Fate of Syrian resettlement in US this year rests in the hands of Ryan and McConnell

11/17/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’m happy to report that our readers are more up on the news than I have been these last few days. Thanks to all of you who are sending me hot-off-the-press news on the roiling controversy about Syrian refugee resettlement AP (After Paris). I just don’t have the time to post it all!

Ryan and Mcconnell — Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority leader McConnell will be the ones who determine the fate of resettlement of Syrian refugees in the US this year (not the governors!). Kentucky is gradually becoming an important resettlement target and it’s been a mystery to me why McConnell has let it happen. I can only assume McConnell gets campaign contributions from industries, including the chicken processing industry, which needs cheap reliable laborers. For ambitious readers, we have a very large archive on Kentucky extending back many years (with many problems) here: https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/?s=Kentucky

LOL! I did take a break today as Rush Limbaugh held forth for what I assume was much of his show and every time I turned on the TV I heard the “R” word (refugee). Heck, everyone is covering it, I reminded myself.
Here, at Politico, is a story from yesterday I’ve been meaning to get to.
Don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful that governors across the country are speaking up, but even if you wish them to have the power to stop the resettlement (unless there was a Constitutional challenge which does need to get underway, but will take years!) there is really only one place it can be done quickly with any finality (for this year) and that is in Congress where the FUNDING MUST BE CUT OFF.
See our post on Saturday where I said just that—CONGRESS MUST USE ITS POWER OF THE PURSE!
The refugee resettlement contractors know that very well or they wouldn’t have had an emergency press conference call today!
Here is Politico telling us what the stakes are and informing us that what happens next will be the first crisis for new House Speaker Paul Ryan.

A cascade of Republicans on Monday implored the Obama administration to scrap plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States next year, saying they pose an unacceptable security risk in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

And, in a dramatic twist, the sudden standoff is raising the possibility of a government shutdown next month.

Throughout the day a host of Republican governors around the country, wary that refugees could end up in their home states, blasted President Barack Obama’s plans. But those governors lack real sway over the process, and some are asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to insert a provision in the Dec. 11 spending bill that would bar more Syrian settlers.

Did you see this? Lindsey Graham has backed off his earlier proposal to ADD funding for Syrian resettlement!

The politics are moving fast: The Democratic governor of New Hampshire, a Senate candidate, is siding with conservatives, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is reversing his support for a $1 billion spending bill intended to allow in more Syrian refugees after touting the measure just weeks ago. GOP leaders are keeping their options open as they mull whether to try to block new Syrian refugees by adding language to the must-pass spending bill.

[….]

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), one of the leading immigration hard-liners in the Capitol, sent a letter to colleagues calling for provisions in the omnibus spending bill that would give Congress more oversight over Syrian refugees.

[….]

Ryan and McConnell will have to decide quickly on a course of action as they confront the first potential legislative crisis since Ryan became speaker.

More here.
Please everyone, starting tomorrow call your Washington elected representatives and call the leadership—Ryan and McConnell—and let them know how you feel. And, keep calling through the Thanksgiving recess.
By the way, the resettlement contractors*** are ginning up their grassroots and the most maddening part of that is that they get to use your tax dollars to do it!
***Nine major federal contractors which like to call themselves VOLAGs (Voluntary agencies) which is such a joke considering how much federal money they receive:

Syracuse, NY refugee story confirms imported immigrant poverty does not revitalize cities

11/13/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Did you ever hear of the ‘big lie theory?’ Basically it says that the lie is so colossal no one would believe you made it up. But, one of many big lies perpetrated by the refugee resettlement industry is the one which says pouring thousands of impoverished immigrants into a dying city will revive it—-a concept which defies logic and commonsense!
Here is a story in The Atlantic (not some right wing blog!) about how the city of Syracuse is becoming more impoverished as the refugees pour in.
For our readers from Minnesota, read the whole thing, because Somalis who are resettled in Syracuse are hightailing it to your neighborhood in search of jobs and better welfare (one Somali says he has to get money to send ‘home’ to Somalia). Which reminds me that phony-baloney studies on how immigrants supposedly bring boom times to cities, NEVER factor in the remittances the immigrants send out of the country thus making those dollars unavailable to the local economy.

New York map — If you live in New York State and want to learn more about what your state is giving refugees and who is involved, go here to this interactive map: https://otda.ny.gov/programs/bria/providers/default.asp?region=Central

Refugees falling into “perpetual poverty.”

SYRACUSE—Drive around this economically depressed city and the signs of the more than 10,000 refugees who have settled here are everywhere, from the ethnic grocery stores on the Northside to clusters of Somali Bantu women sitting in brightly colored veils and dresses in Central Village, one of the city’s housing projects in the Southside.

The number of refugees arriving in America is nearing a recent high, and will continue to track upward following an announcement by President Obama last month that the country would welcome at least 10,000 displaced Syrians.

Syracuse, like other cities in the North and Midwest that have experienced population losses, has put out the welcome mat for refugees, with Mayor Stephanie Miner joining 17 mayors in a letter to President Obama encouraging the country to accept even more Syrian refugees.

