Well, I should say he is claiming credit for creating the present-day US Refugee Admissions Program in 1979.
Editor:By the way, I’ve been away at a conference to talk about how RRW was “deplatformed” by WordPressdotcom and am now back at my computer with news about why the US Refugee Admissions Program Mr. Purcell says he created must be dumped (and reformed if there is a will for some sort of program).
I know this might be getting too wonky, but it’s important to know how the program began and how it has gone wrong (or was wrong all along!)—something the speech police have been trying to stop me from telling you!
James N. Purcell, in anopinion piecein the Dallas News, says the refugee program was designed to leave out local and state government approval of refugee placement claiming it was “fairer” to leave them out of what he says is a federal decision.
I set up the U.S. refugee resettlement program that Trump is attacking
At a campaign rally last week in Minneapolis, the president trumpeted a recently issued executive order that would prohibit refugee resettlements unless states and cities expressly consented to them. He went on to say, “no other president would be doing that.”
There is a better way for state and local officials to make their views known that’s worked in the past.
This issue was a concern when I set up the U.S. refugee resettlement program in 1980 under President Jimmy Carter and when I was later named the official director of the program by President Ronald Reagan. We went out of our way to avoid the Damocles sword that President Donald Trump is now swinging.
Rather than force national decisions on state and local governments (which they were unable to make and has the effect of politicizing these decisions), we came up with a fairer and more humane approach that respected their unique roles. [So whatever happened to the Tenth Amendment?—ed]
The Refugee Act of 1980 recognized the essential contributions expected of state and local governments and made achievement of them possible.
What is he talking about! Were the “essential contributions expected” of the state and local governments the enormous costs associated with welfare, education, health care, housing and so forth—costs now borne by state and local taxpayers with little financial help from Washington?
And, get this, the role of state coordinator was created to help identify and resolve problems. How many of you reading this even knew you had state coordinators***?
The act required the federal government to coordinate and consult regularly with state refugee coordinators about proposed resettlements. Many potential problems were identified and resolved through monitoring and oversight, and record resettlement was achieved without serious incidents.
Now, without apparently knowing what he has revealed he tells us how the NGOs (the federally-funded refugee contractors, Leftwing phony ‘religious’ groups) really run the show he claims they tried not to “politicize.”
Perhaps that was why I was so perplexed in 1986 to receive a scathing letter from one of Minnesota’s leading politicians demanding that I cease resettlement of Hmong in Minnesota forthwith. This demand was so out of character for Minnesota that I immediately informed NGOs working on Hmong resettlement. By the end of the next week, Minnesotans were so outraged that I received letters reversing earlier criticisms and asking for more Hmong refugees.
Unbelievable! He was the US State Department’s director of the Refugee Admissions Program and he tipped off his contractors that an elected official in Minnesota was having a problem with the refugee program and they in turn ginned-up letters from their flocks (Catholics and Lutherans mostly) to send him asking for more Hmong refugees. (This was of course a few years before the major influx of Somalis to Minnesota began.)
So why wasn’t this all handled as he said they designed the program, through the State Refugee Coordinator? Why? Because the program is run by the contractors who are paid out of the US Treasury to place refugees wherever they choose! (See my recent post with a list of the present-day contractors, here.)
There will be no real reform of the US Refugee Program as long as the contractors are paid by us while acting as Leftwing political agitation groups.
*** Go here to see who your state refugee coordinator is. If you know anything about the program in your state you will notice that many of them are affiliated with a federal contractor.
Got a problem in your state, or just want to know more about the program there? Call your coordinator. You can start by asking for your state’s most recent Refugee Plan on file with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. Be polite and you will get some information (maybe not much!) but something.
Don’t miss my post on the major drug bust of Hmong in Wisconsin recently.
Any day now, the Administration will send a delegation to the Hill to consult with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on the President’s plan to admit a maximum number of 18,000 refugees to the US in FY2020 (the fiscal year began on October 1).
A reminder: Trump set the level for FY19 at 30,000 and reached that ceiling on September 30th. An 18,000 ceiling for FY20 would be the lowest in the program’s history.
Over the last couple of weeks there have been dozens and dozens of stories planted throughout America each one showcasing some poor refugee family that would not be reunited if the ceiling is that low. And, without fail, the articles tell us which of the resettlement contractors had to close subcontractor offices.
