We received a disturbing anonymous comment from a reader with knowledge of the inner workings of one of the federal ‘religious’ refugee resettlement contracting offices in Florida. But, before I tell you what the commenter reported, I want to remind long-time readers and alert new readers to my long-standing interest in food stamp fraud in the immigrant community. Florida EBT card
We previouslywrote many posts on major food stamp fraud (called trafficking), but have had to give up the interest for lack of time.
However, I must say I am half tempted to take a break from writing RRW to begin addressing the many frauds being perpetrated on the taxpayer by those we have “welcomed” to America—food stamp fraud, Medicare/Medicaid fraud, housing fraud, daycare fraud, driver’s license fraud and the list goes on.
I simply can’t understand why mainstream investigative reports AND even the alternative media are largely ignoring the subject.
Americans are generous, but they don’t want to be cheated.
From a reader:
In order to receive food stamps in Florida, applicants must submit proof of employment (earnings statements) or proof of loss of employment (from former employer). Amount of food stamps received depends on number in household, income, expenses, etc.
So, a Florida refugee resettlement caseworker asks coworker how to reapply for food stamps for refugee client who is working and being paid $300 per week “under the table” and therefore has no income and employment documentation to submit with the benefit application.
Coworker says, “You have three options. 1. Reapply and don’t submit employment documentation and client will be turned down for benefits. 2. Reapply and provide the employer’s name, amount of cash being paid to worker, etc., and see the employer busted and the employee fired! 3. Follow the law, tell client to either work legally and receive income proof or don’t apply for benefits!
Next issue—same day!
Refugee resettlement caseworker asks coworker if there is any funding available to help a client pay $400+ for his driver’s license.Coworker says, “$400 dollars? It doesn’t cost $400 to get a driver’s license!” Caseworker says client must pay about $50 for the driver’s license but needs the other $350+ to pay the Arabic speaking “friend” who will interpret at the DMV and give the correct answers since the refugee client doesn’t know the answers!
(The request for extra funding for the “interpreter” was denied, but how many other agencies do risk your lives on the road when refugees fraudulently obtain drivers’s licenses. We have heard plenty of stories over the years about those driver’s license fraud cases.—ed.)
Both cases involved Iraqi refugees we are told.
Our category ‘Comments worth noting/guest posts’was designed for readers to get messages out that we find informative. If you have first-hand knowledge of fraud in the refugee resettlement ‘industry,’ please send it our way.
Editor: This is a comment we received from a regular reader ‘misterpaul5a’ tothis post this morning. To say he is frustrated would be a gross understatement. The events of the last week should be galvanizing all of us to do more, to dig deeper into our reserves of energy, to save Western Civilization for OUR children and grandchildren.
Misterpaul5a (we have broken the text into paragraphs for easier reading and highlighting is mine):
Once again Cameron has reneged on a promise. “We will not be taking refugees, we will be taking refugees”, “we will reduce immigrants to TENS OF THOUSANDS” (as if that were not thousands more than we need) instead of which we took in ,wait for it, 350,000. These people simply have no SHAME. What a coward he is proving to be. In the Obama mold to a great extent The man is a pathetic puppet being pulled this way and that by forces we do not see but certainly devoid of courage.
Securing a future for the British people or for the Muslim migrants? David Cameron caves: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/04/david-cameron-syrian-refugees-uk-will-take-thousands-more
The only person we can trust in British politics today is Nigel Farage. The only person in the USA, Donald Trump.
Without a shadow of doubt we are heading for a disaster of EPIC proportions unless there is a complete sea-change in our handling of this massive fraud perpetrated on the civilized West.
This state of affairs just cannot continue. I have been of a conservative nature all of my life until fairly recently, having chosen the UKIP path a couple of years ago. BUT! There MUST be a revolt by the people who really keep our countries afloat, and that is the put-upon guys and gals who, whether they like it or not, are having their hard- earned funds, in the form of taxes, snatched away from them at every turn – simply to be spent on a work-shy, bed-hopping, alcohol -swilling, dope-peddling, self-centred underclass of Orwellian proportions.
I am no longer able to carry the flag forward at any great pace – my batteries are running down. But even at my age I know I would be able to lend a hand to those true folk who are willing to, take up the challenge and oust the self-seeking jerks who call themselves ‘politicians’ – what a grubby, lying, greedy breed they are.
And the most shameful thing of all in the coming years will be those among us who will further disgrace our ranks by putting their crosses against the names of Muslims both in the USA and in Europe on voting slips, thus contributing to our own impending downfall.
