“I think we should fold all of the TPS people that have been here for a considerable period of time and find a way for them to be [on] a path to citizenship.”
(White House Chief of Staff John Kelly)
From time to time over the years, I’ve reported on the ridiculously named “Temporary Protected Status”immigration program that has allowed many migrants (who were likely already in the country illegally from TPS-designated countries) to stay in the US and work, get drivers licenses and probably thus vote! (Designated usually in the wake of a now long forgotten natural disaster.) How much is Trump going to give away to get the wall?
As The Hill reports, the Trump Administration is ordering that most (some of whom have been here for nearly 2 decades) begin to pack their bags. But here we learn it is all apparently part of the ‘art of the deal,’ and that perhaps the administration will find them and the ‘Dreamers’ a path to citizenship if they get a few things, including the wall, but only if Congress actually passes a law—a comprehensive bill (ugh! it’s back!).
Can’t we for once address each immigration program on its merits or demerits! And are we really going to give legal status to hundreds of thousands who are here illegally?
Add “trickle” to our descriptive media word-list about this years’ refugee flow to America.
Previously we jokedabout “plummeting” numbers (dip, tumble, drop dramatically, drastically decline, etc.). Now we can add “trickle.” Back in the good ‘ol days, Lavinia Limon (USCRI) was sending Mr. Chobani Yogurt (Hamdi Ulukaya) his workers for Twin Falls.
Mr. Chobani Yogurt must be a bit annoyed as the refugee worker stream to his Twin Falls yogurt plant must be trickling too.
And, heck, he even lost pal, doyenne of the refugee contractors, Lavinia Limon last fall. See here.
This article is just another of the ho-hum planted media stories about that mean ol’ Donald Trump and how his refugee slowdown is hurting their refugee industry. It wouldn’t be worth posting except for the blatant admission that plummeting refugee arrivals are hurting the contractors’ budgets.
For longtime readers you are likely thinking—well we know that!
However, ten years ago, when I started writing this blog about the flawed US Refugee Admissions Program, the media didn’t know that refugee contracting agencies*** were paid by the head to place refugees, so I see this paragraph below as progress!
From the Idaho State Journal:
There are challenges that come with taking in fewer refugees. It’s hard to manage the Refugee Center’s budget, Rwasama said, because the center receives federal funding per refugee who arrives. “Everything is impacted when you don’t have funding to provide services.”
More here.
I was glad to see that they say they are taking better care of the formerly placed refugees since they are receiving so few new ones.
Rwasama is CSI Refugee Center director Zeze Rwasama. It has never been adequately explained just how the College of Southern Idaho became a subcontractor for USCRI, one of the nine (soon to be eight?) federal contractors.
Nevertheless, we are happy to see that the admission is being made regularly and the media is now reporting that:
Federal resettlement contractors (and their subcontractors) receive payment from you, the US taxpayer, on a per refugee head basis!
Progress!
*** I post the contractor list almost every day because I want new readers to know exactly who is responsible for driving the US Refugee Admissions Program (in addition to the UN!).
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with (low paying) jobs in food production and cleaning hotel rooms, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.
To my readers who have asked me about this for years—-asked me what happened to a law already on the books—here is a glimmer of (potential) good news.
Needless to say the No Borders Left will go insane, but frankly if the Dems do go on a warpath against the idea that immigrants shouldn’t be sucking up welfare, it will hurt them at the polls in November. No sensible Republican or Democrat supports the importation of welfare recipients.
From Neil Munro at Breitbart (hat tip Richard @highblueridge):
Homeland defense officials are reviving enforcement of a law that is intended to bar legal migrants who cannot earn a living in the United States.
The proposed regulation would implement the existing law, which bars legal immigrants from imposing a “public charge” on Americans. However, the plan is likely to be bitterly opposed by a loose alliance of business groups and by Democrats, both of whom gain when the federal government provides taxpayer aid to migrants, legal or illegal. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Breitbart News:
The administration is committed to enforcing existing immigration law, which is clearly intended to protect the American taxpayer by ensuring that foreign nationals seeking to enter or remain in the U.S are self-sufficient. Any proposed changes would ensure that the government takes the responsibility of being good stewards of taxpayer funds seriously and adjudicates immigration benefit requests in accordance with the law.
The plan was mentioned in a 2017 work-plan released by DHS, but it was highlighted Wednesday by a report in the Washington Post. The report said:
Immigrants who accept almost any form of welfare or public benefit, even popular tax deductions, could be denied legal U.S. residency under a proposal awaiting approval by the Trump administration, which is seeking to reduce the number of foreigners living in the United States.
The proposal would also require Americans who sponsor migrants to post bonds of up to $10,000, which could be used to repay taxpayers for migrants’ use of federal aid.
The plan must be approved by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and then undergo a months-long public comment and regulatory process before it becomes a large regulation. If adopted, it will replace a 1999 regulation.
Much more here.
If the requirement extended to refugees the entire refugee program would crash and that is because the primary job of the resettlement contractors is to sign incoming refugees up for their ‘services’ (aka welfare). They also help refugees find those low skilled jobs (slaughterhouse and hotel workers, etc) and show them how to supplement meager wages with welfare. And, that idea of posting a bond makes me chuckle.
