“What we’re doing here is unprecedented in the current system.”
(Kathya Araya)
HIAS dropped the word Hebrew from its name a few years back.
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, one of nine federal refugee contracting agencies (largely funded by you), has a new office in Costa Rica (opened in February of this year!).
Normally I wouldn’t have noticed this item on their website but because Costa Rica is somehow part of that Australian “dumb deal” it piqued my interest. Here and here are news items on HIAS’s website about the new office.
And, here is one of several posts of mine on the Australia deal where we will take up to 1,250 illegal alien boat people (mostly from Muslim countries) that Australia is holding in detention centers, and ‘refugees’ in Costa Rica will be shipped to Australia in exchange. I’ll ask again, what do we get in this deal because illegal migrants and asylum seekers in Costa Rica are not our problem—or are they now that HIAS is there processing people?
Most of those in Costa Rica are economic migrants and others (some running from crime) who are really not persecuted people legitimately in need of refugee protection.
It sure looks to me like our US Department of State is getting out of control!
Is HIAS paying for this “legal” office with private charitable donations? Or, is this ‘program’ one more little gift the Obama Administration left for you—the US taxpayer! And, if Costa Rica’s immigration issues are of concern to the US government, why do we need middlemen NGOs there who are not accountable to taxpaying voters?
Here is my archive on the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Since Trump/Tillerson have not yet chosen anyone to rein-in the bureaucrats at the DOS, I’m starting to wonder if the contractors, like HIAS, are running the show there!
For all of the refugee contractors and their groupies busily spreading propaganda that refugees never commit crimes, take note of Muslim Fazliddin Kurbanov who was already in prison, convicted on terrorism charges, and then tried to kill the prison warden a year ago this week! Obama’s US Attorney for Idaho, Wendy Olson, was concerned with American rabble that might act up during Kurbanov’s 2015 trial! Where the heck was (is!) the national media on this story?
We surely would have heard about the attempted murder by one of our star refugee criminals if anyone had reported it before now.
What do you think? Should I give the refugee advocates the benefit of the doubt and when they say there are no refugee criminals, maybe it’s because the media rarely reports those stories.
See a few of our recent ones, here, here and here(yesterday!).
You might want to see our archive on Fazliddin Kurbanov by clicking here. Don’t miss this story where Idaho US Attorney Wendy Olson suggested that Americans might demonstrate “acts of bias” during his 2015 trial! (You will see that the Idaho Statesman story is now gone!)
Olson showed her bias as she attempted to tamp down the controversy surrounding the Refugee sexual assault case in Idaho as well, here. (But, I digress!)
From KTVB-7 titled (LOL! just a “man”):
Indictment: Boise man serving terrorism sentence tried to kill prison warden
RIVERSIDE, California — A Boise man who was convicted in 2015 of terrorism-related crimes has been indicted after prosecutors say he attacked the warden at the federal prison where he was held.
Fazliddin Kurbanov, 34, was just months into a 25-year sentence when the attack happened May 31, 2016 at the Federal Correctional Institute in Victorville, California.
He was indicted Wednesday on charges of attempted murder of a federal officer, assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and possession by an inmate of a prohibited object intended to be used as a weapon.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Kurbanov used a prison-made knife to attack Calvin Johnson, seriously injuring him. According to the Amercian Federation of Government Employees, the warden needed more than 80 staples to close wounds on his torso.
The indictment describes the knife as “a metal blade or ‘shank’ approximately three to four inches in length.”
Kurbanov was moved to FCI Terminal Island in San Pedro after the attack. Johnson, who recovered from his injuries, is also now working at a different prison.
Kurbanov, an Uzbek national, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, one count of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device in November 2015.
Prosecutors in that case outlined how Kurbanov communicated online with members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, promising to send money and supplies, and expressing interest in carrying out an attack in the United States.
Kurbanov told FBI informants that he was considering Ann Morrison Park or Mountain Home Air Force Base as possible attack sites. Although he did not carry out any attack before his arrest, Kurbanov had stockpiled explosive ingredients including including fertilizer, Tannerite, ammonium nitrate, acetone and aluminum powder in his Curtis Road apartment before his arrest.
