North Dakota: Lutheran Refugee Contractor Closes its Doors

01/19/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, which only a few years ago built its fancy ($$$) new office building, is in financial ruin.

Well that is one less resettlement subcontractor of the hundreds operating around the US that are eagerly awaiting the new flood of refugees Biden and Harris are promising.

Here is the news (welcomed by those North Dakotans who have been strenuously objecting to the placement of more impoverished third worlders into their state).

From the Grand Forks Herald (hat tip: John):

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota to close its doors; 283 jobs will be affected

FARGO — Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota CEO and President Bob Otterson told employees in a company-wide video meeting Friday, Jan. 15, that the 102-year-old agency will be closing its doors.

In an emotional exchange, Otterson — who has been in the position for only 45 days — told employees that, due to the heavy drain on resources caused by LSSND’s housing department, the agency could no longer survive. Otterson said the ongoing financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also compounded the agency’s financial difficulties.

Otterson said several LSSND programs will continue, including the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program and Abound Counseling, but they will no longer be known as part of the agency.

Otterson said that as part of the agency’s controlled liquidation plan, many employees will receive notification that their jobs have ended today, but some staff will continue working for several more weeks to help transition clients to other agencies.

Keep reading, apparently they got out on a financial limb in the housing industry (I’ve never understood the housing industry involvement refugee contractors have gotten into.).

LSSND located in Fargo was the only resettlement contractor in the state. See if you have a contractor working near you: **https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/2290-PRM-FY20-Affiliate-Sites-Large.pdf**

The scope of social services LSS offers is broad, including counseling, aid for youth and families, and affordable housing. However, in recent years, the organization is perhaps most often associated with refugee resettlement.

It’s taken criticism over the number of refugees who have come to North Dakota, in recent years in particular.

To learn more about the huge controversy over refugees in North Dakota see my archive on the state.

See LSSND’s most recent IRS Form 990 by clicking here. Note that in an income stream in that most recent year of $18 million, over $8 million came from government grants (that of course is you, the taxpayers!).

Here is a screenshot of their income page. Be sure to scroll through to see salaries and other expenses.

I never thought of it before, but I wonder if taxpayers in ND can ask for an audit of where all the grant money came from and where it went.

By the way, LSSND was a subcontractor of one of the big nine federal contractors, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. The US State Department funnels refugees through one of the big nine which in turn funnels federal dollars and refugees to its so-called affiliates (aka subcontractors).

That map above locates the subcontractors and identifies who their motherships are.

For new readers here are the top nine supposed charities that put refugees before American citizens.

Court of Appeals Rules: YOU Have No Say in Whether YOUR Town Will Accept Refugees

01/19/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

And, if you want to have some say, it means you are “unkind” and “un-American” according to Mark Hetfield CEO of the supposed non-profit group HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society).

HIAS is one of the groups which financially benefit from the resettlement of refugees as your tax dollars fund their work of changing America by changing the people. This is what Hetfield said last year at the time of the lower court ruling against the President.

“An overwhelming majority of governors and municipalities have already expressed their desire to continue welcoming refugees. To those few who have not, we say not only is it unkind and un-American to ban refugees from your states and towns, but it is unlawful.”

Hetfield, his organization and eight other federal contracting groups like HIAS***, have been deciding for decades where the impoverished third worlders we fly into the country will be placed and they want to keep making those decisions. After all, you are all a bunch of boobs and racists in their minds.

This is not a surprise. As much as I have been a Trump fan, and as much as I admire his effort to allow local governments and state governments to have a say, his initiative was not well-thought-out. And, he was blind-sided by feckless Republican governors. In fact, almost all Republican governors thumbed their nose at the President’s offer to give them a say.

Included among those governors who did not back the President were Arizona’s Governor Doug Ducey and South Dakota’s Kristi Noem. Only Gov. Abbott of Texas supported the President. I believe Kemp (GA) and Desantis (FL) were silent. (Someone correct me if I am wrong about those last two).

The recent Appeals Court decision ends any hope of consideration for your views about the placement of refugees and you will be back to only using your voice (ha! ha!) as they work to add more impoverished and potentially ill people to your towns and cities.

You really must involve yourselves in local politics!

As the incoming Biden Administration has said, they want to ‘welcome’ 125,000 refugees to America in year one to make up for what they will call the lost Trump years.

Here is CBS from Dallas-Fort Worth:

4th Circuit Upholds Ban On Trump’s Order Allowing States To Refuse Refugees

SAN DIEGO (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — An executive order by President Donald Trump had aimed to give state and local governments the ability to shut out refugees, but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a ban on the order.

The three-judge panel said the executive order that required both state and local entities to give their consent before allowing refugees to be placed in their areas “would cause inequitable treatment of refugees and undermine the very national consistency that the Refugee Act is designed to protect.”