Frankly I have read so many of these whiny stories I want to barf. That said, I would like you to have a look at this one from Twin Falls, Idaho where the local resettlement subcontractor is expected to continue in operation for another year at least and my guess is that is in order to keep a refugee worker flow going to Chobani Yogurt. See my Twin Falls archive here.
However, when quoting the director of the program there, the reporter, Megan Taros, says something that is not factually correct and I want to mention that to you:
A new executive order issued by President Trump last month that cuts the number of refugees the U.S. will accept from 30,000 to 18,000 this fiscal year threatens the center’s funding. The center receives federal money based on the number of people it takes in. With the new order its approved intake, which is now 140, may drop. Congress will meet on Tuesday to decide what the final nationwide cap on refugees will be.
Maybe the consultation will happen today as the reporter suggests, but Congress will NOT DECIDE ON THE FINAL NATIONWIDE CAP. Congress’ only role under the Refugee Act of 1980 is a consultation role when it comes to setting the upcoming ceiling/cap (but of course they do appropriate the funding for the President’s plan).
That said, it will be interesting to see if over the last few weeks, the massive media PR campaign (like the one here in Twin Falls) by the refugee industry has succeeded in getting the administration to up its original number of 18,000!
The article also reminded me to direct you to the Refugee Council USA‘s (lobbyists for the refugee industry) report which lists the subcontractor offices that have been closed since the Trump Administration began reducing the number of refugees being admitted.
Please take a minute andgo hereto see if an office has closed in your city.
Scroll down to page 23 to see the list. Here is a screenshot of the first page:
Trump can’t do this alone!
If you want to see the Refugee Program dumped or reformed, you must get involved now where you live. This is no time to sit back and assume the President is taking care of this. The refugee industry is extremely well funded and has a massive media network.
As soon as the Trump Administration ends—it will sooner or later—they will be back full steam ahead and they have been laying the ground work with the sob-story news reports spread throughout small city newspapers everywhere.
One thing you can do right now is to send letters or opinion pieces to papers like this one to express the theme I think is most powerful—why aren’t we taking care of our own vulnerable people first? After all, we the taxpayers are paying for all of this! Use some statistics or sad stories about your community.
And, it goes without saying, you absolutely must attempt to elect people to local offices that represent your views on the subject of mass migration! Start now by dogging candidates for the 2020 Elections and press them on their views on immigration!
Editor: First, see my quickie post last night. Also, note that I am now able (at this newly reconstructed RRW) to accept comments and I suspect more than a few of you might not like my analysis. So I will say at the outset, my hesitation to give a full blessing to the Presidential Determination in no way diminishes my support for the President.
As the Leftists know so well, in order to move the needle on any political issue there has to be someone staking out a position who is willing to say it is not enough! Heck, all of the groups included in the Refugee Industry were demanding 95,000 refugees knowing that was NEVER going to happen. They didn’t come in with anything that would appear reasonable—say 35,000-40,000—they went for the extreme.
However, I’m not saying that I wanted zero this year purely as a political ploy, but I am saying that simply reducing numbers and tinkering around the edges of an extremely flawed program designed in 1979 and 1980 by Senator Ted Kennedy and President Jimmy Carter is not going to fix how we admit refugees in the decades ahead.
Setting the level at zero would likely have forced a major national debate and Trump could have said to Congress—you don’t like it, then dump the Refugee Act of 1980 and reform the entire process by which we admit refugees.
And, yes, this is only the beginning you might argue, but only if Donald Trump is reelected in 2020!
As predicted, those organizations with a vested interest in admitting more refugees both as future Democrat voters and because they are paid to place refugees are furious.
Here is what the Refugee Council USA(an Open Borders lobbying consortium in Washington, DC) said last night.
Washington, DC – The Administration announced that it is proposing to set the Presidential Determination (PD) for annual refugee admissions for FY 2020 at 18,000. This decision is unprecedented, cruel, and contrary to American humanitarian values and strategic interests.
[….]
The US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is built on nearly four decades of public-private partnership, bringing together nonprofits, faith groups, local communities, and the Federal and State governments for this essential community-building work. Refugees strengthen our communities and our country socially, culturally, and economically.
Public-Private Partnership mumbo-jumbo!
Of course, and as usual, there is no mention that nine of the members of RCUSA*** have a financial interest in keeping numbers high because they are paid from the US Treasury to place refugees into towns and cities of their choosing.