Typical! no mention of the ‘R’ word! REFUGEE!
Interesting! The Daily Mail has a story on Kurbanov and mentions that he considered attacking West Point as well. There is something very fishy about the admission of Uzbeks during the Bush and early Obama years, wish we knew the full story.
Readers: Let me know if the latest on this charming refugee (who will be costing us a fortune to keep in prison for life!) makes it to any national news story or any cable news outlet!
Sorry to all of you who follow RRW regularly to have to keep repeating myself, but I want to blow a gasket every time I see a story about “plummeting” refugee admission numbers.
The story that steamed me this morning is one Drudge has listed (what is going on with Drudge, losing his mojo?).
Here is the story from Pew(I know what Pew is!) with this blaring headline:
Pew: Refugee arrivals in U.S. decline sharply as world crisis grows
What Pew is doing in its story (besides skewing the news against Trump), read it yourself, is comparing October FY17 (9,945) the first month of this fiscal year when Obama was pouring refugees in at an unheard of rate to April FY17 (3,316) when frankly Trump is bringing in a moderate number of refugees.
Look at this chart (again!) (from Wrapsnet):
After you note that October FY17 was the largest first month (by far) of any fiscal year in the last eleven, then take note that Trump’s April (3,316) is larger than Bush’s April 2007 (2,060) or even Obama’s April 2011 (2,190). So what the h*** are they talking about! I don’t recall any story in 2011 bashing Obama for his huge drop from October FY11 to April FY11!
I also had a chuckle as I read the Pew story about how the numbers are plummeting in Texas, but not a mention that the state withdrew from the program and that although it is up and running now (without the state government), the transition to the Wilson-Fish program did cause a slight slowdown. Texas is still the number 2 state behind California for refugee admissions this year.
Remember that when Trump came in to office he wanted a MORATORIUM on refugee resettlement for 4 months while they reviewed the program for security concerns and, now long-forgotten, they wanted to look into the issue of notification to communities. That would have caused “plummeting” admission numbers.
With no talk of reforming the program anywhere in sight, Trump is now on schedule to admit to the US somewhere around 60,000 refugees this year. Compare that to Bush in 2007 and Obama in 2011 and 2012—all three years under 60,000!
Endnote: As of today we are at 45,732 for this fiscal year. See my right hand sidebar where I am tracking the numbers every few days.
And check out the fact that they have removed the CEILING (which is not a target!) from the chart for this year—the Obama dream number for FY17 of 110,000 has been removed. (See that Obama never had a ceiling that high for his previous 7 years! Why was that?)
The President’s budget for next year is out, but I have to be completely honest with you, going through these numbers is not my thing!
And, consider that it is Congress that will in reality set the agenda and budget for refugee admissions by how much money they are sending to the program and ultimately out to the federal resettlement contractors.
In searching around this morning, I’ve found several indicators of what Trump might do, what he has done, what the budget might dictate, and how the contractors are reacting, and I will leave it to you (who have more patience to wade through numbers than I) to analyze the numbers. Just so you know, as of today (5/24/2017), note (from Wrapsnet) that Trump is now at 45,172 admitted refugees for this fiscal year (FY2017 ends on September 30th). (Average refugee admissions for the last ten years is around in the low 60,000s.)
Resettlement contractors happy with FY17 budget!
I missed this: The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society was very happy with the Continuing Budget for the present fiscal year. See here earlier this month:
Today (May 5) President Trump signed into law a $1.1 trillion government spending bill to keep the government running through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year.
Sigh of relief! Maybe no salary cuts for the top executives? https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2016/11/13/hebrew-immigrant-aid-society-lectures-trump-never-mentions-its-pecuniary-interest-in-refugees/
Within that massive bill are a few items of particular importance for refugees who, after fleeing war and persecution, have either found safety abroad or are beginning new lives in the United States.
