Category: Resettlement cities

Waiting for Abbott, while Idaho Governor Little Caves, Becomes 16th Republican to Rebuff the President

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments
Jen Smyers of Church World Service: “The impact if Texas doesn’t allow refugee resettlement to continue will be really dismal.”

The Leftwing federal contractors *** are on pins and needles waiting to see if they can reel in their big fish—Texas Governor Greg Abbott.   

Texas is their most desired catch because although Abbott tried to get out of the program several years ago, the state remains the top refugee placement state in the nation (the Left is turning Texas blue!).

Smyers told reporters that many church groups on the ‘religious’ Left and advocates for Open Borders have met with Abbott’s staff.

Here is the Statesman headline from yesterday:

Abbott silent as refugee resettlement deadline approaches

The article suggests that the deadline is “looming.”  It isn’t! as I explained here when I told you about the dumb Republican governors who jumped on the consent bandwagon prematurely when they obviously hadn’t read the guidance from the US State Department.

Smart governors are keeping their powder dry.

But up in Idaho….

We can add another governor to our dumb governors list.

I wonder, did Governor Little get a call from Pompeo too? Did he get any suggestion from anyone in Washington that his MONEY depended on his consent?

Governor Brad Little joins the list of governors thumbing their noses at one of the the President’s major goals—reforming the dysfunctional UN-driven Refugee Admissions Program and reducing refugee admissions.

Although Idaho doesn’t receive the massive number of refugees that Texas does, it nevertheless has been one of the major controversial locations in the country where many citizens there do not want to see more diversity and more poverty moved from Africa, Asia and the Middle East to their rural state.

(See my extensive Idaho archive here.)

Here is a headline yesterday from The Neighbor:

County, Little offer support for refugee resettlement, but questions over jurisdiction remain

You can read the story yourself, but I want to be sure you see the Governor’s letter to Secretary of State Pompeo:

You should consider this a weasel letter. The Governor is saying (sigh) if Twin Falls County wants it, it’s okay with me.

 

Twin Falls County

Three cheers for a government body that actually read the rules.

More important than the governor’s weak letter is this letter that Twin Falls County sent to the Dept. of State.  In the opening paragraphs, commissioners criticize the Funding Guidance for its lack of clarity, but toward the end of the three-page letter, they penned an important few paragraphs.

Don’t forget, this whole exercise is about whether federal contractors will get MONEY (your tax dollars) later in 2020.

Shut out of so-called ‘stakeholder’ meetings!

They want to be included in consultations in the future (having been shut out so far) and if this exercise is to be repeated they want to hold “robust public hearings.”  That is exactly what should be happening across 49 states (Wyoming has never been in the program).

Don’t forget the 100-mile radius rule! 

When a contractor is ‘hired’ by the feds and approval is given by, in this case, Twin Falls County (and the governor), contractors may place certain refugees in a 100-mile radius of the resettlement office.

With its consent, Twin Falls County has granted permission for refugees to be placed in these locations within a hundred miles. See radius calculator.

This region includes 11 counties: Blaine, ID; Butte, ID; Camas, ID; Cassia, ID; Elmore, ID; Gooding, ID; Jerome, ID; Lincoln, ID; Minidoka, ID; Power, ID; Twin Falls, ID

 

***For new readers these (below) are the nine federally-funded refugee contractors that operate as a huge conveyor belt monopolizing all refugee placement in America.

Church World Service poster girl!

For decades they have decided in secrecy where to place refugees and they don’t want to lose that power because even as they pontificate about their religious convictions and humanitarian zeal, they are Leftwing political activist groups working to change America by changing the people and using your money to do it!

And, they do not limit their advocacy toward only legal immigration programs, but are heavily involved in supporting the lawlessness at our borders.

The question isn’t as much about refugees per se, but about who is running federal immigration policy now and into the future?  

(I plan to say this once a day from now on!)

I continue to argue that these nine contractors are the heart of America’s Open Borders movement and thus there can never be long-lasting reform of US immigration policy when these nine un-elected phony non-profits are paid by the taxpayers to work as community organizers pushing an open borders agenda.

 

 

 

Massachusetts Interfaith Council Attacks Mayor who Says NO to More Refugees

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 2 Comments

If you wonder why more local elected officials aren’t brave. See what the Leftists do to those who go against them—mayors like Springfield, Mass  Mayor Sarno!

