Category: Other Immigration

Australians lamenting the high cost of educating asylum seekers’ children

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I have a pile of stories I want to post, just the run of the mill news about refugee problems around the world—you know the boring stuff.  I look on those stories now as a refreshing vacation of sorts from the daily diet of refugee/immigrant terrorist stories of late.   Here is one in my stack.

Children of the ever-growing tide of boat people arriving in Australia will cost the taxpayers $55 million over four years, here at the Herald Sun.

The Aussies say more kids are on board these boats, but from what I’ve seen most asylum seekers are young virile Muslim men.

But before I give you some of the story, something just occurred to me—at least in Australia they are having discussions on this topic. That’s just how it is in Canada too where it seems there is a daily dose of political back and forth IN THE MEDIA on the details of the problems and costs  those country’s face with their ever-expanding refugee and asylum systems.

In the US we aren’t even having a public discussion on the topic! 

When is the last time you saw an article in a major national publication outlining the cost of educating asylum-seeking children? 

How many of you even have a rough idea of how many asylum seekers are granted asylum (like the Tsarnaevs) in the US each year?

I follow the press from Canada and Australia and can assure you these discussions are happening at least weekly if not more frequently.  Here in the US the media must have decided such topics are verboten! Verboten!  Verboten!

Back to the news from Australia:

EDUCATING asylum seeker children will cost more than $55 million over four years amid a record number of minors arriving on boats.

The Opposition has accused the government of cutting university funding while spending millions on meeting the educational needs of asylum seeker children with more than 3000 arriving so far this financial year.

How refreshing is this—they even have an opposition immigration leader!

Opposition Immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said the the costs of educating children had to be met but he blamed the bill on a blow out in boat arrivals.

“While Julia Gillard is actually cutting funding to schools and universities, she is providing an education revolution for asylum seekers arriving on illegal boats,” he said.

“Labor’s budget blowout on asylum seekers of more than $10 billion, includes the federal government paying for the full education costs of students who have arrived by boat.

“Given the record number of children coming on boats, it is not surprising that these costs are so high.”

[….]

Meanwhile, the government revealed the arrival of two new asylum boats carrying 150 people yesterday.

More than 2300 people have arrived so far this month.

Here are some statistics for US asylum seekers granted asylum in 2011.

Of all the individuals granted asylum in 2011, 54 percent (13,484) were granted asylum affirmatively, while 46 percent (11,504) were granted asylum defensively.

An additional 9,550 individuals outside of the United States were approved for asylum status as immediate family members of principal applicants. [The Tsarnaev boys would have been in that number, whatever it was back in about 2002—ed]

So that amounts to close to 35,000 in one year.  Gee, wonder what that costs us to educate the kids?  And, those are just the ones granted asylum, what about those who are still in the pipeline waiting for approval or who have never identified themselves or been caught yet.

By the way ‘granted asylum affirmatively’ means they got here and asked for asylum, and ‘defensively’ means they got here illegally, got caught and are in removal proceedings and asking for asylum.

Update for comparison:  News from burning Stockholm reports that Sweden approved 44,000 asylum seekers in 2012!  Most are from Muslim countries. Yikes, no wonder they are suffering!   Imagine what those kids are costing the welfare nation.

In 2012 alone, Sweden accepted 44,000 asylum seekers, up by nearly 50 percent from a year earlier.

They chanted “si,se puede!”(yes we can) as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send amnesty bill to the Senate floor

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is one story at The Hill.  Few changes were made that would make the bill more acceptable to most Americans.  (I’m working on a magazine article today and have little time to post unfortunately, but you will see lots of coverage elsewhere of the not-unexpected setback for America).

Five Republicans voted against S.744 (The Gang of Eight plus Grover bill).   Those heroes are Senators Chuck Grassley, Jeff Sessions, John Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

Kristol: Walk away Marco Rubio!

Voting with the Democrats were Republican Senators Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake and Orrin Hatch.  Here is the list of all committee members. Final vote was 13-5.

As the bill was voted on the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (one of nine major federal refugee contractors) tweeted:

And the bill moves to Senate floor – room erupts with “yes we can!” and “si, se puede”! We just live-tweeted history

Yesterday I was surprised to see that Bill Kristol, usually a supporter of supposed immigration reform, urged Senator Marco Rubio to abandon this monstrosity and “walk away.”    Frankly, if Rubio sticks with this bill on the Senate floor his political future as a Presidential candidate will be over, especially as the Tea Party re-emerges as a political counterweight to the “ruling class” Republicans.  Watch out for ‘ruling class’ extraordinaire Speaker John Boehner in the House going forward!  He is showing signs of squishing out!

Here is Kristol:

The Weekly Standard editor told Ingraham that Rubio — who Kristol said he considers “a friend” — should step away from the “big government bill.” Instead, immigration reform should be dealt with issue-by-issue rather than by one comprehensive piece of “bad legislation,” Kristol said.