But Syracuse, like many other cities with large populations of refugees, is grappling with the challenges of bringing strangers from abroad to a down-and-out area. More than 70 different languages are spoken in Syracuse City schools, which a court has declared underfunded. Nearby Utica banned 17-to-20-year-olds from city schools, instead choosing to bus them to a school where they can’t earn a diploma. Syracuse is still trying to figure out how to find housing for refugees who can’t afford much and how to ensure, in a region where jobs are hard to come by, that refugees don’t fall into perpetual poverty.

So far, the city has struggled to deliver on those goals. According to analysis by Paul Jargowsky, a fellow at the Century Foundation, the number of high-poverty census tracts doubled in Syracuse from 2000 to 2013. Many of the areas that saw the highest jumps in concentrated poverty were Northside neighborhoods where large populations of refugees have resettled. Even there, refugees have a hard time finding affordable housing.

There is so much more, but I am running out of time. Please read it all yourself especially if you are in a ‘pocket of resistance’ and need more ammunition to persuade your local government to keep refugee contractors out of your cities and towns.
Because there is so much other interesting news today, apologies to all who were waiting for a report from my trip to Washington yesterday, I am likely not going to get to it until later today or tomorrow…other duties call.
Click here for our many, many posts on Syracuse.

Baltimore Mayor: Bring on the refugees to save dying city!

11/01/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

One of the great myths of our times—large numbers of immigrants will resuscitate dying cities.
We’ve written several times previously about Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake hoping to boost the population (and the economy!) of Baltimore city by bringing in thousands of impoverished third worlders.
Didn’t we see in the recent riots that African American gangs in the city don’t appreciate diversity in the same way as the mayor, go here to see what I mean.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake working with Muslim Brotherhood affiliated charity Islamic Relief USA to bring in more refugees from Africa and the Middle East. http://irusa.org/press-releases/rebuilding-a-city-rebuilding-lives-baltimore-welcomes-refugees/

In keeping with my new vow to keep it short. Here is the gist of the latest repeat of the same old news, this time from The Economist (hat tip: Cathy). Please read the whole propaganda piece yourself. (See what I mean below***)

IN COMMON with colleagues across the rich world, the mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, worries about refugees sent to her city by federal officials—a quota that this year, for the first time, may include hundreds of Syrians. Less typically, a big anxiety for Ms Rawlings-Blake is that too few refugees will settle in her home town.

Baltimore, a once-thriving port and factory town, has lost a third of its population since 1950, dropping to about 622,000 souls.

Like other north-eastern cities, it has grappled with economic decline, shrinking tax rolls and the toxic legacy of race laws which corralled black residents in districts blighted by bad schools and crime. Urban-renewal projects have brought tourists and professionals back to some districts after decades of white flight. But one of Ms Rawlings-Blake’s favourite projects—to attract 10,000 new families to Baltimore—remains a far-off dream.

For more than a decade, Maryland’s largest city has been used as an entry point for refugees, with federal agencies led by the State Department sending 700-800 there each recent year from such troubled places as Nepal, Iraq and Eritrea. About two-thirds moved on after a few years…. [Surprise! Not!—ed]

There is more here.
Go here for our previous posts on Baltimore.
***And see here, the British publication The Economist is all for “free immigration!” Here is what the oh-so-intelligent beings at The Economist believe in:

It takes an editorial stance ofclassical and economic liberalism which is supportive of free trade, globalisation, free immigration and cultural liberalism (such as supporting legal recognition for same-sex marriage).

Pickens County, SC sends message: No refugees for us (thank you very much)

10/24/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The article at Greenville Online entitled: ‘Refugee issue stirs strong emotions, despite no influx expected’ gives me an idea.

South Carolina counties — Pickens County is along the North Carolina border. Refugees are already in nearby Greenville and Spartanburg Counties.

Begin community organizing in advance!

Send a message now! Don’t wait until refugees are on the way!
The UN/US State Department (and the federal resettlement contractors) are out constantly scouting for fresh territory in which to “seed” refugees (especially since the numbers will swell this year with the Syrian migration), so how about sending a message preemptively that your town is not open for colonization, just as these resisters in Pickens County, SC have done.
If you go to this list of resettlement offices in 48 states, know that if your town is within 100 miles of any of them, you are fair game to be forced to resettle refugees.
Here are a few snips from the story, but please read it all, by clicking here.

Members of the Pickens County Republican Party recently heard a chilling update on the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program at Liberty Auditorium.

Nikki Halley at Newsweek — If Governor Nikki Haley wanted to she could send a clear message to the federal government just as Governor Deal has done in Georgia. The feds aren’t going to listen, but if enough REPUBLICAN governors spoke up, a Tenth Amendment states’ rights challenge could be mounted.

One of the forum speakers, Tara Servatius from WORD Radio, warned the crowd of about 40 that the refugee program is part of a conspiracy orchestrated by insiders in Washington that’s designed to create a one-party political system and enlarge a populace dependent on big government.