NO! I have NOT given-in! But the stark warning I have been giving in these pages, consistently since I joined the discussions, is that we cannot blame anyone but ourselves for the tragedies to come – our kids and grandchildren will curse their elders til the end of time if the challenge of the evil of Islam is not faced – AND NOW!
We have a special category, here, for comments worth highlighting and guest commentary. This post is filed there. By the way, you can be sure that Obama will not allow himself to be upstaged by Angela Merkel and David Cameron, so watch for a dreadful announcement from the White House this month.
The other day we learned that the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) hasput out an alert to its supporters to contact their Washington representatives and urge them to continue supporting the importation of third world poverty to America. HIAS claims that “fear and hate” are what is driving citizen concern about the rapid pace of refugee resettlement to hundreds of US cities and towns. Although they don’t mention any bill by name, they must be concerned about Rep. Brian Babin’s bill(the only bill we know of) that seeks to suspend refugee resettlement until a financial accounting of the program has been accomplished. Rep. Babin is also concerned about national security in the implementation of the refugee program at this time.
Here is reader ‘7delta’ responding to HIAS (emphasis is mine):
Hate, hate, hate, with a serving of phobia du jour. It’s all they’ve got. When facts and truth don’t support an argument, resort to name calling. It’s not just intellectually dishonest, it’s childish. Name calling and the tactics of these groups are unbecoming of a people who claim to be motivated by compassion. They destroy their own case every time they launch into these immature diatribes and attempt to emotionally manipulate citizens and their representatives. Just a head’s up, volags. It no longer works. We have read your own materials and seen your fruits. We have taken your measure and find you wanting.
Have we run out of Americans who need food and shelter?
Fact: The federal government has no moral or Constitutional authority for charity or for mercy, though courts, through existing law, can exhibit mercy, at its discretion, to individuals under its jurisdiction. Charity and mercy belongs solely to the people as individuals or as consenting groups that come together to combine their personal resources to render aid.
The federal government’s sole reason for existing is to protect the citizens, their rights, safety, security, sovereignty, resources, administer equal justice and to punish lawbreakers in order to preserve tranquility, as well as the safety and the well being of its citizens. Government has no authority or resources that did not come from its citizens. All government can do is obligate its citizens to bear the burdens and suffer the consequences. All immigration should primarily benefit its citizens. Never should it burden one of our own “least of these” or risk any citizen.
My challenge to HIAS, or whatever its new name, and to all other volags, is that if your motivation is indeed altruistic and your compassion for the refugees is genuine concern for humanity, stop taking all federal funding, stop enrolling the refugees onto federal programs and financially, morally and emotionally support each refugee for the amount of time it takes each refugee to become completely independent, not “self-sustaining” through public aid programs, but totally independent to care for themselves and their family members and to assimilate into American culture.
As long as you continue to take any federal dollars and run your programs like human mills, and until you accept, as private individuals, the responsibility for who you sponsor and for all the financial and social needs of the refugee, and obligate no one else without their consent, as it was intended and is the proper way to administer charity and mercy, you have no credibility. As it stands now, you certainly have no superior moral ground to denigrate individuals who have not consented and hold you to account for being what you claim to be.
Editor: One of the first questions I hear when people first learn about how we (our government in Washington and their contractors) are bringing in over 100,000 needy people through refugee resettlement, asylum and across our borders as so-called ‘unaccompanied alien children’ is this: Why would we do this when we have so many impoverished and out-of-work Americans? Good question!
This post is archived in our category entitled, ‘Comments worth noting/guest posts.’ There is more good commentary there from ‘7delta.’
Editor: This is a letter written by a concerned citizen of South Carolina. It is an open letter to the Spartanburg County Council. The council may have no legal way to stop the US State Department (or so we are told), but if the Council voted to say they were not supportive of the effort to bring in impoverished people from the third world (because Spartanburg has its own poor minority) it would go a long way to persuade the US State Department to go elsewhere.
As of this writing I haven’t seen an update of what happened with meetings in Spartanburg when theUS State Department sent its top dog to a town that has developed a ‘Pocket of Resistance’to World Relief/UN/US State Department plans to establish an immigrant seed community there.
I did see an excellent commentary at Fits News. Go here for an opinion in advance of the meetings yesterday and Monday.
By remaining silent the Spartanburg County Council will allow these two to determine the future of Spartanburg: Asst. Sec. of State Anne Richard and UNHCR Antonio Guterres, former head of Socialists International.
Below is the letter from Beverly Owensby. The sentiment she expresses here is one all of you concerned about being labeled “unwelcoming” or unchristian should pay attention to. It is a view we have expressed here many times over the years—true Christian charity is using one’s own time and money to help the poor preferably where they live. Or, if one adopts, or supports an immigrant child or family, one uses one’s own resources and doesn’t dump the responsibility on the taxpayer.
