Category: health issues

City Journal: Refugees bring numerous health problems with them to your towns; more reporting needed

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

LOL! But New York City dwellers need not worry too much because most refugees resettled in the state of New York go to other towns and cities.  New York is virtually always in the top five resettlement states in the nation.
This article at City Journal by Jonathan Leaf is a bit strange as one is initially cautioned about using fear mongering on the subject of refugee health, but when you read carefully writer Leaf then tells readers about some serious health concerns and he wraps up with this paragraph:

Regardless of their views of secularism, constitutionalism, or jihad, refugees entering the United States from the Middle East may be vulnerable to or carrying an array of potentially serious ailments. Thoughtful reporting on this aspect of the refugee debate is long overdue.

We have been doing thoughtful reporting on refugee health issues for nine years! For any serious student of refugee health, visit our ‘health issues’ category with 319 previous posts on the topic.

congolese-fig12
We are bringing in 50,000 from the DR Congo at this time. Communicable diseases found in Congolese refugees during domestic medical examinations in 6 states from 2010–2013 (n=2,355)* From the CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/profiles/congolese/health-information/communicable-disease/std.html

Here (below) is more from City Journal.  I don’t see any mention of huge mental health treatment needed by refugees or any mention of who is paying for all the treatment (that would be you, the taxpayer).

Most of the critical comments in the press—and almost all of the hostile insinuations from our politicians—about the arrival of refugees from the Middle East have focused on the newcomers’ Islamic faith. The persistent question being asked is, “What are the implications of a growth in the numbers of Muslims in our country?” This might be a legitimate concern, but it’s obscuring immediate issues about the health of these refugees. That subject is either ignored or presented in hysterical terms.

[….]

For residents of New York City, afflictions affecting refugees are unlikely to have much immediate consequence. That’s because the federal agency coordinating refugee resettlement is bringing roughly 95 percent of refugees entering the state to locations outside the city. In addition, all refugees entering the country receive two medical screenings. One, which is intensive, is undertaken three to six months before arrival. A much briefer follow-up examination is done just before the refugee comes to our shores. [As we have said previously, having been screened does not mean they are screened out and denied entry!—ed]

[….]

Many refugees now arriving in the United States are affected by potentially serious communicable ailments. Indeed, since at least 2001, health authorities in Minnesota have known that more than one-third of those in the state with active tuberculosis cases were Somali immigrants. This problem has existed among many other immigrant groups as well, according to a study published by the National Institutes of Health, including patients from “Ethiopia, Laos, Mexico, Vietnam, Mexico, Liberia and India.” Thus, by 2014, 73 percent of tuberculosis cases in Minnesota affected the foreign-born, and approximately two-thirds of TB cases nationally are found among immigrants.

[….]

The infected may develop the disease later or act as carriers of the bacillus.

Measles has become endemic in Syria, and Syrians show high rates of infection with highly communicable hepatitis A. Refugees wishing to come to the United States must demonstrate that they have been immunized for these diseases.

Of greater concern is the incidence of parasitic infections among refugees.

On this last point, I agree with author Leaf that the parasitic infections are not being given much attention.  Indeed that young Congolese boy who died at O’Hare may well have died from an E-coli infection as a result of severe parasite destruction of his intestines.  (Google the story because the autopsy has been released.)
Click here to read more.
One story I didn’t get to this week, is Michael Patrick Leahy’s latest on Tuberculosis (Ticking Time Bomb) in the immigrant/refugee community. Leahy has obviously made it his mission to put the spotlight on what Leaf describes as a legitimate (and under-reported) concern.
Warning! Not only should you be concerned for your personal health and your family members’ health who must come in contact with refugees newly arrived in America, but you should be concerned for your pocket books! Obamacare does not have money trees growing in Washington no matter what the Democrats might want you to believe!