The spending bill funds the Office of Refugee Resettlement at a level equal to last fiscal year.ORR oversees the domestic side of U.S. resettlement and facilitates refugees’ integration and economic success in this country. This funding will allow ORR and its partner agencies (including HIAS) to continue providing services for refugees, asylees, unaccompanied refugee and asylum seeker children, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa recipients.
Also included is $3.06 billion for Migration Refugee Assistance, which is $99 million more than the Trump administration requested.
This funding will enable the U.S. State Department to provide humanitarian aid to refugees overseas as well as resettle refugees in the United States.
The bill also extends the Lautenberg Amendment, which ensures a safe means of exit for religious minorities from Iran and the former Soviet Union who are approved to come to the United States. [Bunch of hypocrites! They say Trump can’t legally select Christians over Muslims, but they have supported choosing Jews as a priority from Iran and Russia for decades!—ed]
This funding agreement, which originated in the House of Representatives and passed both chambers of Congress before it reached the President’s desk for signature, ensures that the U.S. refugee resettlement program will be sufficiently funded for the remainder of this fiscal year.
This means that communities in states across the country will be able to continue doing what they already do so well every day: welcoming newly arrived refugee families and helping them to integrate by providing a strong start in their new home.
Today marks a victory for our partners in Washington and around the country, who have been advocating for continued U.S. support for welcoming and protecting refugees. But there is still so much more we can and should be doing.
We continue to urge the Trump Administration to resettle at least 75,000 refugees this fiscal year.
That was May 5th. They have friends in the Republican Congress!
A couple of days ago (May 22nd), the President unveiled his FY18 budget and here at the Daily Caller we learn that it includes enough funding for 50,000 refugees for FY18 (begins September 30th, 2017), but just like the CR discussed above, Congress can, and likely will, add more money for MORE refugees! Why would Republicans who control Congress want more refugees? That is easy: cheap immigrant labor for their big business donors and for the Chamber of Commerce!
The markers are being laid down!
Trump wants 50,000 and they want 75,000 for FY18!
Here is what the refugee industry is saying about this budget, from their lobbying arm in DC yesterday—the Refugee Council USA:
WASHINGTON, DC—Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), a coalition of 24 U.S.-based non-governmental organizations*** dedicated to refugee protection, urges Congress to fund refugee programs at levels that reflect the reality that the world is currently experiencing the worst refugee crisis since World War II. The last thing that the United States should do during a time of historic refugee crises is to cut lifesaving refugee budget accounts.
The lobbying arm of the refugee industry is RCUSA. Its present chair is a Dutch citizen, Hans van de Weerd, lecturing us about American values. Bio: http://www.rcusa.org/staff/ Photo twitter: https://twitter.com/hansvandeweerd
“Now more than ever, we must allocate funding to programs that align with our American values of freedom, compassion and opportunity,” Hans van de Weerd, Chair of RCUSA, said. “The United States has historically been a global refugee protection leader, both through strong support for refugees overseas, as well as through funding a robust domestic refugee resettlement program. We can, and must, continue to do both. During this challenging and tumultuous time, we urge the Committees on Appropriations to demonstrate support for America’s leadership in the world and our longstanding tradition of welcome by robustly funding these important humanitarian accounts during the FY 2018 appropriations process.”
[You see, they know they can get to Congress even if Trump has slightly reduced the numbers—ed]
RCUSA is requesting that at least 75,000 refugees be resettled in FY18, and believes that the Administration’s budget proposal that would support the resettlement of 50,000 is inadequate and an abdication of U.S. leadership.
RCUSA is advocating for a continuance of FY17 funding levels, and therefore recommends funding of $1.688 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) account. The REA account, which funds the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), is a crucial component of fostering refugee integration and self-sufficiency. In addition to providing services to resettled refugees, ORR is tasked with implementing social services for unaccompanied minors, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Special Immigrant Visa holders, victims of human trafficking, and survivors of torture. The President’s budget proposes a 31% cut to refugee services that help refugees achieve long-term integration and economic success and assist communities and local partners in welcoming new Americans. RCUSA also recommends $3.604 billion in funding for the Department of State’s Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account. The MRA account provides overseas assistance to displaced refugees, supports admissions to the U.S. of the most vulnerable refugees, and funds lifesaving services in humanitarian emergencies.