I continue to argue that the major flaw in the US Refugee Admissions Program is the fact that Left-leaning non-profit groups are paid for their ‘charitable’ work, so there is never any incentive to adjust the flow without those groups taking to the streets with anti-Trump placards held aloft.
Kennedy and Carter created a political structure funded by taxpayers that assures a continuous flow of third world poverty to American towns and cities.
Those of us who object have no political organization with the financial resources of the nine resettlement contractors and their extensive networks, mostly through their church or synagogue infrastructure, to fight back. Not to mention the big bucks certain industries (meatpackers!) and the Chamber of Commerce are shelling out in order to keep a steady supply of cheap labor.
Although there was talk last year of dropping some of the nine federal contractors, that didn’t happen and all nine are still in place. But, even if this coming year’s low number forces a couple of the contractors to close their programs, it just allows the big ones like the US Conference of Catholic Bishopsand the International Rescue Committee to further monopolize the process.
First, get rid of the contractors!
I have said and continue to maintain that if we are to admit refugees then there is no reason that these non-profits, including the churches, can’t still do their ‘humanitarian’ work in the old fashioned way—with true private charity, and not as paid agents of the federal government.
The second important issue I’ve raised here for years involves the placement of refugees which has been largely dictated by the nine federal contractors for decades.
Yes, they coordinate with the US State Department, but it’s largely a game of pin the refugee on the map.
Only when citizens of the ‘lucky’ chosen community organize and object does anyone pay any attention to concerns about a given location (a large part of my work here for a dozen years has been to show where citizens in “pockets of resistance” have objected to the US State Department changing their community by changing the people.)
I give the President kudos for an attempt to address the problem of placement with an Executive Order signed yesterday. Read it here.But, honestly it has not been very carefully thought through and thus strikes me as a political bone thrown to critics of the program.
Why didn’t the President’s people call in some of us who are somewhat knowledgeable about how the program works on the ground to help craft a feasible way to give decision-making power to the states and local citizens who will be most affected by the arrival of large numbers of impoverished people?
This is getting too long, but let me give a few examples of why I say the order has not been thoroughly thought out.
So, governor number one (who might only have a year or so left in his/her term) says yes, we love refugees send more, but a neighboring governor says no thanks. What is going to keep the refugees in welcoming state number one?
In America, all of us are allowed to move without government approval and that includes refugees.
You can run that same scenario involving mayors. One mayor says we love refugees, but a town down the road isn’t on board with the idea. Refugees placed in town number one pack up and move to town number two anyway!
Then how about ‘welcoming’ governor number one is out of office in a year and is replaced by another governor who wants to stop the refugee flow to the state, how quickly could the feds put on the brakes to stop the flow to the now ‘unwelcoming’ state? You can see the chaos that would ensue.
I do have some ideas that I think could work in terms of revamping the whole program (assuming Americans want to continue accepting some refugees), but no one has ever contacted me to ask.
There are so many other issues involving the Presidential Determination that need to be discussed and I’ll do that in the coming days—things like: we are going to continue to take Australia’s rejected asylum seekers! Nuts!
Let me just say once again, maybe more clearly: We can still support President Trump and criticize some of his decisions.
It is my view that Trump’s greatest downfall as President began on day one when he did not immediately clean out the deep state actors throughout the White House and federal agencies and move his genuine (and knowledgeable) loyal supporters into his Administration.
The best thing you can do now is work hard for Trump’s reelection so that he has four more years to get it right and solve this problem.
***For new readers these are the nine federally-funded resettlement contractors:
Here (below) are the key points (I’ll have more to say in the morning!).
***Update*** More on the President’s Determination, here.
LOL! And, by morning we should be hearing the wailing coming from the refugee industry mouthpieces!
By the way, all nine federal refugee contractors work to politically undermine President Trump on a daily basis.Indeed they hate him just as much for 18,000 as they would if he said zero (as was being considered at one point), so he might as well have gone with zero!
Trump to cut refugees to 18,000, give localities veto over resettlement
The Trump administration on Thursday proposed cutting the number of refugees admitted next year to 18,000, and called for a major revamp of the program to align it with U.S. interests, including giving localities a say in whether they can accommodate the new arrivals.
