? 

You get to work to re-elect Donald Trump so that he can finish the work he began.  Just remind yourselves of what Uncle Joe wants to do if elected.  The other Dems are many times worse.

As for me, I’m back to where I have been for a decade—the Refugee Act of 1980, that set up a contractor gravy train, must be repealed. Wishful thinking?  Maybe, but tinkering around the edges isn’t going to fix it.

Unless the Kennedy/Biden/Carter Refugee Act is repealed or reformed while Trump is in the White House, you can be absolutely sure that the number of refugees admitted to America in 2021 or 2025 will number in the hundreds of thousands as they claim they must make up for the Trump lost years.

The President would be within the law to set the incoming level at ZERO and tell Congress if they want refugees, then fix the law!   It is time!

Human Rights Watch: “[T]here’s no requirement that the U.S. resettle a single refugee, and there’s no legal obligation to do it.”

*** 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.

A ‘religious’ message from CWS’s “ministry!” CWS is one of three federally funded contractors suing to stop the President’s effort to reform the UN-driven Refugee Admissions Program.

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?  

Go here to see that the nine contractors sucked down over $3 BILLION in federal grants in the last 11 years.

(I plan to say this once a day from now on!)

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.

 

Delaware Must Do its Fair Share! Send Refugees to Joe Biden’s Neighborhood!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

As I have reported often over the years, then Senator Joe Biden was one of the chief sponsors*** of Senator Ted Kennedy’s Refugee Act of 1980 that among other things created a tax-payer funded gravy train for federal refugee contractors masquerading as charities.

Hypocrisy alert!

Delaware Governor John Carney (left) with good ol’ Joe Biden and Senator Chris Coons—hypocrites all!

However, old Uncle Joe has never put his money where his mouth is and Delaware has received only a tiny fraction of the impoverished refugees in need of support from local taxpayers over the last nearly 4 decades.

All that could change now as Delaware governor John Carney is begging the feds for (more!) refugees and the states largest and most populous county, New Castle County, said YES weeks before the governor did.

Here is what Carney told the US State Department in a letter dated December 10, 2019:

Our country has historically been a refuge of safe harbor for those fleeing war~torn countries, violence, and political persecution. We should continue to stand as a beacon of hope and freedom for people around the world. In that spirit, as Delawareans, we are proud to do our part, and continue to accept the resettlement of refugees.

They have no shame!  Do their part?

Heck, they can have Texas share this year!

According to the US State Department data base at the Refugee Processing Center, Delaware has only ‘welcomed’ 171 refugees since the beginning of fiscal year 2003. (Data before 2003 is not easy to access.)

Well it is a small state you say!

It is twice the size of Rhode Island which took in 3,122 poor third worlders in the same time period.

Now it’s time for Delaware to put up or shut up!

Presidential candidate Joe Biden says he will up the number of refugees to be admitted to the US to 125,000 in his first year in office—that is a number way above anything the Obama Administration admitted.  He announced his immigration goals here in December:

Biden wants to stop the Trump administration’s separation of migrant children from parents, end extended detention and reverse restrictions on travel from several predominantly Muslim countries, according to his campaign. At the same time, Biden wants to create a pathway to citizenship for about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., expand access to work visas in areas of economic need and boost the annual U.S. refugee admissions cap to 125,000 from the current 18,000, among other provisions in the plan.

It should be clear to all America Firsters that Trump must get four more years.

 

*** These were the Senate co-sponsors in 1979 that deserve the blame for creating this dysfunctional UN-driven refugee program.

Sen. Javits, Jacob K. [R-NY]
Sen. McGovern, George [D-SD]
Sen. Randolph, Jennings [D-WV]
Sen. Pell, Claiborne [D-RI]
Sen. Ribicoff, Abraham A. [D-CT]
Sen. Moynihan, Daniel Patrick [D-NY]
Sen. Williams, Harrison A., Jr. [D-NJ]
Sen. Riegle, Donald W., Jr. [D-MI]
Sen. Sarbanes, Paul S. [D-MD]
Sen. Hatfield, Mark O. [R-OR]
Sen. Tsongas, Paul E. [D-MA]
Sen. Biden, Joseph R., Jr. [D-DE]