An open letter:
After spending hundreds of hours on fact based research, the current REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT program is nothing more than an AMERICAN INVASION. Many are exploiting the compassion of Christians to trick them into accepting the REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM as the right thing to do to protect Christians from being persecuted. This is so far from the truth. Based on the U.S. State Department website, the majority of REFUGEES are Muslims. Why? The UNITED NATIONS is responsible for selecting who comes to America. GEORGE SOROS is spending billions of dollars to ensure the success of this program. If the United Nations and George Soros cared about Christians, they would have done something to prevent ISIS from killing so many Christians in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
CHRISTIAN COMPASSION DOES NOT TAX OTHERS!
Beverly Owensby in Spartanburg yesterday. http://www.wyff4.com/news/us-state-department-official-visits-upstate-to-discuss-refugees/34911658
CHRISTIAN COMPASSION IS A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO A CAUSE! THIS IS NOT THE SAME THING AS THE GOVERNMENT FORCING INDIVIDUALS TO PAY FOR SOMETHING THEY BELIEVE IS WRONG!
The United States is $18 Trillion Dollars in Debt and cannot afford to pay for REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT! The United States is on the verge of an economic collapse that will destroy America. The REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT program is designed to push America over the edge. The influx of ILLEGALS coming across our Southern Border and entering the U.S. along with the REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT program are by design to overload the system.
Christians who want to help the REAL PERSECUTED CHRISTIAN can contact a Mission Board and let them know they are willing to house and provide total financial support for an individual or family. THIS IS TRUE CHRISTIAN COMPASSION…. NOT FAKE CHRISTIAN COMPASSION! ….
IF YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT SPARTANBURG COUNTY, YOU WILL VOTE NO TO THE REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM!
THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO FOR SPARTANBURG COUNTY!
LET FREEDOM RING,
Beverly Owensby
What would Jesus do? I suspect he would throw the money changers (federal contractors, including the US Catholic Bishops!) out of the temple.
For new readers, go here for a background (with some updates) on what happened in Spartanburg beginning last spring when it was learned it would be targeted for colonization. For a complete archive on Spartanburg posts, go here.
Editor: From time to time we post guest columns and other notable comments from readers. This one is from someone who knows the US Refugee Admissions Program better than anyone else on the outside (LOL! maybe better than some on the inside!). Don Barnett has been following the refugee industry for over 25 years and is a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies.I’m happy to call him a longtime colleague and friend.
Below, Mr. Barnett addresses some of the ridiculous ‘studies’ being promoted around the US which posit that resettling impoverished third worlders will bring economic boom times to states losing population, or that refugee-run ‘businesses’ can rescue financially strapped cities.
The refugee resettlement program is perhaps the federal government’s most advanced case of politicized, Orwellian speech.
Don Barnett (See also: Time for the refugee program to come out of the shadows!) https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2014/03/24/wyoming-op-ed-time-for-the-refugee-program-to-come-out-of-the-shadows/
Are refugees too dependent on government hand-outs? Simply re-define the term “self-sufficiency” so that those dependent on government hand-outs are declared officially “self-sufficient”. According to the feds, a refugee can be on every welfare program except TANF and still be considered “self-sufficient”. Thus the media dutifully report the absurd claims of the refugee contractors about refugee “self-sufficiency” for individuals who may be in public housing, receiving Food Stamps, cash assistance from SSI and on Medicaid.
So much ignorance abounds that a “task force” recently formed to study the possibility of introducing refugee resettlement in Wyoming allowed itself to be assured by U. of Wyoming College of professor and immigration law specialist, Noah Novogrodsky, that the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees ‘pay 100 percent of the costs of refugee resettlement for many years. It’s not like we’re going to get stuck with an unfunded mandate’.
Of course it is a massive unfunded obligation placed upon states and localities by a federal program. Most refugees are placed into one or more public assistance programs by the refugee resettlement contractors. In recent weeks Congressional Research Services provided data about welfare usage among refugees. Among refugees who had arrived in a recent 5-year period, 56 percent were receiving Medicaid or Refugee Medical Assistance, 74.2 percent were on food stamps, and 22.8 percent were in public housing. 47.1 percent were on some form of cash assistance. (1)
State tax payers fund a portion of some federal programs such as Medicaid. When the 1980 act was passed the federal government promised to reimburse states for their cost share of refugee usage of SSI, AFDC (today TANF) and Medicaid at 100% for 3 full years. Even 3 years of coverage was acknowledged to be inadequate, but was better than nothing. By 1991 the states were getting nothing: all reimbursements for state refugee costs were eliminated.
