I have to make myself write about this mostly because I am so sick of Congress pretending to do something about some of the greatest issues we face—this time the expected arrival of tens of thousands of unscreened Syrian refugees. This bill is fig leaf, they think we are dumb!
And because I’m bored and disgusted you can read all about it here at World Net Daily when it passed the House in the wake of the Paris terrorist attack.
But to see the HUGE grassroots campaign the federally-funded refugee resettlement contractors are undertaking you would think the bill (assuming it passes AND is signed into law by Obama) would actually slow their flow of mostly Muslim refugees they want to move into your towns and cities. They are screaming bloody murder!
This is from a campaign launched by one of their latest fronts #WeWelcomeRefugees. (If you look closely, it is the same gang, just a new-sounding name.) Here is what our old pals at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) are telling their followers:
Wahhhh! Don’t let those meanies take away our Syrians and Iraqis! (We get paid by the head to drop them in your towns!)
From LIRS lobbyist Brittney Nystrom: Brittney Nystrom LIRS lobbyist: “Make certain that in 2016 America stands for renewed hope not renewed hate.”
We hope you are well-rested from your Christmas and New Year celebrations because we need your help! Urge your Senators to vote with compassion next week on a bill that would cripple the United States’ refugee program’s ability to protect the most vulnerable.
[….]
If this bill were signed into law, it would become nearly impossible to welcome certain refugees. Further, the bill subjects Syrian and Iraqi refugees to differential treatment and intense scrutiny as a means of preventing their resettlement in the United States. [I agree, they should have added all the refugees from Muslim countries including Somalia!—ed]
This reactionary billpassed the House of Representatives just days after the tragic attacks in Paris, displaying a lack of understanding of the robust [What the h*** is ‘robust?’ so sick of that word!—ed] and secure vetting process before a refugee is admitted to the United States. In fact, many Representatives who initially voted for the bill signaled regret later.
LIRS believes, based on over 75 years of experience resettling refugees, that our resettlement system must not be foreclosed to the most vulnerable, including Syrians and Iraqis …..
Go here to read the rest and see how they are urging their Open Borders friends to call their Senators before tomorrow.
‘Faith leaders’ in support of more Muslim migration to America!
Is your rabbi, pastor or priest on the list?
By far the most useful information Ms. Nystrom provides is this list of all the “faith” leaders on the ‘religious Left’ who support MORE Muslim migration to America, more ‘unaccompanied alien children’ for your towns, and who were involved I’m sure in lobbying for the Gang of Eight (amnesty) bill as LIRS did as well.
There is even a state-by-state list of the clergy “welcoming” Muslim migrants to your towns! Go hereand also (quickly) save the list!
Here is the hot news this morning. The LA Times has a more detailed account of the story that broke overnight, than some other news outlets (maybe CA is getting a little more sensitive to the terrorists living in their midst).
The two Iraqis are actually Palestinians who had been living in Iraq. By the way, we only bring a small number of Palestinians to the US as refugees. And, it is not clear to me if one or either of these actually became refugees by arriving here through some other means and then granted asylum. I guess only theirfederal resettlement contractorknows for sure! Al Hardan was arrested in Houston, TX. However, in all likelihood at least one of the two came from our special resettlement project for Palestinians when back in 2009 the US State Department agreed to bring in 1,350 Iraqi Palestinians to your neighborhoods.
It was quite big news at the time. And, the issue was that these were Palestinians Saddam Hussein had invited to live in Iraq and once the regime fell, no one wanted them.
Because of his arrival date, at least one of the two alleged Islamic terrorists could have been in that group. Here is what we said in 2009.
Now, the LA Times:
A man who came to the U.S. as an Iraqi refugee was arrested in Sacramento on Thursday on suspicion of lying about fighting alongside terrorist organizations in Syria, federal authorities said.
On the same day, federal authorities in Houston announced that an Iraqi refugee in Texas, who had been communicating online with the man in California, was charged with attempting to provide support to the militant group Islamic State.
The allegations against two men residing in the U.S. with links to foreign terrorist groups comes as the nation reels from the Dec. 2 shooting in San Bernardino, which left 14 dead. That is considered the deadliest terrorist act on U.S. soil since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
And the arrests of two refugees from Iraq, part of a wave of about 103,000*** Iraqi refugees admitted from 2006 to 2014, is likely to add fuel to the debate over whether the U.S. should welcome refugees from Syria, and if so, whether the screening process is adequate.
The man living in Sacramento, Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, had reported in private messages on social media that he fought alongside various groups in Syria, including Ansar al-Islam, a Sunni terrorist group and an affiliate of Al Qaeda, according to a federal complaint filed Wednesday and unsealed Thursday.
There is much more here…..
Because of the ages at which these two must have arrived in the US (as teenagers), it shows how ludicrous the discussion about vetting refugees can be when they are obviously becoming more devoutafter they get here (I refuse to use the word radicalized!).
And, these two are not the first, remember there is another pair of Iraqi refugee terrorists in federal prison. See our complete archive on the Kentucky terrorists by clicking here.