More secrecy in Michigan about TB rates in resettled refugees there

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It seems almost every day that Breitbart publishes a new investigative report on Tuberculosis in refugees arriving in the US.  I will bet every one of you, before Michael Leahy began his series, believed that we screened TB and other infectious diseases out of the legal immigrant flow to America—not so!
Here is Leahy’s latest on the state becoming the epicenter of growing revelations about carelessness with refugee health screening.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, most county health departments in the state, and the local Michigan offices of refugee resettlement agencies are hiding refugee latent tuberculosis (TB) infection rates from the public.

Michigan’s culture of concealment stands in contrast to how several other states deal with latent TB infection rates among refugees.

tb-symptoms-2
Signs and symptoms to help you determine if someone close to you has TB

As Breitbart News reported, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) does not collect latent TB infection rate data from the county health departments and local resettlement agency providers it hires to conduct initial domestic medical screenings for arriving refugees, nor does it acknowledge its clear legal obligation to do so under the Refugee Act of 1980.

“We do not have that data,” MDHHS spokesperson Bob Wheaton told Breitbart News when asked for data on LTBI infection rates based on the entire population of refugees screened.

MDHHS has hired several county health departments and, in some counties, private refugee health screen services working in cooperation with local resettlement agencies to conduct initial domestic medical screenings of arriving refugees. Under Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and MDHHS guidelines, every refugee who completes such a screening is tested for latent TB infection.

But MDHHS says neither the counties nor the private refugee health screening services share this data with them, and the counties and private refugee health screening services who have the refugee latent TB infection data refuse to make that information public.

In the case of at least one private refugee health screening service, the Arab American and Chaldean Council, which MDHHS has hired to conduct refugee health screenings in Wayne County, Macomb County, and Oakland County, that data is also not being shared with health departments in those counties. Providing that data to local county health departments is a requirement of the Refugee Act of 1980. [Too bad we don’t have a legal foundation devoted solely to bringing lawsuits as the Refugee Act is being violated on a regular basis—ed]

Continue reading here.  Embedded are links to TB data from many other states.
See our very extensive Health Issues category with 318 previous posts about refugees, diseases and mental health.

Refugee child died arriving in Chicago; look for many more problems as the DOS crams them into your towns

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

My next post today was going to be on this very subject when I spotted this news about an 8-year-old refugee boy from the DR Congo dying mysteriously during a flight change in Chicago.  His family was reportedly on the way to Texas and their new home (so much for Governor Abbott’s efforts to close the program in the state).

congolese-refugees
We told the United Nations we would take in 50,000 from the DR Congo over 5 years. We took about a 1000 in FY12. We are now up to 33,212. These are very needy people (some small number of Muslims in the mix), and they will not be contributing members of the community for a very long time. We have seen reports that the women need mental health treatment. Texas received the most so far (3,724).

We will have to wait until an autopsy is performed to learn why the child sickened and died.  Here is the news at Breitbart:

“An 8-year-old refugee from Congo died Tuesday after landing at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport,” the local CBS affiliate reports:

David Dieme, an 8-year-old boy landed Tuesday at approximately 4:30 p.m. with a refugee family at O’Hare International Airport.

Dieme was traveling with his father and several other children, who arrived to Chicago on a flight from Dubai. After clearing paperwork, the family was being escorted to their next flight, when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer noticed Dieme unresponsive.

Emergency Medical Services was immediately notified and arrived at the terminal. Standard procedures are in place to address sick passengers, according to a spokesman for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Dieme was sick prior to the flight, but did not report any symptoms on the flight. He was examined at the airport by CDC officials, in an isolated room. Dieme’s temperature was taken, but he had no fever. He experienced diarrhea and vomiting. It was determined he should be taken to the hospital.

Dieme was taken to Presence Resurrection Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Waiting on an autopsy report.
Leahy continues:

Breitbart News has reported extensively on the public health risk to the general public posed by a resurgence of diseases that had been on a path to eradication until the recent influx of migration to the country. Among the diseases newly resurgent are tuberculosis, whooping cough, intestinal parasites, mumps, and measles.