Our view too!  S.744 expands refugee and asylum law without increasing the security issues that the Boston Bombers exposed.

We are among a distinguished group!

Go here and see the letter (opposing S. 744 as it goes to the Senate floor) to which we, Refugee Resettlement Watch, are a proud signator.  Be sure to scroll down to see all the Tea Party groups which have signed.  So, the next time you see mention of Tea Partiers supporting so-called “immigration reform” consider that Grover (Norquist) and gang are putting out that misinformation.

Photo is from the Politico story.

Pew: Christians still make up most of US immigrant population, but Muslim share is growing

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

No worries!  Only a quarter of a million US Muslims say violence against civilians in the name of Islam may sometimes be justified!

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life came out with a new study just yesterday about the religious make-up and size of the mostly legal immigrant population in the US.

As you read through this ponder these facts (I’ve rounded the numbers):

~ The US population is around 315 million.

~Pew says the US Muslim population as of 2011 was 2.75 million.

~We are adding roughly 1 million immigrants a year (for the past 20 years) and 100,000 of them are Muslim.

~Christians make up the largest share, but the share of Muslims and Hindus is growing.

Here are some interesting segments of Pew’s conclusions (I’ve highlighted the parts that interest me):

Over the past 20 years, the United States has granted permanent residency status to an average of about 1 million immigrants each year. These new “green card” recipients qualify for residency in a wide variety of ways – as family members of current U.S. residents, recipients of employment visas, refugees and asylum seekers, or winners of a visa lottery – and they include people from nearly every country in the world. But their geographic origins gradually have been shifting. U.S. government statistics show that a smaller percentage come from Europe and the Americas than did so 20 years ago, and a growing share now come from Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East-North Africa region.

With this geographic shift, it is likely that the religious makeup of legal immigrants also has been changing. The U.S. government, however, does not keep track of the religion of new permanent residents. As a result, the figures on religious affiliation in this report are estimates produced by combining government statistics on the birthplaces of new green card recipients over the period between 1992 and 2012 with the best available U.S. survey data on the religious self-identification of new immigrants from each major country of origin.  [US refugee program does track religious affiliation, they just don’t make the information public.—ed]

While Christians continue to make up a majority of legal immigrants to the U.S., the estimated share of new legal permanent residents who are Christian declined from 68% in 1992 to 61% in 2012. Over the same period, the estimated share of green card recipients who belong to religious minorities rose from approximately one-in-five (19%) to one-in-four (25%). This includes growing shares of Muslims (5% in 1992, 10% in 2012) and Hindus (3% in 1992, 7% in 2012).

More coming from Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The geographic origins of new permanent residents have shifted markedly during the past two decades, according to U.S. government data. In 1992, a total of 41% of new permanent residents came from the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East-North Africa region or sub-Saharan Africa. By 2012, more than half (53%) of new green card holders were from those regions.

No surprise!  Most Muslim population growth in US is coming from immigration.

The estimated number of new Muslim immigrants varies from year to year but generally has been on the rise, going from roughly 50,000 in 1992 to 100,000 in 2012. Since 2008, the estimated number of Muslims becoming U.S. permanent residents has remained at or above the 100,000 level each year. [Readers, that means that probably the biggest chunk of legal Muslim immigration is coming through our refugee and asylum programs—ed]

Between 1992 and 2012, a total of about 1.7 million Muslims entered the U.S. as legal permanent residents. That constitutes a large portion of the overall U.S. Muslim population (estimated at 2.75 million as of 2011).

Most Muslim immigrants coming from Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Iraq, Somalia and Ethiopia.

The most common countries of origin among Muslim immigrants in 1992 included Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh. Those countries, as well as Iraq, also were among the most likely birthplaces of Muslim immigrants to the U.S. in 2012.

In recent years, a higher percentage of Muslim immigrants have been coming from sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 16% of Muslim immigrants to the U.S. in 2012 were born in countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia. In 1992, only about 5% of new Muslim immigrants came from sub-Saharan Africa.  [Whew! That means about 16,000 Somalis and Ethiopians came last year!  Higher than I thought!—ed]

Now just for fun, go to Pew’s worldwide Muslim survey last month, here.

Don’t you just love it how Pew spins this with the word ‘few’!

Few U.S. Muslims voice support for suicide bombing or other forms of violence against civilians in the name of Islam; 81% say such acts are never justified, while fewer than one-in-ten say violence against civilians either is often justified (1%) or is sometimes justified (7%) to defend Islam. Around the world, most Muslims also reject suicide bombing and other attacks against civilians. However, substantial minorities in several countries say such acts of violence are at least sometimes justified, including 26% of Muslims in Bangladesh, 29% in Egypt, 39% in Afghanistan and 40% in the Palestinian territories.