Imagine this: Catholic Charities, the Lutherans, the Episcopalians and the Jews among the refugee resettlement agencies*** could sponsor refugees and instead of being paid to place them, the non-profit NGO puts up a $10,000 bond for say each family they place with the bond money coming from private charity.
When they have to put their private money where their mouth is, we would find out very quickly that their humanitarian zeal isn’t real!
***These are the nine major federal refugee contractors presently paid millions of tax dollars to resettle refugees. There will never be reform of the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program as long as they collect federal funds and act as community organizing and political agitation groups.
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with (low paying) jobs in food production and cleaning hotel rooms, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.
When I saw this story yesterday at WMRA Radio , I figured it was one more of dozens of stories I mentionedhereand hererecently. Talking points have obviously gone out to the gullible/biased media about the mean Trump Administration and its plummeting refugee admission numbers. I wasn’t going to bother posting it until I came to the juicy bit near the end. Forget the humanitarian mumbo-jumbo, refugee resettlement is about finding cheap labor (supported with your tax dollars) for big corporations especially BIG MEAT and BIG CHICKEN! And, the next time you hear about the bipartisan support for the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program remember the R’s are looking for laborers for their big business pals and Chamber of Commerce lobbyists.
BIG CHICKEN companies like Perdue are being questioned about working conditions in plants around the country. And, Church World Service brings them more refugee workers! Photo and story: https://news.vice.com/article/chicken-industry-workers-wear-diapers-because-bosses-allow-no-breaks-ngo-says
But last month, a Perdue spokesman confirmed that refugee applicants to the Bridgewater plant have dwindled significantly, and that the company is filling positions from the local community.
Before I give you the rest of the story, you should know that Harrisonburg is in the heart of House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s district. The Judiciary Committee is responsible for the Refugee Admissions Program. I’d like to know if Perdue is the reason Goodlatte has never made any significant move to reform the refugee program!
Now here is the rest of the boo-hoo story. At least WMRA Radiotells listeners that Church World Service is being paid by the feds (by you!) for their ‘religious’ charity!
Trump’s Policy Sharply Reduces Refugee Flow to Harrisonburg
Following President Trump’s decision to sharply restrict the number of refugees allowed into the United States, the State Department has informed refugee resettlement offices nationwide to trim operations or even close. One of those offices is in Harrisonburg, which has a long history of refugee resettlement.
Harrisonburg’s general open-mindedness, low cost of living and high employment in industries that don’t demand English, such as food production, have allowed the city to resettle from 175 to 200 refugees every year.
But the feds recently informed some 40 refugee resettlement offices nationwide to cut back their operations, according to Reuters. Twenty are expected to close.
[….]
Church World Service protesting against Donald Trump at White House. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2018/01/28/church-world-service-and-hias-join-cair-to-protest-at-white-house/
Jim Hershberger runs the resettlement office for Church World Service in Harrisonburg. Church World Service is one of nine agencies*** nationwide that contracts with the federal government to resettle refugees. He says ten branches of those agencies nationwide have already closed. Although there are no plans for the Harrisonburg office to close as of yet, it hasn’t had a single refugee arrival in two months since mid-February.
[….]
I am worried that we won’t have the money to continue to offer services to refugees like we like to do.[How about doing the hard work of raising PRIVATE money!—-ed]
[….]
Church World Service is funded by the federal government to help recent arrivals find jobs and apartments, and to enroll them in English classes, driving classes, and their children into school.
In fact, according to our most recent accounting, Church World Service is 71% funded out of your taxpayer wallets!
Here it comes! Slaughterhouse workers needed!
WMRA Radio continues…..
The changes are being felt at the poultry plants too. Poultry is a big industry in Rockingham County and long considered a pipeline for immigrants and refugees.
Perdue’s Kenneth Lambert. It’s a great business model for Perdue. Federally-funded Church World Service finds them workers and the taxpayers subsidize the other needs of refugee workers with food stamps, low income housing, medical care, etc.
Two years ago, the workforce at the Perdue plant in Bridgewater was 42 percent immigrant, according to its Director of Operations Kenneth Lambert.
KENNETH LAMBERT: Our countries are made up of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatamala, Honduras, Cuba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Bosnia, Russia, Kenya and right now we have a couple of people from Uganda.
But last month, a Perdue spokesman confirmed that refugee applicants to the Bridgewater plant have dwindled significantly, and that the company is filling positions from the local community.
No comment from school officials regarding the refugee slowdown. Gee, I wonder why?
Fewer refugee arrivals may impact local schools as well.
It’s really where the city’s status as a melting pot comes to life. Students in city public schools come from 51 foreign countries and speak more than 56 languages.
Because Harrisonburg High has long been overcrowded, plans are underway for a second high school. But when asked if fewer refugees arrivals have eased the overcrowding, school administrators didn’t want to comment.
More here. Next up:Catholic Bishops (big business headhunters) whine too!
***These are the nine supposed non-profit groups (LOL! Six are ‘religious charities’) that act as headhunters for big business which welcomes the cheap, compliant labor (refugees can’t go home and don’t know how to complain!).