[….]
RCUSA also strongly opposes the president’s proposal to eliminate the Department of State’s Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) account, which for example, in recent years has provided stabilizing assistance to countries of first asylum that have given safety to South Sudanese and Syrian refugees. RCUSA urges a continued funding level of $50 million for this account in FY 2018.
I’ve included that last paragraph above because this ERMA fund is nothing to fight about. It is no great shakes for Trump to have omitted funding for it. Yes, it saves US taxpayers some money, but readers in the past have confused it with money used to bring refugees to America. It is for assistance abroad and not for resettlement here, so don’t let Trump people tell you this is some sort of victory. The battle lines are shaping up and it is pretty clear that the refugee industry is going to the Republican Congress to stop the President from reducing numbers to 50,000, a number that we think is outrageously high for a President who campaigned on stopping the program, at least temporarily, all together.
Sadly, instead of a fight about abolishing or reforming the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program (and getting the fraud out of it!) it sure looks likes it is going to be a fight simply over numbers—50,000, 75,000, or somewhere in between. At this stage it appears that the Trump Administration hasn’t any fight left for this issue.
***Go here to see all members of the Refugee Council USA. All nine federal resettlement contractors are a part of this lobbying office. I suppose one could look at this 75,000 demand as a comedown for them. In August of 2016 they urged Obama to set the ceiling at 200,000, see here. But, again, they are always pushing, pushing and pushing.
For new readers, the nine federal refugee contractors you pay to bring refugees to your towns and cities:
(2013) DOZENS have been charged after rioting asylum seekers left the Nauru immigration detention centre in ruins. http://www.news.com.au/national/dozens-charged-after-nauru-detention-riot/news-story/89cc338cc0b837c348afa93c06686e48
This is the “dumb” deal that the Trump Administration has agreed to honor! (See previous posts here)
Supposedly we are taking up to 1,250 rejected asylum seekers (mostly from Muslim countries) that Australia is housing in detention centers at two off-shore locations after they tried to enter Australia illegally. Thorn in Turnbull’s side! Australian open borders protestors want the detention centers closed and the ‘refugees’ admitted to Australia. Instead over 1,000 will be headed to the US. If we had anyone with guts in Congress they might introduce a bill that requires towns (where they will be placed) are notified of the arrival of Australia’s rejected asylum seekers.
Australia plans to close some of the detention facilities by the end of August and detainees (those not going to your US town) have been offered help to get home. So what is the “deal” part of this? For the first time in a long time, we get a bit of news about what Australia is doing for us! Get this! Australia is taking some Central Americans presently in Central America (they aren’t even in the US!). So, I repeat, what are we getting out of the deal?
From 9 News (Australia):
More than 1600 refugees have expressed interest in Australia’s resettlement deal with the United States, which is expected to offer up to 1250 places.
[….]
US officials are vetting refugees on both Manus Island and Nauru to decide who they’ll resettle in America under a one-off deal struck with the federal government.
The immigration department says the US considers refugees as cases, which can comprise a nuclear or extended family group, or an individual.
More than 900 detainees have completed their first interviews with US officials.
[….]
Australia will remove itself from the process on August 31, meaning no more help for refugees returning to their home countries voluntarily from that date forward, senators were told.
Meanwhile, Australia has begun a refugee screening process for seven cases, 30 individuals in total, for potential resettlement from Central America in relation to the US deal.
Let me be clear! First, any Central American migrants presently in Central America are not our problem.
And, consider this! Australia will take Central American Christians and we get mostly Muslims from the following countries: Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, and Sudan (4 of those countries are on Trump’s original travel ban list).
Adding insult to injury, you pay for all of this! Trump spotted the dumb deal and called it what it is, but….
POTUS might have had the best instincts during the campaign and shortly after getting in office, but frankly, he is now being rolled by the bureaucrats (and RINOs in Congress). So much for his business/management acumen! If this deal goes through, it will be Trump’s dumb deal!