So, if we have roughly 2.75 million Muslims in the US and 8% say it’s often or sometimes justified to use suicide bombings and violence against civilians in the name of Islam, that means that 220,000 American Muslims think violence against civilians is justified (someone check my math, maybe I have too many zeros!).  Ahhhhh!

I’m confident (aren’t you?) that when we take immigrants from Egypt, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories that we are only getting those from the percentage who do not approve of violence against civilians in the name of Islam—right!

I bet there is a lot of juicy stuff in here for anyone with the patience to dissect it!

Non-profit refugee contractor telling its supporters to call Senate on S.744

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The International Rescue Committee is a multi-million dollar a year non-profit largely funded by you, the US taxpayer.  They are lobbying for more refugees and asylum seekers to come to America and there is more money in it for them if they do.  Remember S.744 (the Gang of Eight bill) has an NGO slush fund.

Just now they are tweeting to their people the following action alert.  They say refugees and asylum issues will be addressed in the Judiciary Committee on Monday, the 20th.

So you should contact Senate Judiciary Committee members and tell them to strike all refugee/asylum sections from the bill and hold separate hearings on the program that has never (for three decades!) been properly reviewed by Congress.  It is especially important to review it in light of the Boston Marathon terror attack perpetrated by people to whom we gave asylum.

Here is what the IRC is tweeting to their groupies:

URGENT: Protect Refugee & Asylee Provisions in the Immigration Bill
Call the Senate Judiciary Committee Today!

For decades, the U.S. has provided protection to refugees and asylees who face persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.  In search of a better life for themselves and for their families, refugees and asylees are eager to participate fully in the economic and civic life of this country. Through a network of 22 offices in the United States, the International Rescue Committee provides assistance and the tools of self-reliance to refugees and asylees.

The Senate immigration reform bill (S.744) includes provisions that would provide much needed improvements to the protection of asylum seekers and refugees. On Monday, May 20, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to consider amendments relating to refugees, asylees, and other vulnerable populations in the bipartisan immigration bill. Committee members need to hear from you – refugees, volunteers, and community members from across the country.  Please call 1-866-940-2439 to speak with the office of a specific Judiciary Committee member.

Here are the members of the Committee!

Senator Jeff Sessions has been doing a huge amount of work, please tell him to keep it up and to strip out all Refugee/Asylum provisions from the bill!   These are provisions that will allow more refugees/asylum seekers to come to America, as well as put more of your money into the pockets of refugee contractors!  Tell them to strip out the special new grant program for non-profit open borders groups like the IRC!

Call as many Senators as you can!

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL): hundreds of millions would immigrate to America if they could

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

…..but we don’t have the financial resources to accept the world’s immigrants!—not to mention the fact that we would be culturally finished as a country.

Six Members of Congress standing in Speaker Boehner’s way!

That is it in a nutshell!  That is the truth of it all—of the Gang of Eight plus Grover bill now before the Judiciary Committee of the US Senate and the Refugee and Asylum program, the diversity visa lottery, and the list goes on.  When I ask critics of my work here at RRW at what number would they stop before fully closing the borders, they can’t answer.

Six Members of Congress held a press conference on Tuesday maintaining their steadfast opposition to the amnesty plan being labored over in the Senate.  Rumblings on the Hill are that Speaker Boehner wants a bill, and these Members stand in his way of unifying the Republican caucus.

I visited Hill offices yesterday (with a request to strip all refugee and asylum changes from S.744) since I was in DC for the State Department hearing on refugee admissions for FY 2014.

One stop I made was to Rep. Michele Bachmann’s office.  I was surprised that the prominent member of the Tea Party caucus, was not on the steps with Rep. Steve King and the others since she was opposed one month ago!  Getting squishy?  Her new staff person on immigration is Javier Sanchez (Javier.Sanchez@mail.house.gov), you might let him know where you stand.

Here is the NumbersUSA report on the press conference:

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was joined by five other House Members on Tuesday denouncing the Senate Gang of Eight’s amnesty bill, S.744. Rep. King was joined on the steps of the Capitol by Reps. Mo Brooks of Alabama, John Fleming of Louisiana, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Steve Stockman and Louie Gohmert of Texas. The six Congressmen said they were concerned about the huge negative impact an amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens would have on the national debt, and they said they stood by the rule of law.

The press conference took place as the Senate Judiciary Committee was continuing its markup of the Gang of Eight’s bill.

[….]

“In each of the past five years, 620,000 to 1.05 million foreigners have been given American citizenship,” Rep. Brooks said. “No country on earth comes close to being as generous as America is with its citizenship.

“The immigration issue is not about whether America is compassionate and generous. We are. The immigration issue is about whether America has the financial resources to accept all the world’s immigrants into America. There are hundreds of millions of foreigners who, if they could, would immigrate to America.”

Readers, more soon on my trip to DC and the State Department hearing.  There is much to report.  But, I will leave you now with this—you came through with testimony and completely swamped the refugee contractors with the number of comments you sent in.  Thank you!