Newspeak and Newthought permeate the cottage industry of studies “proving” the net positive economic benefits of refugee resettlement. A look at 2 past studies shows just how willing the media is to be spoon fed information rather than seeking, finding and questioning.
According to Tennessee’s state refugee coordinator – an employee of Catholic Charities, the state’s largest refugee resettlement contractor – a “comprehensive” study by the Tennessee legislature “found …that refugees pay more in taxes than they consume in benefits — in fact, twice as much.”
The 2013 study made no such finding. In assessing the cost of publicly funded benefits for refugees, the study looked at just 2 programs – public education (including ELL) and Tenncare (Tennessee’s version of Medicaid). It ignored a whole range of programs which refugees use and which Tennessee tax payers fund both with state tax dollars and as federal tax payers.
The study assumed that refugees were using Medicaid at the same rate as average Tennesseans even though up to 59% of refugees have been placed into Medicaid upon arrival in recent years.
Also, the report assumed refugees pay state taxes at the same rate as average Tennesseans while federal studies find very high usage of welfare, high unemployment and low wages among those refugees with jobs.
The study authors themselves concluded “The information necessary to complete a comprehensive study on the possible cost shifting from the federal government to the state for the resettlement of refugees is not available.” Nevertheless, The Tennessean and other media reported more or less as fact the “take away” that refugees bring in twice as much in taxes as they use in benefits.
The study’s outcome – more accurately, lack of outcome – was likely foreordained by a Chamber of Commerce/left wing coalition that had hijacked other supposedly objective fiscal reviews of state operations.
Another study of refugee economic impact sponsored by an amorphous, shape-shifting Chamber of Commerce/left wing coalition calling itself The Refugee Services Collaborative of Cleveland got more traction than the embarrassing Tennessee study. It found, according to an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, that “Three resettlement agencies spend about $4.8 million a year helping refugees to start new lives in the Cleveland area. From that investment of mostly federal dollars comes an annual economic impact of nearly $50 million.”
Now the tax dollars invested are paying back 10 to 1!
The study looked at 3 areas where refugees make an economic contribution in the Cleveland area: refugee service organizations, refugee-owned businesses and household spending of refugee families.
Speaking of refugee service organizations, the study notes that the “preponderance of funding for these organizations is derived from federal sources”. That is not a negative finding for the authors of the study; after all it still represents a net inflow of money into the Cleveland area and employment for 95. I assume most of the employees are refugees or immigrants, but the study does not say. An interesting question for a study is why an area which in the year of the study resettled 598 refugees and resettled less than 400 per year in the previous 12 years needs 95 federal taxpayer funded employees focused exclusively on serving refugees.
The next category of economic contribution comes from refugee-owned businesses of which the study reports: “The Chmura survey indicated that over the last ten years, at least 38 businesses were started by refugees in the Cleveland area with a total of 141 employees (including owners). In addition, it is estimated that almost all of those employed by refugee-owned businesses are refugees themselves. Though the survey did not gather information of the types of businesses that were started, estimates were made based upon studies conducted elsewhere. The assumed mix of industries for the refugee-owned businesses includes the following: restaurants, retail, health and beauty, transportation and automotive services, and child care.” (my emphasis)
In other words, over a period of 10 years just 141 refugees found employment in 38 refugee-started businesses – average size less than 4 employees. The job-creation miracle yielded 141 jobs for the 4,000 or so who were resettled in the area at that time. And we have no idea what the businesses are – foodcarts, in-home day care centers, one man and a lawn mower, consultants on how to work the system? It is more than amazing that having located and counted all the businesses opened by refugees they didn’t ask “oh, by the way, just what does your business do?”
The third category of economic vitality is household spending of refugee families.
Offering no real supporting evidence the study assumes Cleveland area refugees use welfare at less than the national average for refugees. (See above for an idea of welfare usage for refugees nationally.) It doesn’t matter anyway: a dollar provided by the federal taxpayer via a welfare program is a net plus in this study as it is assumed that this dollar will be spent in a Cleveland business.
The study is filled with findings such as “refugee services will purchase goods and services from other local businesses to support their organizations” and there are “benefits to local consumer-oriented businesses (such as retail and restaurants) that make sales to workers of the refugee services”.
Remember “refugee services” purchase goods and pay salaries with federal taxpayer dollars. But the dollars keep going round and round with positive ‘direct impacts’, ‘indirect impact’ and ‘induced impacts’. (No mention is made that some of these dollars are going directly back to the home country.)
The fog of ignorance and misinformation around this program is largely thanks to the inattention, if not active collusion of the media.
The facts are out there if the media would but investigate and report them. Until that happens we will ever be in the twilight zone when it comes to this topic.
