Category: Refugee Resettlement Program in Maryland

The Fix is in, Hagerstown Herald Mail does free publicity campaign for VCC

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments

The Herald Mail of Hagerstown, MD is a liberal newspaper (like The New York Times) and uses its position as the only newspaper in town to promote its own political world view.   It does not present all the news so that citizens can weigh the issues and come to their own conclusions.  That became evident again this week on the issue of Refugee Resettlement for Washington County.  The paper has now stepped up its politically-correct drumbeat in support of  the Virginia Council of Church’s (VCC) plan to bring more refugees to our community.   The ‘puff piece’ published yesterday is just the most recent example of tugging at peoples’ heartstrings and using guilt to shut people up.  It is disgusting! 

Read the whole front page story here and note how VCC has crassly staged a media event by taking some Burmese refugees to a local home for senior citizens to sing hymns and cook a meal the week before the public meeting to bring the facts to the public.  But, it’s not just any senior citizens home, it’s one scheduled to be shut down for lack of funds and one many critics of Refugee Resettlement have pointed to when they have complained that we don’t have the resources to take care of our own poor and elderly and then we import more poverty.

The entire Refugee Resettlement is funded by you, the taxpayer.  You have every right to know exactly how your money is used.   In addition, immigration (legal and illegal) is rapidly changing America and it is your right and duty to participate in the debate that will change us all forever, for better or for worse.   The Herald-Mail has purposely kept the facts from you so that they can control the debate.

As a matter of fact, I credit the Herald-Mail with helping give birth to Refugee Resettlement Watch.   I was not particularly concerned with the Virginia Council of Church’s screw-ups.  And, I am sure many of the refugees are fine people.   My driving force is my interest in good government.  I hate it when government teams up with anyone—developer, preservationist, church group— on the taxpayer’s dime, all the while keeping residents in the dark.  It is patronizing and elitist.

I would not have embarked on this if the Herald-Mail had done its job in the first place and researched this issue so citizens knew how refugees came to be in Hagerstown.   But, obviously the Herald Mail editors must have assumed their position in support of more refugees would not have stood up to public scrutiny if the facts were known.   Since they can’t win in the arena of ideas, leftwing publications, like the Herald Mail,  turn to their weapon of choice—manipulation.

Ironically, the  reporter who wrote the puff piece above, is the same reporter I sent many questions* to back in May.  The reporter said he would ask his editor, but the answer came back loud and clear—they weren’t interested in finding facts.  Another editor, Bob Maginnis, told me there was nothing to look into.   So, now I’m looking into it myself!

If you are sick and tired of the news being slanted by the media monopoly (the elitists) in your town or city, start a blog of your own.  It’s power to the people!

*  If you want to read further, below are the questions I asked last May.  They seem naive now!

Hi Andy,

Here are questions that I believe need to be answered….  I think people in a community are always better off knowing all the facts.  When all the facts are gathered then a political solution can be found.   And, of course that’s why we have a newspaper!   

Here are some (maybe more than you were looking for!) questions:

1)  Under what authority can a private religious group choose to bring refugees into a community?  Why Hagerstown?

2)  Are assessments done of the community and its ability to absorb more people who will, at least initially, live below the poverty line?   Do we know how many people in Wash. Co. live below the poverty line?  How many in Hagerstown?

3) Is there any accounting done of the cost to the community?   For instance, is there high demand now for low income apartments in the Hagerstown area?  Will more immigrants push up the cost of housing for all low income people in the county?

4)  Are elected officials consulted before and during the process?  Is there any legal authority that requires such consultation?    Was there any outreach to Commissioners and City Council prior to the establishment of Virginia Council of Churches program here?

5)  Who pays for the immigrants housing, food, medical until they are fully established? 

6) Is there a saturation point determined, or can this program just go on indefinitely?  Who determines saturation point?

7)  Since these refugees will have low skilled work, is health insurance available to them, or must they depend on public health care?   Is there any accounting of how many in the first group are now covered by medical insurance?  What has been the response of public health services?

8)  Are schools in Washington County overcrowded?  Maybe the initial 200 refugees have not put a burden on the schools, does anyone know?   Will the next 200 put a burden or the 200 after that?

9)  Have there been any crimes committed or use of police services during the first wave of immigrants?

10)  How well has the original group of refugees learned English?  Did all adults attend ESL classes regularly enough to learn?

11)  What programs are in place to encourage other assimilation to living in America?

12)  Who were the volunteer groups and churches in Washington County that helped support the first wave?  Are they still helping with the newcomers?  What sort of support did they give to the immigrants?   Are there such people lined up to help with the next wave?

13)  Are there regular meetings in Washington County to assess the problems/progress of the first group?

Do elected officials attend?  Does the public attend?

14) Is it a normal practice for a group such as Virginia Council of Churches to go to elected officials and ask for funds ($15,000 in this case)?  

15) Why did VCoC leave Carroll County?  Why are they not locating these people in Virginia?  Have those cities in Virginia been saturated?

16)  Does VCoC get government funds for its overhead?  If so, how much? 