Refugees are required to undergo overseas medical screenings prior to their arrival in the United States. Those screenings, however, do not prohibit refugees with a number of diseases from arriving in the United States. Few arriving refugees, for instance, are tested and treated for latent tuberculosis infection prior to their arrival in the United States.

Though initial domestic medical screenings of all arriving refugees are recommended within ninety days of their arrival, those screenings are not required by either law or regulation.

Go here for more of that news (plus to follow the links I was too lazy to add!).

Is carelessness and neglect of the refugees themselves the inevitable next step as the White House has obviously demanded the program be accelerated? 

I think it’s a very real possibility.
Did this child die because it was a rush-job to get his family here?
With the huge number of refugees being flown in to the US right now, look for refugees to not be properly taken care of  with possible breaches of the contract the resettlement agencies sign with the Department of State.
Our news above highlights the medical issues that might be overlooked when attempting to get the refugees placed at an accelerated pace.  Are they cutting corners on more than security screening?

What you need to do where you live: look for refugees being neglected by the agencies hired to bring them in.

I think there is a very good chance that your local resettlement agency won’t be able to handle the numbers coming in.  We are already hearing about drives in many communities to find enough volunteers. (I’ve heard there is a pretty high turnover rate for volunteers as they learn how needy, and sometimes not very grateful, the refugees can be.)

  • If you see refugees confused and wandering in an airport, take note.  They are supposed to be met by the resettlement agency and escorted to an apartment where the refrigerator is required to be stocked with culturally appropriate food.
  • Get friendly with the local medical officials in your town and stay on top of any notices being released to the public about health threats arriving in your community. Try to find out if the refugees are being screened in the prescribed time frame and whether school-aged children are being vaccinated.
  • Look for refugees being placed in temporary housing. Refugees are supposed to have apartments/houses that have sleeping space for large families. (You probably have a zoning code requiring certain limits on family size for the size of the apartment.)
  • Keep an eye out for any news about refugees being homeless (yes, that is happening).
  • Report any suspicions about refugee kids turning up at school hungry or sick.
  • If you see or hear that refugees are not being supplied with adequate winter clothing and bedding, take note.
  • You should try to find out how many refugees are living in your community and what sort of housing they have. Have they been placed in dangerous slums.  Especially try to determine if any of your local poor and disabled are being bumped down the list for subsidized housing.
  • See if refugees who speak little English are being bugged unnecessarily soon by the resettlement agency for the repayment of the airfare loan (which they get a cut of!).
  • Maybe even volunteer yourself so that you will have firsthand knowledge of any shortcuts the resettlement agencies are taking in the care of the refugees.  Remember the contractors are supposed to be putting their own time and money into this and if they can’t do a good job they need to say to the DOS—we can’t handle that many refugees! Don’t send so many. (NOT! Ask for more federal money.)

So what do you do if you believe refugees are being neglected, contact the US Department of State.
Barbara Day is in charge of the resettlement of refugees to your towns via the contractors (or at least she was last I checked). Send her any information you have about refugees not being taken care of by your local resettlement agency.
Her address is:

Barbara Day

Domestic Resettlement Section Chief

Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration

2202 C St. NW

Washington, DC 20520

This may still be her e-mail address:  daybj@state.gov

If Islamic terrorists don't scare you, Tuberculosis should!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Michael Patrick Leahy writing at Breitbart reported yesterday on yet another case of active Tuberculosis in the refugee flow to America. I will wager that the vast majority of Americans have no idea that refugees are walking around sometimes for weeks and months with TB (even active TB) interacting with you in schools, stores, and in the workplace.

tb-symptoms
Are you around refugees/immigrants who cough a lot? Know the warning signs.

Here is the latest from Michigan, yesterday, at Breitbart (hat tip: Drudge):

An Iraqi refugee who arrived in Oakland County, Michigan in June 2015 was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) in March of this year, a spokesperson for the Oakland County Health and Human Services Department (OCHD) tells Breitbart News.