Read it all here.

Tomorrow Biden/Harris will be coronated and the entire federal government structure will turn to the job of pouring more migrants of all stripes into the American heartland, indeed into every small and medium-sized city from sea to shining sea.

Those migrants, including supposedly “vetted” refugees will need jobs or welfare that will further increase joblessness among already strained citizens in the wake of a worldwide pandemic. They will also need healthcare as they are not tested in advance for COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.

Americans Last!

*** For new readers these are the Progressive groups, some claim they are ‘religious’ charities, that put the wellbeing of refugees and illegal migrants ahead of struggling Americans.

Some of these federal contractors have been busy for four decades changing the demographic make-up of the United States and they are back in power!

Endnote: I have been busy writing at my other blog Frauds and Crooks about the Great Election steal of 2020 and other issues. I will be picking up the pace here at RRW as new readers will be arriving as Biden and Harris go into high gear, supported by the entire structure of the federal government, to change America.

I have been writing here since July 2007 (except for the brief period in 2019 when the speech police took me down) and have archived 9,577 posts (so far) on the refugee industry here and abroad.

By ‘welcoming’ Biden’s Promised 125,000 Refugees to America, we will heal the country says federal contractor

01/18/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Say what!

Editor: To my dedicated readers here at RRW (some of you have been with me since 2007) I have been distracted by the nightmare unfolding in Washington and have been busy posting at my other blog Frauds and Crooks in the wake of the great Election Steal of 2020.

You might like to see some of my posts there tagged January 6th 2021 to see what I’ve been saying.

But, alas, it is time to direct my attention, or at least some of my attention, to the US Refugee Admissions Program which Biden has said will now be on steroids to admit 125,000 refugees in his first year.

From Fortune where the writer is employed by one of nine refugee contractors*** working for the federal government.

Many of these contractors are supposedly religious non-profit groups, but they are largely funded by you—the US taxpayer!

“Unity and healing” here we come! NOT!

What do you think? Will Biden’s 125,000 refugees in year-one bring healing to small rural American communities? Photo: **https://capitalresearch.org/article/resettle-with-caution-part-2/**

How refugees could help the U.S. become unified again

Last year was largely characterized by separation and survival. Whether it was social distancing and COVID-19, violence in America’s cities, or attempting to sort out one of the most contentious and confusing elections in modern memory, America struggled in 2020, and needs to view 2021 with an eye toward unity and healing.

Perhaps the best way to do that is to unify and heal by returning to our American roots, and welcoming refugees into our country.

President-elect Joe Biden has stated his intention to raise the ceiling for refugee admissions to 125,000 for fiscal year 2021. Unifying around this goal, and welcoming those who have fled persecution and are desperate to find safety and freedom in America, could help the U.S. to again find unity.

[….]

More importantly, this move would be a big step toward reunifying our nation by reinvigorating our historical practice of welcoming refugees. Aiming for that 125,000 goal is the perfect way to come together and recommit our nation to the best of our national ideals. This will be a challenge that revives a tired nation, but it will take work and commitment from all of our citizens.

[….]

So how do we use this as an opportunity to heal?

First, people—both individually and in charitable, religious, or civic-minded organizations—should focus on learning about who refugees are and how the U.S. refugee resettlement process works….

The problem is that the process doesn’t work in the way they claim, and is one of the most secretive programs the federal government has been undertaking for four decades.

Second, Americans should continue to advocate for refugee resettlement. It’s vital that Americans hold Biden accountable for his dedication commitment to refugee resettlement. [This sentence needs an edit, but you get the gist—ed]

Oh, very interesting, they already think that Biden is going to wiggle out of his promise! When our border is overrun by wannabe asylum seekers in the coming weeks, Biden is going to have a hell of a time telling America we need more poor sick people!

Third, Americans should reach out to the refugee resettlement agencies in their region and ask how they can help.

Do those things and PRESTO! America will be healed!

America Lasters!

***For new readers these are the Progressive groups, some claim they are ‘religious’ charities, that put the wellbeing of refugees and illegal migrants ahead of struggling Americans.

Again, these resettlement agencies (aka contractors) are largely paid by you the US taxpayer, they are not passing the plate at Sunday services. This is NOT Christian charity!

Arizona: Refugees Not Working! Lutheran ‘Religious’ Charity Wants More and so does Gov!

12/30/2020 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Resettled refugees haven’t been doing so well as the Chinese Virus continues to wreck the US economy, but nevermind, Biden has promised 125,000 more impoverished third worlders for Americans to take care of in the coming year.

Every time you see a sob story like this one in the mainstream media you should be firing off a letter to the editor and asking:

Has [city or state, fill in the blank!] run out of poor, jobless, homeless, hungry Americans?