Mayor Sarno has been trying tor years to get the State Department to stop the pipeline of refugees to Springfield.

The Open Borders Leftwingers are ruthless and this is the type of in-your-face agitation they have no fear of launching, but LOL! I think this one backfired.

The Interfaith Council of Springfield Mass placed a full-page ad in the Sunday edition of a local paper to shame the mayor—they don’t want Springfield to be the first city in America to say NO! to more refugees.

(If you are confused, according to the US State Department’s Funding Guidance it is county governments that must officially opt-in or opt-out of refugee resettlement under the President’s plan, but the Open Borders activists are going after cities probably because they think that mayors are an easier target.  For the record, the first county to say NO is Appomattox County, Virginia.)

Here is the news, and then I’ll get to why the resettlement contractors’ (in this case primarily HIAS***) aggressive action, via the local Interfaith group, is backfiring!  (I’ve warned you before about ‘Interfaith groups’  as primary promoters of refugee resettlement.)

From Masslive:

Interfaith Council challenges Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno on refugee resettlement

SPRINGFIELD – A full page taken by the Interfaith Council of Greater Springfield in the Sunday Republican today is requesting that Mayor Domenic J. Sarno bring unity rather than refusal around the issue of refugee resettlement in the city, saying in what it calls an open letter “no human is a burden.”

“Springfield is now the first city in the country whose mayor has refused to issue a letter of consent to allow refugee resettlement to continue,” reads the council’s letter.

“This is not a distinction we bear lightly.”

The statement, whose dozen signatures include those of the Western Massachusetts Conference of the Evangelical Church of America, Sinai Temple and the Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts, adds, “Instead of assigning blame to a small and already marginalized group, what if we were to bring people together – across our divides – to create real solutions? If, as the Mayor suggests, neighboring communities need to do more, one wonders what can be done to bring people together around such a solution. Many or us are ready to step forward.”

Following a unanimous City Council vote Dec. 16 supporting local involvement in refugee resettlement, Sarno issued a statement of opposition and in a Dec. 18 letter to MassLive and The Republican outlined why he would not issue a letter of consent permitting refugees to be resettled in the city.

[….]

In his letter explaining his refusal to do so, Sarno said, “It’s time for other much more affluent communities to take on their fair share.”

“My position has been very clear on that this issue taxes our city and school services and calls into question the accountability and follow-through aspects of refugee agencies, who not too long ago, placed a number of refugees in condemned housing units,” Sarno wrote.

“We have a number of residents in Springfield who need assistance and that will continue to be the concentration of my efforts. Springfield has proudly done more than its fair share on this issue.”

In an Dec. 18 interview about its work with refugee resettlement, Maxine Stein, president and chief executive officer of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, the largest area agency doing such work, said, “Refugees are not taking services from our city.”

[…..]

JFS is the oldest and largest refugee resettlement agency in Western Massachusetts and works in partnership with the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society or HIAS and the State Department in what, prior to the Trump administration, had been resettling some 240 refugees annually in the area.

HIAS is among the organizations that have filed suit against the administration over Executive Order 13888. [We expect that case to be heard in a Maryland court in early January—ed]

There is much more, please read it all.

So why do I say their aggressive ad backfired?

See the comments!!! 

As of this writing there are 98 of them, and based on a quick look the vast majority are in support of Sarno.

And, this is the ‘peoples’ republic of Massachusetts.’

Here are some screenshots of just a few recent ones (there are many more, but I had to quit for the sake of time!)  Go read them yourself and maybe consider adding a few more.

 

If Allwornout is referring to refugees, they are here legally. Readers need to understand that our LEGAL immigration system is massively flawed and must be reformed. The UN/US Refugee Admissions Program in my view should be entirely repealed. We must not in the future turn over the power to place refugees where un-elected fake non-profits (funded by taxpayers) choose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***Don’t miss yesterday’s post where I explained that this exercise is all about MONEY for the contractors.

It is kind of funny, in the Bible Belt, the contractors are using Leftwing Evangelicals to carry their water.  In Minnesota it is Leftist Catholics and Lutherans, but in the more liberal north east they turn to extremely Leftwing Interfaith groups symbolizing multicultural mush—love and peace for one and all.