The only way to make sure we are completely safe is to stop the migration from terror-producing Islamic countries!
*** I’ve been meaning to check out the numbers for Iraq for some time.
Using the State Department’s data base I went back to 2007 and grabbed a map from then until December 31, 2015. The Bush Administration was slow to admit Iraqi refugees, but opened the door in its last year in office. The Obama Administration has made Iraqis the largest group of refugees we admit each year since then. Here is where 127,906 Iraqis have been resettled since 2007(remember though that this does not mean they stayed where the contractors originally seeded them).
Top five states:
California (26,343)
Michigan (19,186)
Texas (12,314)
Illinois (7,336)
Massachusetts (4,322)
And, because it isn’t far behind (for my VA friends), Virginia (4,158)
I’m glad to see 2016 Presidential candidate and US Senator Rand Paul annoying the Left as Mediaite reports here.
See our post yesterdaywhere we pointed out that a couple of years ago Paul was an outspoken critic of the program, then had gone underground on the topic. I guess he is back and his comments about welfare are important.
The Kentucky Iraqi terrorists were “vetted” refugees, but watch for the NO Borders crowd to say that the Tsarnaev (Boston Bomber) brothers were not “refugees.”
Before I get to the news I want to reiterate that those who enter the US either legally or illegally, request asylum, and then are granted political asylum (become asylees) are just as much refugees as those we fly in. Our present asylum process is also a result of the Refugee Act of 1980 and once someone is granted political asylum they are eligible for all the perks of those we have flown in. They can also seek out the ‘services’ of the nine major federal resettlement contractors. This is from the Leftwing Migration Policy Institute, but I urge you to see the report on Refugees and Asylees. This graph shows that in 2013 over 25,000 were granted political refugee status after getting in here in some other way.They came in without screening! http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-united-states
But, as the issue continues to cause controversy, the Leftwing agitators will continue to try to cause confusion in the public mind. Hereis Mediaite on Paul (emphasis is mine):
The Republican presidential candidate said the refugee screening process is “absolutely not” rigorous enough to allow migrants into the United States. “The fact that we had two Iraqi refugees posing as refugees come into our country and want to attack us with stinger missiles shows that it wasn’t, and I don’t believe still is, very rigorous,” he said.
“The Boston bombers came here as refugees,” Paul noted. “We coddled them, we gave them free stuff, we gave them free housing, and yet, they decided to attack us, so there’s a great risk.”
Despite accusations that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev moved to the United States through the refugee program, the family never applied for refugee status to gain entry into the country. Instead, their family arrived on a six-month visa and applied for political asylum once they were in the United States. [You see how the Left spins this, they are just as much refugees as those we have flown in—ed]
“It’s a mistake for the Obama administration to downplay the risk,” Paul said, adding he fought the Obama administration “all week in the Senate and I promise you this battle’s not over.”
Last week, Paul introduced a bill to put a moratorium on U.S. visas for refugees; in a speech to congress, the Kentucky senator argued, “…when the poem beneath the Statue of Liberty says ‘give me your tired, give me your poor,’ it didn’t say come to our country and we’ll put you on welfare.”
By the way, when you hear someone say we only bring in 70,000 (soon to be 85,000) refugees, please remember that we also grant asylum to approximately 25,000 more each year, then we admit 50,000 (probably not screened!) in through the absolutely insane ‘Diversity Visa Lottery.’ Hundreds of thousands are here in the ‘Temporary Protected Status’ category, and thousands more through other smaller legal programs, not to mention tens of thousands of unaccompanied alien children.
So, I guess I am saying don’t focus exclusively on the 10,000 Syrians, there is much more danger and expensethroughout the system.
Since my two previous posts are so popular—the first is on Syrians admitted to the US in FY2016 (which began on Oct. 1) and the second on Somalis admitted in those same 6 weeks, I thought you might like to know about the Iraqis who have been coming into the US (over 100,000 since Obama took office.Hereis one summary through 2013 and a large portion of 2014. I’ll get more complete numbers later).
My Somali post made it to Drudge! What an honor!
This is where the 1,070 have gone in the last six weeks. Top five Iraqi resettlement states so far this year are: Texas, California, Michigan, Washington and Colorado.
And here is how their religions break down (directly from the Refugee Processing Center data base, these are their categories and spelling):
Atheist: 3
Catholic: 69
Christian: 24
Moslem: 44
Moslem Shiite: 427
Moslem Suni: 435
Orthodox: 20
Yazidi: 40
Interesting isn’t it! When you see almost equal numbers of Shiites and Sunis don’t you wonder why we are bringing in both sides of the warring factions?
Supposedly the bill being supported by Speaker Paul Ryan that seeks to get administration assurance that no terrorists are getting in through the refugee stream to America only involves Syrians and Iraqis. What about Somalis? And, isn’t it a bit late considering we have admitted over 100,000 Somalis and over 100,000 Iraqis to live in your towns and cities?
Anyone want to write a book on the Iraqi resettlement, we have 673 previous postsgoing back 8 years on that resettlement.
