Category: Other Immigration

We deported 367,000 illegal aliens last year, trend looks like it will continue

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I know it doesn’t have anything to do with legal refugees but I thought this article sent by  Blulitespecial today was pretty interesting and thought you might want to see it too.

This (a recent flight taking off from O’Hare) is U.S .Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Flight Repatriate, a booming airline ferrying illegal immigrants out of the country.

Flying worldwide from O’Hare and 22 other airports, the so-called ICE Air planes transported more than 367,000 illegal immigrants, including 11,500 from the Chicago area, out of the U.S. from October 2007 to October 2008—a 26 percent increase over the previous fiscal year and 77 percent more than in 2006.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano recently called for ways to “expedite removal” of thousands more illegal immigrants. The directive surprised advocates who have been lobbying for fewer deportations while they build momentum to reintroduce Immigration reform legislation in Congress by July.

So they are aiming for July for Immigration reform legislation.

Check it out: Coalition formed to protect the American Worker

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I saw an ad on TV today for the Coalition for the Future of the American Worker.   You can see it too by going here.

From their mission statement:

CFAW has been formed to help America understand the needs of American industry and commerce to ensure the best outcome for both workers and industry. The growing practice of seeking large numbers of workers abroad, rather than committing to the training and advancement of American workers, is ultimately harmful to both labor and industry. It is CFAW’s goal to find solutions that will ensure that employers can gain access to workers they truly need, while protecting job opportunities for American workers and students and allowing them to advance their skills and maintain high wages.

Just yesterday I told you about a scuffle that broke out between refugees in an employment line in Shelbyville, TN.   It’s the first we have heard about, but likely won’t be the last.  Here is a comment worth noting that just came in from reader Vicky Carder:

I live in Shelbyville. The population of this town is approximately 18,000 people. There has already been cultural problems in this town because of the Somali’s attitudes toward the citizens.

We have as large a crisis with jobs as any other area. Since September, approximately 300 jobs have been lost in this town. By the end of March, another 300 will definitely be leaving.

It is like a slap in our face to have immigrants brought to a town this size which is already suffering and will continue to suffer.

Jewish groups not in tune with all Jews on immigration reform

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I am going away for a few days so this is going to be a quick post.

Although we try not to get too far off track from refugee issues into the broader immigration reform issue, this story got my attention because it involves the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society one of the top ten federal contractors for refugee resettlement. 

A coalition of Jewish community leaders is urging the reform of immigration policy before Passover begins on April 8.

Called “Progress by Pesach,” the campaign began with a Jan. 29 conference call to members of the Jewish media chaired by the president of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Gideon Aronoff of South Orange.

Aronoff went on to say:

“We are calling upon President Obama and Congress to make immigration reform a top priority,” Aronoff said. “For too long, our government has relied primarily on enforcement, but immigration raids only cause suffering for immigrants and communities and do nothing to solve the underlying problem of immigration.”

Not all Jews support these groups.

But Stephen Steinlight, senior policy analyst at Center for Immigration Policy, disagreed strongly with those aims. Steinlight, a frequent critic of immigration policies promoted by the major Jewish policy groups, did not take part in the telephone conference.

“There is a gigantic chasm between those who purport to speak in the name of Jews and what real Jews think,” he told NJJN. Those promoting immigration reform “are dead wrong on this issue, and they do not represent Jews. It is an outrage that they claim to. Real Jews are horrified by the positions taken by Jewish defense agencies.”

I’m wondering if the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, that receives federal grant monies, is using any of those funds for lobbying efforts on immigration reform.  We keep hearing stories that the resettlement agencies (volags) are not adequately caring for refugees which should be taking priority over political activities.

It’s just like the issue now where taxpayers have every right to complain about practices of big businesses that took taxpayer funds in the bailout—once a group or business takes government (our) money it becomes everyone’s business how it is spent.

So who the heck is Mark Potok anyway?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update April 24th, 2010:  Potok quoted on murder of white nationalist lawyer by black neighbor, here.

Update February 19th, 2010:  Potok singles out the Oath Keepers, here.

And, do you care?

Potok (really, who is this guy?) we know is a practitioner of Saul Alinsky’s Rule 13.    We know he is part of an extreme leftwing cabal at the Southern Poverty Law Center and we know from this press release (of his own work) at the Huffington Post that he is really running scared (or running low on funds).  And, we know he even looks like a looney leftie from his photo (check out his bio, any doubts about media bias this will dispel them!).

Remember Alinsky’s Rule 13,  Obama used it unsuccessfully last week on Rush Limbaugh (I laugh every time I think about it).  Basically Rule 13 is a tactic which says you gotta pick one person on the other side and isolate that person.

Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

Alinsky says the target has to be a person and one needs to make the person the poster boy (or girl) for evil.   That is what Potok is trying to do here with John Tanton.

At some point, probably later this year, Congress will once again grapple with legislation to reform our broken immigration system. During the campaign, President Obama promised to make this a “top priority in my first year.”

Standing firmly in the path, however, will be the same triumvirate of Washington, D.C.-based organizations that were most responsible for blocking comprehensive immigration reform in 2007.

These supposedly independent groups – the Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and NumbersUSA – enjoy a great degree of credibility among the media and many prominent members of Congress. They shouldn’t.

In reality, they are part of a network conceived by John Tanton, a man who has been at the heart of the white nationalist movement for decades.

Potok wants to cause these groups to split from Tanton and start to question each other and he wants to place seeds of doubt in the minds of their members.  Don’t fall for it!   You have got them on the run now!  Potok is scared!   Hang tough, and take a lesson from Rush and laugh and laugh and laugh (Rule 5)!

Check out all of our posts on Alinsky in Community Destabilization here.

Addendum February 6th:   I just had a look at the Southern Poverty Law Centers most recent Form 990 (2006).   They sure are fighting poverty—among their Board members anyway.  Their CEO made $334,886 in salary and compensation that year.  Potok made a measly $140,000 in comparison.  

To be fair, I wonder if Obama shouldn’t cap non-profit group salaries too.

The Southern Poverty Law Center took in almost $45 million in 2006, spent millions on lobbying, and its assets are over $226,000,000.  Oh, and their so-called ‘Poverty Palace’ office building cost almost $100,000 to clean that year.

Palestinian refugee problem comes to Minnesota

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Power Line blog has posted a stunning video of a demonstration at Minnesota’s state capitol in which the two Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, brought their differences from the Middle East to our heartland. Power Line describes it:

On January 5, representatives of Hamas and Fatah rallied on the steps of the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul. Their purpose was to condemn Israel, and an Israeli flag was burned. Mostly, though, the rally turned into a confrontation between the terrorist organization, Hamas, and the formerly terrorist organization–to give it the benefit of the doubt–Fatah. Congressman Keith Ellison attended, apparently at the invitation of the Fatah faction, but was shouted down by Hamas supporters who don’t consider him radical enough. This video, which was made by Minnesotans Against Terrorism, really has to be seen to be believed. 

How did Minnesota get to the point where its state capitol can become an outpost of a terrorist organization from the Middle East? Until a few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it possible.

Hat tip: Mark Steyn at the Corner, who comments, “Time for Garrison Keillor to introduce a cutesie imam to Lake Wobegon.”