Even it you know the letter won’t be published you are educating the editor!

Arizona REPUBLICAN Governor Ducey ‘welcomes’ more refugees and opposed Trump’s efforts to give local communities a say in the matter. **https://apnews.com/article/a1723b44a657c0ef9f6fb163fbb9a94b**

Recognizing that Americans are hurting and should be taken care of first, President Trump further reduced the number of needy people the country could manage in 2021, but Biden/Harris are putting Americans LAST as they promise the largest influx of refugees America has seen in many decades and far in excess of those Obama admitted.

(And, with his past actions, Arizona’s Republican Governor Ducey has signaled his agreement with Biden!)

Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest and the International Rescue Committee headed by Moneybags Miliband are putting out-of-work refugees FIRST—ahead of hurting Americans!

From Tuscon.com (hat tip: Tom):

Tucson agencies support of refugees challenging during pandemic

Since many recently-arrived refugees work in hard-hit industries such as hospitality, food service and transportation, they are among those greatly impacted by the pandemic, officials say

President-elect Joe Biden has said he will increase that cap to 125,000. Arizona resettlement agencies expect that cap to climb over time, allowing them to readjust and prepare for more arrivals in the future.

Nationally, Arizona is one of the highest states for resettlement, Prescott said. The IRC and Lutheran Social Services are among the organizations that provide a number of resources for newly arrived refugees, including job placement, enrolling children in school, finding and furnishing housing, and social services and community support.

[….]

Connie Phillips, CEO of Lutheran Social Services Southwest. **https://socialwork.asu.edu/content/connie-phillips-eary**

“When the pandemic first came last spring, it really threw our refugee clients into quite a crisis,” said Phillips of Lutheran Social Services. “Between the community and the staff’s ability to be innovative and to pivot, I think we were successful in providing for basic needs and responding to the immediate crisis.”

Since many recently arrived refugees work in hard-hit industries such as hospitality, food service and transportation, they are among those greatly impacted by the pandemic, Prescott said.

Refugees have lost their jobs, so have Americans!

More than 40% of the resettled refugees that Lutheran Social Services has assisted lost their jobs since the pandemic hit, Phillips said.

Arizona resettlement agencies addressed these issues by helping those who lost their jobs find new employment, as well as distributing food and supplies.

They also supplied refugees with information about economic relief programs for which they might qualify, such as rent and utility assistance through the city of Tucson.

Refugees’ living conditions mean they get more COVID says the IRC community engagement coordinator, and as the “most vulnerable people” need extra attention:

International Rescue Committee community engagement coordinator Stanford Prescott

The pandemic has revealed factors that contribute to greater positive rates among low-income communities, communities of color and immigrants — many of which apply to refugees. The nature of their work in essential industries coupled with living situations in which multiple generations reside in one home makes them more at risk, Prescott said.

To counter this, agencies have implemented measures to improve safety and testing in refugee communities.

Thanks to a grant from the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Pima County Health Department and the IRC have partnered to establish free local testing sites and ensure information about these sites is shared with the city’s refugees, Prescott said.

“This testing program is so important because if we can make sure that the most vulnerable people have access to testing, then we can keep those rates lower, which helps the community.”

What about poor vulnerable American kids?

Tucson schools have jumped in, providing essential equipment to refugee youth. Local resettlement agencies also work with families to help them navigate digital education.

There is more here.

And, just in case you think that Lutheran Social Services is being funded by the generosity of Christians passing the plate in church, see this page from a recent Form 990.

Taxpayers pay for approximately 85% of their annual income.

Less than $2 million of their $16.5 million revenue in 2018/19 came from private charity of some sort. Be sure to see page 10 (Form 990 filed in early 2020) and note that most of their income went to salaries, employee benefits and office overhead.

There is even a quarter of a million in travel expenses!

They are still working as Government grants and contracts provide salaries for open borders political activists.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53fdfd76e4b085ab0d3939ba/t/5eb0a23645469323b801122d/1588634167903/2019+0630+FORM+990+PUBLIC+DISCLOSURE+COPY+%281%29FINAL.pdf

Refugee Industry Advocates Pushing Biden to Immediately Set High Ceiling for Refugee Admissions

12/26/2020 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Oh boy are the Open Borders groupies energized!

Biden is aiming to top Obama in the refugee admission sweeps! 125,000 would top anything Obama did when welcoming in the third world to compete with low-skilled Americans for jobs.

Prior to the 2020 election steal, Biden/Harris promised they would immediately increase the refugee ceiling to admit 125,000 refugees in year one.

Indeed, increasing refugee admissions is a high priority for the Biden transition team, we are told.