Thanks for your interest.  If the Herald Mail editors do decide to put some time into investigating this, let me know and I can steer you to some agency contacts I’ve found.   Ann Corcoran

Hagerstown Refugee Resettlement Public meeting scheduled

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

On September 19th from 7-9 p.m. citizens of Hagerstown and Washington County (MD)will have a rare opportunity to learn about Refugee Resettlement from some of the major players in the program. 

It’s my opinion that this sort of initiative should have occured long ago and should serve now as a model for other areas of the country.   Immigration is an issue of concern to everyone and the more citizens know about how it works the better off we will be as a country.  As a matter of fact, just today the Center for Immigration Studies released a new report which says that by the year 2060 we will be adding 100,000,000 people to America’s  population as a result of the present level of immigration.   The report suggests that we must decide if we want to diminish our environmental quality of life for our children and grandchildren.   Crowded living conditions, shortages of water and other resources, and less natural open space would likely result from that large an increase in population.

As for the public meeting, come out to the Kepler Theatre at Hagerstown Community College on September 19th, 7-9 p.m. and listen, ask questions and learn.  Yesterday, Opinion page editor, Bob Maginnis, reported on the meeting and listed those who will answer questions from the public:

Jordan (Dir. of Community Action Council) will be the moderator of the Sept. 19 event and said it will include the following presenters:

· Terry Rusch and Barbara Day, of the State Department’s Office of Population, Refugees and Migration.

· Edward Lin, director of the Maryland Office of New Americans and his deputy, Martin Ford.

· Francis Tinsley and Erica Iverson of Church World Services.

· Cline, of the Virginia Council of Churches.

Maginnis continues to urge the public to support bringing more refugees to Hagerstown.  Presumably this is also the position of the Herald-Mail because it has up till now avoided doing any indepth reporting that might have helped the public better understand the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program. 

Muslim Refugees to Maryland

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

     According to numbers we just recieved from the US State Department, Maryland beats the national average in the resettlement of Muslim refugees.     From 2002 through 2007 (to date) Maryland has been the resettlement destination of 1,556 Muslim refugees out of a total refugee pool of 3,979.   Muslims thus represented 39% of the refugee population for those years.    The national average from 1990 to 2003 was 15%, with  peak year 1999 (44%).   (We have not obtained national averages for more recent years.)

      The statistics received from WRAPS (Worldwide Refugee Application Processing System)*, indicated that of the remaining 2,423 refugees in that time period 22 other religions were represented.     This group of refugees hailed from 42 differant countries.   

      My home county (Washington Co.) received 125 Muslim refugees out of 168 total refugees since 2004 when resettlement began in earnest.    That puts us at 74% Muslim refugees resettled.

      *  What is WRAPS?  Here is what they say at their website  http://www.wrapsnet.org/

The Refugee Processing Center (RPC) is operated by the U.S Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in the Rosslyn section of Arlington, Virginia USA. 

. . . . .

At the RPC and at Overseas Processing Entities (OPEs), an interactive computer system called the Worldwide Refugee Admissions Processing System (WRAPS) is used to process and track the movement of refugees from various countries around the world to the U.S. for resettlement under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

Try contacting WRAPS and find out what is happening in your state or city.  E-mail help@wrapsnet.org  and see what response you get.  Then let us know!

Refugee Forum scheduled for Hagerstown, MD

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

    This will be of particular interest to our readers from the Washington Co. area.   Since there has been controversy over the resettlement of refugees here, a public meeting has been scheduled for citizens to get more information about how this program works, and for those administering the program, to hear what citizens’ concerns are.

     The date has been set for September 19, 2007 at 4 p.m. and will be in Hagerstown.  The exact location has yet to be determined.   As we know more we will report to you here at Refugee Resettlement Watch.

      We understand that the US State Dept. will be sending at least one representative to help explain the program administered by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

     This is an important step and one that should be taken everywhere that refugees are being resettled.   People in communities need to know (and have a right to know) how the federal government in conjunction with non-profit groups will change their cities and towns.

     For readers around the country, you should ask for such a public meeting in your community.

Sex-abuse charges against immigrant in MD dropped

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Your tax dollars:  

A Maryland judge recently dismissed a rape case against an asylee* from Liberia due to lack of a translator. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/21/AR2007072100660.html      

The immigrant from Liberia was charged with sexual abuse of a 7 year old girl but the case languished when an interpreter supposedly could not be found who spoke Vai, a tribal language of West Africa.   The Post reported that its reporters quickly found several local translators of the language. 

I’m mentioning this not because of the horrible crime committed and that no justice will be sought, but to highlight a growing problem for local communities.   Federal law requires that translators be provided by local jurisdictions for all sorts of needs of asylees and refugees.   Translators of obscure languages can cost $200 an hour and up.

Knight [court clerk] said the county spent nearly $1 million on interpreters last year, 10 times the amount it spent in 2000.  “It’s a constant struggle and it is extremely expensive,” she said.

At a recent meeting of agencies involved in refugee resettlement in Hagerstown, MD a $1500 Health Dept. bill was mentioned for translating Tuberculosis documents in anticipation of the arrival of Burmese (Karen) refugees.  Drug resistant TB is an increasing problem in the US as immigrant numbers rise.   The Virginia Council of Churches office in Hagerstown reports that they are working with seven differant languages at this time.

* For the definitions of refugee and aslyee go here:

  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/geninfo/index.htm