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with jobs, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.
But a big problem, says the Government Accountability Office , is that neither the US State Department or the Office of Refugee Resettlement in HHS are doing much to track the outcomes of those admitted to the US from Iraq and Afghanistan who supposedly worked for us as interpreters.
I told youhere recentlythat the number admitted to the US from those two violent countries is pushing 70,000 in the last ten years.
As Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders they are treated as full-fledged refugees with all the welfare benefits other refugees receive.
We have been told that the resettlement contractors*** are relying on these paying clients to keep federal dollars flowing to their budgets as the refugee flow they hoped for is not materializing.
Some members of Congress must have requested this GAO study because problems are obviously brewing with this portion of our ‘welcome’ to Middle Eastern Muslims. I did not read the whole report, here, but it seems that there are some pretty disillusioned SIVs who thought they would have good jobs and decent housing when they got here.
Here are a few snips from the summary:
Not exactly a bombshell title:
AFGHAN AND IRAQI SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS:More Information on Their Resettlement Outcomes Would Be Beneficial
What GAO Found
Since fiscal year 2011, about [about?—ed] 13,000 Afghan and Iraqi nationals (excluding family members) have resettled in the United States under special immigrant visas (SIV), but limited data on their outcomes are available from the Department of State (State) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). State collects data on SIV holders’ resettlement outcomes once—90 days after they arrive. GAO’s analysis of State’s data from October 2010 through December 2016 showed that the majority of principal SIV holders—those who worked for the U.S. government—were unemployed at 90 days, including those reporting high levels of education and spoken English.
Very high unemployment rate at 90 days. Why is 90 days important? That is when their resettlement contractor is done with them and has moved on to the next batch of paying clients (aka refugees). By 90 days the SIV is expected to be self-sufficient. BTW, don’t you wonder who the 1,760 “interpreters” without “good spoken English” are?
GAO continues…
Stakeholders [must be referring to the resettlement contractors—ed] GAO interviewed reported several resettlement challenges, including capacity issues in handling large numbers of SIV holders, difficulties finding skilled employment, and SIV holders’ high expectations.
Officials from local resettlement agencies in Northern Virginia reported capacity challenges for their agencies and the community due to the large increase of SIV holders. In almost all of GAO’s focus groups with principal SIV holders, participants expressed frustration at the need to take low-skilled jobs because they expected that their education and prior work experience would lead to skilled work. [You can bet they aren’t going to the slaughterhouse jobs where contractors like to place those in their care.—-ed]
State and HHS have taken steps to address some resettlement challenges. For example, in 2017 State placed restrictions on where SIV holders could resettle and HHS announced a new grant to support career development programs for SIV holders, refugees, and others.
In addition, State provides information to prospective SIV holders about resettlement. However, the information is general, and lacks detail on key issues such as housing affordability, employment, and available government assistance. Providing such specifics could lead to more informed decisions by SIV holders on where to resettle and help them more quickly adapt to potential challenges once in the United States. [I don’t think that GAO knows that the SIVs original resettlement location is not chosen by the refugees, but by the State Department in conjunction with contractors*** as they bid for bodies (aka paying clients).—ed]
In light of so many disillusioned and unemployed SIVs, I sure hope that someone is reporting that news to others in the pipeline on their way to America!
Why the discrepancy in the numbers?
I wondered if GAO is downplaying the numbers on purpose…. were they as shocked as we are to find these enormous numbers?
In the summary, GAO talks about 13,000 SIVs since 2011, excluding family members, but in the full report they describe the real numbers we have placed in your towns and cities.
And, rather than saying “over 60,000”, they could have said closer to 70,000! As Ireported early this month, using data readily available at the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center (Wrapsnet), we admitted from FY2008-right up to my post on March 8th, the numbers as follows:
Iraq: 18,084
Afghanistan: 49,358
Total to March 8th: 67,442
When I went to the full report they say this (below) on Page 1, but once again use the word “about.” They do clarify one point: “about 20,000” are the people who worked for us or on behalf of us, the remaining, over 40,000! are their family members.
Afghan and Iraqi nationals who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan or Iraq and have experienced ongoing serious threats as a consequence of such employment, or who worked directly with the U.S. Armed Forces or under chief of mission authority as a translator or interpreter, may apply for a special immigrant visa (SIV) to the United States.
Upon securing a visa, the principal SIV holder and his or her eligible dependents may resettle in the United States and are granted lawful permanent resident status upon admission into the United States. Since fiscal year 2008, over 60,000 individuals—about 20,000 principal SIV holders and their families—have been admitted under SIVs and received federal resettlement assistance upon arrival.
SIV holders are authorized to receive resettlement assistance from the Departments of State (State) and Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as federal public benefits, to the same extent and for the same periods of time as refugees.
***These are the nine federal contractors working with the US State Department to place the SIVs and their families. Although GAO seems to have been fixated on how poorly the State Department and ORR are keeping track of the SIVs and their progress toward assimilation, it seems to me that the contractors should come in for more blame if their charges are doing so poorly.
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with jobs, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.