Now there is a little waffling from the team, but those who stand to gain financially and otherwise from increased refugee admissions are trying to keep him focused (I expect that is a challenge considering his mental condition).

They are good propagandists as you will see when longtime refugee promotor Barbara Strack says it is vital to signal intent to drive up arrival numbers.

Here is what CNN had to say about a recent transition team powwow:

Biden team prepares to revamp the US refugee admissions program

(CNN)President Donald Trump spent years limiting the number of refugees coming to the United States. President-elect Joe Biden, meanwhile, has pledged to set the annual refugee admissions cap at 125,000. But first, his team will have to contend with the damage left behind.

The refugee cap, which dictates how many refugees may be admitted to the US, must be approved by the president [The President sets the level with the US State Department, but the President is the decider—ed]. But where the cap has often been viewed as a goal to be reached, the actual number of refugees admitted has fallen short under the Trump administration.

Correction! The number set is a CEILING that is not to be surpassed except in a case of an emergency. It is rarely achieved. It was never meant to be a goal! See below that even St. Obama fell short. They NEVER tell you that!

This year, the Trump administration set a refugee cap of 15,000, the lowest level since 1980.

“The program that this incoming administration is inheriting is on its last breath,” said Danielle Grigsby, director of policy and practice at Refugee Council USA.

“It’s going to require both political will and an early investment in overturning policies to see the program begin to operate as it can and is intended to.”

[….]

“The infrastructure within the government, as well as the infrastructure in the NGO community, has been very badly affected by the last four years, so we’re assessing that in order to figure out how quickly the administration can move,” a transition official told reporters during a Tuesday press call. [If the infrastructure is so damaged how did those NGO CEOs’ salaries increase!—ed]

Hmmm! A little waffling from Biden?

“It will get done and it will get done quickly. But it’s not going to be able to be done on day one, lift every restriction that exists,” Biden said.

Building up refugee admissions has been a focus between the Biden transition team and the Department of Homeland Security, which plays a role in the process, according to a source familiar with the discussions, who noted that the team is assessing what needs to be fixed to eventually hit Biden’s goal.

Asked if the Biden administration would endeavor to set that cap in fiscal year 2021, a transition official said it’s “early to say,” adding that it “depends on the state of the infrastructure, which is something we’re determining.”

[….]

In the last few years of Obama’s presidency, the administration raised the refugee ceiling from 85,000 in fiscal year 2016 to 110,000 in fiscal year 2017 amid the Syrian crisis.

It gets tiresome to have to continually demonstrate how devious these people are when they talk to the uninformed media, but I guess someone has to do it.

Note how the propagandists like to tout those Obama CEILINGS! Well here is the reality.

Data below is from the Refugee Processing Center that, I am sorry to say, has been deleted or removed from public view so as to keep you in the dark going forward. Lucky for me I had a screenshot of this page.

Look very closely at the Ceilings in the first column and the actual admissions in the second one. Obama’s presidency began in 2009. What do you see? He never reached the Ceiling and in some years fell many thousands of refugees short of that Ceiling.

CNN continues….

My guess is that Strack is itching for a big job in a Biden Admin. She seems to be all over the place throwing in her two cents worth.

Barbara Strack, former chief of the Refugee Affairs Division at US Citizenship and Immigration Services, was involved in the push to increase the capand cautioned that rebuilding the program will take time. Even so, signaling an intent to drive up arrivals is significant, Strack argued.

“I still think it’s very worthwhile for the administration to share that goal publicly because it lets the State Department, USCIS and [the Office of Refugee Resettlement] to start building that level,” she said. “It gives everyone their marching orders on what to build toward.”

[….]

The dwindling of the refugee ceiling under Trump has also had ripple effects in the US resettlement process, particularly for agencies tasked with helping refugees get set up.

The US Catholic Bishops want a refugee czar in the White House! Gee where have I heard this before!

https://isim.georgetown.edu/profile/ashley-feasley/

Ashley Feasley, director of policy at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, a refugee resettlement agency, said her organization is advocating that the Biden team appoint a senior-level White House coordinator to coordinate federal agencies and other stakeholders around rebuilding the US refugee admissions program.

More here.

So we can add Danielle, Barbara and Ashley to the list of those who put Americans last!

Americans Last!

This is what I said to Neil Munro at Breitbart, and you should ask the same every chance you get.

There’s no sense trying to argue with [progressives] except to turn it back and say; ‘What about our own poor people? Why aren’t they interested in taking care of our poor Americans? Our homeless? Why are refugees and immigrants somehow cooler and more desirable to take care of than our own poor people? Have we run out of poor Americans to take care of?’ No, clearly, we have not run out of poor Americans.

For new readers these are the Progressive groups, some claim they are ‘religious’ charities, that put the wellbeing of refugees and illegal migrants ahead of struggling Americans.