[….]

News that at least one recently resettled refugee has been diagnosed with active TB in Michigan brings the number of states that have confirmed recently resettled refugees have been diagnosed with active TB to twelve. The other eleven states (with the number of refugees diagnosed with active TB shown in parentheses) include Wisconsin (27), Nebraska (21), Louisiana (21), Vermont (17), Colorado (16), Florida (11), Ohio (11 in one county), Idaho (7), Kentucky (9 in one county), North Dakota (4 in one county), and Indiana (4).

Continue reading here.
This is one more important reason why the House and Senate Judiciary Committees should be holding hearings right now! 
In addition to following the law which requires Congressional hearings before the new fiscal year begins, hearings would begin to lay the ground work for extensive reform of the Refugee Admissions Program in a new administration.
See Leahy’s story this morning on Obama’s proposal for FY 2017—110,000 refugees for your towns next year!—in which I am quoted.
I’ve asked this before but will keep asking it, are volunteers who sign up to help refugees settle-in instructed in how to protect themselves from communicable diseases?
Refugees have a lot of health problems, see our health issues category with 316 previous posts by clicking here.

ORR snubs Michigan elected official, says it is his duty to find out about quarterly meetings

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We have reported on the legally required quarterly ‘stakeholder’ meetings that are held (or should be held) in every community being seeded with refugees.  Those meetings are largely secretive with few (if any) being announced in local newspaper public notices.  (Here is what we said in May 2015, and in October 2015 about the quarterly consultations).  LOL! they have only been holding the legally required consultations since 2013 as you will see in my October 2015 post.

bob_carey_large_photo_1-1
This is Bob Carey, the Director of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). ORR is in Health and Human Services. Carey was formerly a VP at the federal contractor International Rescue Committee. Where is Congress, couldn’t they disallow this revolving door between government agency and contractor (and back again!)?

We assume that the resettlement contractors only want to include ‘their’ people and the fewest number possible representing impacted agencies in the community, thus the secrecy.
From Michael Patrick Leahy at Breitbart:

Robert Carey, the Obama administration’s director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), recently told Oakland County, Michigan that the agency he directs has no intention of complying with the Refugee Act of 1980‘s requirement that it “consult regularly …with local governments concerning the sponsorship process and the intended distribution among the States and localities before their placement in those States and localities.”

[….]

Carey places the burden for finding out about these “consultation” meetings and attending them on Oakland County. The Refugee Act of 1980, however, requires both the director of ORR and “the federal agency administering the program,” which could mean an employee of ORR, to consult with the locality prior to the placement of refugees there. The statute does not include any provision to accomplish this consultation through the State Refugee Coordinator, who actually is an employee of the state government, not a representative of the federal bureaucracy.

Continue reading here to see the exchange between Carey and local elected government officials in Oakland County.

Now you should call Carey out on his assertion that the State Refugee Coordinators are the ones to call to get invited to the quarterly consultations. 

Here is the list of State Refugee Coordinators.  Get on the phone today and tell yours that you are a stakeholder (a taxpayer footing the bill) and you want to be notified of the next quarterly meeting near where you live. There will likely be one in September.
If you get snubbed, or get no response….
Then take the next step and call or write to your elected officials in Washington (your Member of Congress and US Senators) and complain and tell them you want the budget cut for refugee resettlement for FY2017 as well! Nothing short of cutting off the taxpayer spigot will stop the invasion and the Republicans in Congress control the flow of money!
Our complete Michigan archive is here.  And, don’t miss Leahy this week as well about how Michigan health officials are hiding information on the health status of refugees resettled to the state.

Visit Secure Michigan!  This is a model for what you should be doing where you live—publish a state blog on the refugee program.  It does no good if you do all sorts of research and then not share the information you find with a growing number of concerned citizens in your state!