Critics of the alarmist sentiment, however, say the meeting only serves to show how unfounded some of the fears are regarding a mass influx of immigrants that simply aren’t expected to come to Pickens County. The differing opinions on extreme opposite ends of the spectrum reveal an emotional tug-of-war that exists in the Upstate.

[….]

Diane Hardy, who heads a “pocket of resistance” with a Facebook page called Secure South Carolina, tells the group that the refugees will suck up benefits paid for by South Carolina taxpayers and strain already overtaxed social services, law enforcement, schools and health care systems.

The speakers at the meeting placed the blame on Gov. Nikki Haley, who they said signed off on the federal government’s request to allow refugees here.

[….]

No city in Pickens County is listed as a destination for any refugees.

Haley’s unwillingness to face down the UN/US State Department puts her in the RINO/Chamber of Commerce camp which has bought in to the notion that big industry (the donor class!) needs cheap immigrant labor.
This post is archived in our ‘Pockets of Resistance’ category, here.

Big pow-wow of the refugee pushers and the no-borders gang coming up in December

10/19/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Who is working against American workers and your American towns and cities? Find out!
Let me be clear, many of you have foolishly (in my opinion) tried to make the distinction between LEGAL and ILLEGAL immigration for way too long (legal is good, illegal is bad). Please notice that the side, pushing for MASS MIGRATION, makes no such distinction.
They are all happily coming together surely (in December of this year) to get their marching orders (community/union organizing instructions!) for the 2016 Presidential race. LOL! to be a fly on the wall and hear how many times the name ‘TRUMP’ is mentioned.

eva Millona — Eva Millona is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. MIRA is a co-sponsor of the pow-wow at which they will denigrate you for standing up for your communities. http://www.miracoalition.org/en/about-us/staff

From New American Dreams (click on the site to follow links and to register):

We’ll be making history together Dec 13-15, 2015 at NIIC 2015. [for those who have enough money to stay in a hotel in Brooklyn—ed]

Founded over 25 years ago, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), the local Co-Host for NIIC 2015, is the leading advocate for New York’s immigrant communities on the local, state and national level. NYIC brinPrintgs together 165 organizations and entities that work with immigrants and refugees across the city and the state; together, our multi-ethnic and multi-sector constituencies pursue a common agenda and represent what is best about New York—diversity, energy, and the drive for positive change.

NYIC is a proud member of the National Partnership for New Americans, the national Co-Host and anchor for NIIC 2015. NYIC is committed to bringing voices from across New York to NIIC 2015 and share our experiences from the last quarter century of advancing immigrant integration. NIIC 2015 will also advance NYIC’s work with regional and national partners.

The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a national multiethnic, multiracial partnership. We represent the collective power and NPNA resources of the country’s 34 largest regional immigrant rights organizations in 29 states. Our members provide large-scale services—from DACA application processing to voter registration to ACA outreach—for their communities, and they combine service delivery with sophisticated organizing tactics to advance local and state policy.

Our aim is to achieve a vibrant, just, and welcoming democracy for all. We believe America’s success is rooted in our ongoing commitment to welcoming and integrating newcomers into the fabric of our nation, and to upholding equality and opportunity as fundamental American values. Immigrants are the soul of our organization, and immigrant communities inspire, implement, and champion our work.

Joining the Co-Hosts on the NIIC 2015 Executive Committee are key partners. Make the Road New York, which builds the power of Latino communities to achieve dignity and justice, as well as the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the largest organization in New England promoting the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees.

They are going to examine you!

LOL! They are going to have a session about us (about those of us who don’t want to CHANGE America, who want to know what they have planned for our towns, who want to put American workers first, who don’t want to spend enormous amounts of the federal treasury to care for third world migrants, who don’t want to dilute our Judeo-Christian culture and heritage). Check it out! At 3:15 on December 13th:

Understanding and Addressing Today’s Organized Backlash Against Muslim Immigrants and Refugees

This session will explore the resurgence of anti-immigrant and Islamophobic rhetoric and activism and the recent use of Islamophobia to undermine refugee resettlement. This new development has implications for receiving communities and for refugee resettlement, particularly of Muslim refugees. How does this backlash against resettlement fit within the broader attacks on Muslims in the U.S. and what are the best ways to respond? Who are the key actors fueling this campaign and how is their message spreading? Hear from experts from the Muslim community and from refugee resettlement leaders about this new challenge and potential responses.

Here is the list of those working against your American towns, against American workers and against American taxpayers (regular readers of RRW will recognize many of these groups from our previous reporting). The gang is all here!

32BJ SEIU
Building Skills Partnership
CAPACES Leadership Institute
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York
Catholic Legal Immigration Network
Citi
Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center
Four Freedoms Fund
International Rescue Committee
JM Kaplan Fund
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services
Make the Road New York
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Migration Policy Institute
National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders
National Council of La Raza
National Partnership for New Americans
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito
New York Immigration Coalition
New York State Office of New Americans
Partnership for a New American Economy
Partnership for New York City
The Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at the University of Southern California
United Food and Commercial Workers International Union
Unbound Philanthropy
Welcoming America
Western Union

About the photo: Learn more about Ms. Millona here as she played a major role in the Obama Task Force on New Americans.