The new plan will also reduce the role of the U.N. in picking America’s refugees, and instead give priority to religious minorities and Iraqis who have assisted the U.S. government, and to refugees the U.S has agreed to resettle on behalf of Australia.
Officials submitted the proposal to Congress on Thursday, kicking off a consultation period that will conclude with President Trump making a final determination next month.
But based on past consultations, the 18,000 number is likely to hold firm.
It would be the lowest cap since the modern refugee system was created in 1980, and marks a 12,000 drop from the fiscal year 2019 cap, and a major reduction from the 110,000 refugee target the Obama administration tried to set for 2017.
[….]
As striking as the smaller refugee cap is, officials said the changes to the system are just as important.
Chief among those is an executive order Mr. Trump will soon issue giving states and localities the chance to consent before refugees are sent to their jurisdictions.
Don’t get overly excited, this isn’t the kind of real reform I’ve been looking for! It is a start, but it should have been made two years ago. It is now too late in his term for it to produce any lasting change.
“Samaritas is incredibly excited to be partnering with Wayne County and Wayne Metro for this important project that will create opportunities for affordable transitional housing for the New Americans families in our care.”
(Samaritas CEO Sam Beals)
This must be Michigan day for me. Earlier at ‘Frauds and Crooks’I wrote about all of the ‘new American’ doctors going to prison there for ripping off taxpayers and fueling the Opioid Crisis!
Now comes news that Wayne County (of course!) is building housing to accommodate impoverished refugees in partnership with Samaritas. What! All low income Americans in Wayne County have homes!
And, it won’t cost the county a dime because the money is coming via Washington, DC’s famous money tree—-you and me!
Hamtramck’s federally funded Freedom Village will be right here!
Freedom Village, a safe haven for refugees, planned in Hamtramck
Hamtramck — Wayne County is working to aid refugees fleeing their war-torn countries for new lives in Michigan with a safe haven they are calling Freedom Village, officials announced Monday.
The county is partnering with Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Samaritas and the city of Hamtramck to create the resettlement designed to provide refugees and immigrants with transitional affordable housing.
Construction of three two-family homes to house six families on Faber in Hamtramck is underway and is expected to be completed by summer 2020, county officials said.
The program was created to provide a better life to low-income refugees and immigrants by surrounding them with resources to eventually pursue permanent homeownership opportunities, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said.
“We are a welcoming county that derives its strength from the diversity of its residents, and this project epitomizes that core value,” Evans said in a statement.
The Hamtramck project will develop newly constructed, affordable houses on Wayne County Land Bank-owned parcels in the city.
After the parcels are cleared, Wayne County will assemble the properties for the Hamtramck Refugee Resettlement project.
Under the agreement, the new construction will be at no cost to the city of Hamtramck. It will increase the taxable value of the vacant lots, bringing them back onto the tax rolls and contributing revenue to the city, officials said.
Wayne County Metropolitan Community Action Agency will serve as the property developer and owner, and Samaritas, a resettlement agency, will place refugees and provide further services.
Those darn Lutherans in the housing business (again)! You need to know that Lutheran Social Services of Michigan rebranded and became Samaritas in 2016.See my post:
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan, rebrands, no longer wants to be tagged as Lutheran
Earlier LSS got into some housing hanky-panky here.
CEO Beals is doing well by doing good. See Samaritas IRS Form 990. Beals is making over $300,000 a year working for the Lutheran ‘charity.’ https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2017/381/360/2017-381360553-0fe410b2-9.pdf
Back to the Detroit News,
CEO Sam Beals said Samaritas, which has helped resettle families in Michigan for 70 years, couldn’t be more excited for the unique partnership.
“Samaritas is incredibly excited to be partnering with Wayne County and Wayne Metro for this important project that will create opportunities for affordable transitional housing for the New Americans families in our care,” Beals said. “Having beautiful builds like this one, appropriately called Freedom Village, in Hamtramck is much needed and a great location for this project as a welcoming city in metro Detroit.”
[….]
More than 600,000 foreign-born individuals live in Michigan, and of that, more than 70% live in southeast Michigan, according to the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.
[….]
County officials did not disclose the cost of the program but said it’s being funded with federal housing dollars through Wayne County HOME Investment Partnerships Program, a federal grant program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Development.
Samaritas is a $100 Million a year operation and received over $30 million in taxpayer funded grants in one recent year. Now they are in the federal housing business. Hmmmm!