Editor: For new readers, from time to time we post guest columns and comments from readers. All of those are posted in our category entitled, ‘Comments worth noting/guest posts.’ This (below) is very important information from someone who has worked for a refugee resettlement agency and seen firsthand the fraud being perpetrated on American taxpayers. It should serve as further confirmation that the US Refugee Admissions Program has gone seriously astray. From Disillusioned (why I support Rep. Brian Babin’sbill). Prepare to be shocked:
Ann, I started to work five years ago in the refugee resettlement field to serve as a Christian witness through service and assistance. However, I quickly became dismayed as I saw the rampant, but undocumentable, fraud committed by Muslim Iraqi (and Cuban) refugees. While I am sure there must be fraud among other ethnic/religious people groups, Iraqi Muslims are the largest group resettled in my area. The amount of fraudulent income reporting (and non-reporting) by refugee clients is disturbing and fiscally unsustainable.
Florida EBT card: Office of Economic Self-Sufficiency?
As your readers (should) know, the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act(H.R. 3314) places an immediate suspension on allowing immigrants into the United States under the refugee resettlement program, until the Government Accountability Office (GAO) completes a thorough examination of its costs on federal, state and local governments.
The following are some of the reasons I support this bill.
Average duration for which refugees receive benefits. – The refugees for whom I apply for state benefits (food stamps, temporary cash assistance, Medicaid) reapply for benefits every six months. The resettlement agency (VOLAG) can assist them with benefit renewal applications for up to five years! Many of these refugees, particularly from Iraq and Afghanistan, come into this country with cash, as evidenced by their purchase of new furniture, clothing, cars, and even homes, within a very short time of their arrival. This could not be done on strictly temporary cash assistance and usually, minimum wage jobs.
It is well known in the resettlement community and by the State of Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) Refugee Services that many recipients work for cash, receiving payment “under the table” and never report their actual income to the DCF when reapplying for government benefits. Many of these clients continue to receive food stamps even after they have been here up to and over five years!
The percentage of aliens who receive benefits is 100 percent for resettled refugees. In my job at the VOLAG, I apply for food stamps, temporary aid to needy families (families with children) or refugee cash assistance (singles or couples with no children), and Medicaid. These applications are automatic and are part of the required resettlement core services.
Every refugee who is aged 65 or older automatically receives assistance in applying for SSI benefits! This is automatic, whether the refugee has any presenting issues, other than age, or not! Some refugees under age 65 are turned down after medical reviews do not reveal mental or medical issues. However, refugees aged 65+ are automatically approved for SSI benefits. Social Security Spotlight on SSI Benefits for Aliens – 2015.
It is common knowledge among VOLAG coworkers and employees of the DCF that many refugees commit fraud regularly in their (lack of) income reporting. We are aware of this fraud but have no paper documentation or proof. Certain local small grocery stores, convenience stores, ethnic restaurants, Halal meat markets, bakeries, and imported foods stores hire these refugees, pay them under the table, and the refugees continue to receive benefits for which you and I pay.
Here are a couple of other abuses I have personally seen:
A Liberian refugee entered the country legally but managed to get his adult son brought over as a refugee minor to serve as his caretaker. The son has verbally admitted to me that he was over 21 years of age when he arrived in this country but his fraudulent documents showed him to be under 18!
A Cuban couple entered this country with documents which show them as married, however, they verbally stated to their caseworker that they are not married and the “wife” plans to move in with friends. She will continue to receive benefits while her friends support her as she has “no income.”
A Muslim Ethiopian-Somali refugee abruptly quit his job when he found he cannot stop work to pray five times a day!
An Arabic speaking “friend” “translates” the driver’s license test for Arabic speakers in northeast Florida. His “friends” pay over $250 for a driver’s license as he gives the correct answers to them and for them.
RRW readers simply must find the refugee resettlement and immigration events in your city and state and SHOW UP! You need to know what is going on in your area. You need to “push back” and demand answers about the impact this is having on your neighborhoods, local schools, HUD housing, slum lorded apartment complexes, and your local, state and federal government expenses.
Yes, I know and love many good hearted, honest, hardworking immigrants and refugees. From my experiences, most of these come from the persecuted Christian Burmese, Bhutanese, Congolese and Sudanese populations. I have “gone to bat” for them as I’ve tutored in English, taken children to school, doctor appointments, church activities.
I encourage you to volunteer at your local VOLAG and, if you are a Christian, share the love of God in Jesus Christ with them. Whether you are a Christian or not, volunteer to help them assimilate into a free nation built upon Judeo-Christian worldview and values for the sake of your own children and grandchildren!
Ann Corcoran has done an Herculean job of researching and documenting information for you. Burn up her website finding out what is happening in your area. Use these links to do some research on your own:
Endnote: Besides support for Rep. Brian Babin’s bill (which I am told now has 50 co-sponsors), everyone must begin, starting today, to call your Member of Congress, your US Senators and the leadership and demand that they stop the funding for the Refugee Admissions Program for FY2016as Congress will be debating funding for the entire government in advance of a December 11th deadline. See my post here for more information.