Tennessee Republican Governor Bill Lee Caves, Says Tennessee Will Invite More Refugees

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

But, he is up against a buzz saw—likely the most significant “Pocket of Resistance” anywhere in the country.

A what? A pocket of resistance?

That is a term one of Obama’s federal Office of Refugee Resettlement employees used at a 2013 refugee contractor pow-wow in Lancaster, PA to describe the citizens who were asking questions about the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program.

I was in the audience and wrote about it here:

[T]he keynote speaker talked about how ‘Welcoming America’was working to get YOUR minds right about your new refugee neighbors (and, they received a federal grant from ORR to do it!).

Originally from Tennessee, David Lubell launched Welcoming America, a non-profit the feds hired to tamp down what they termed as ‘pockets of resistance.’ Lubell was later awarded Obama’s ‘Champion of Change’ award.

Before Susan Downs-Karkos from ‘Welcoming America’ spoke, we had been alerted by the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Director of Placement, Mitiku Ashebir that  (gasp!) “three pockets of resistance against new arrivals” had developed.  He assured the gathering it was not widespread and that Pennsylvania, thankfully, was not one of them.   Drum roll please!  Here are the pockets of resistance and Mr. Ashebir’s brief description of the unwelcoming problems:

New Hampshire—some mayors have problems, said Ashebir

Georgia—budget reductions for some service providers

Tennessee—they want to control arrival numbers!  Imagine that!

As far as I know the resistance in Georgia and New Hampshire has been brought under control by Leftwing refugee industry activists, but they have not been able to quell the rebellion by Tennessee patriots who are hopping mad at the governor for going against the President and saying—send us more poor people from across the world.  (Lee caves here.)

Consequently, see this mornings news about the uprising against the governor, a governor conservatives put their faith in and now feel he has betrayed them.

From the Dailyrollcall.com (every state should have a publication like this one to keep especially your Republicans accountable):

Bill Lee Tithes For the Federal Refugee Resettlement Program With Taxpayer Money

 

Why do millionaires like Bill Lee feel so free to use state tax dollars to live out their personal religious beliefs?

Remember when Bill Lee was campaigning and trying to dazzle gullible voters with his “brilliant” idea for an Office of Faith-Based & Community Initiatives?

Good ol’ country boy Bill Lee bows to Leftists that run the big urban centers of Tennessee.

Once elected he launched this initiative and it may end up being the vehicle for Bill Lee to funnel more state dollars to pad the pocketbooks of federal refugee contractors and other groups that want to get into the lucrative refugee resettlement business.

In fact, Bill Lee told us as much while he was on the campaign trail:

“My wife has worked in a ministry that serves Kurdish refugees, I’ve been to Kurdistan and served with refugees from ISIS in refugee camps,” Lee replied. “I believe that the work of nonprofits is powerful and important, and that’s what this is about. And I am a Christian, so my experiences and my work with non-profits that are doing effective work has been Christian organizations, so that’s what I talk about, because I talk about my experience, and I will support works that are doing, meeting some of the greatest challenges in our community that I believe government shouldn’t meet, it’s not the role of government to do that. But it is the role of the nonprofit community and I would encourage that kind of work, for sure.”

But he might just use the government to provide the greenbacks – we’ll get to that in a minute.

So why is anyone surprised that when offered, he jumped at the chance to say “YES!” I want to put Tennessee back into the refugee resettlement program!!!

And because of the 50-100 mile placement rules from the four urban centers where the federal resettlement contractor offices are located, when he consented for Tennessee, he pretty much put every county in the state up for grabs.

Please continue reading, and then see this….

Judith Clerjeune an immigrant activist in TN is thrilled with the governor. But you can bet they still won’t vote for him next time around. https://www.tnimmigrant.org/judith

Conservatives in Tennessee who put Bill Lee in office get a lump of coal for Christmas while the radical left TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) congratulates it’s lobbying effort on the consent push:

“We thank Governor Lee for his moral clarity and leadership in making his decision today…‘Refugee communities across Tennessee have played a powerful role in defending not only the resettlement program but the values and aspirations of this country’, said TIRRC Policy Officer Judith Clerjeune. ‘We will continue to work with refugee leaders and partner agencies to advocate for a robust and generous resettlement program.”’

During Bill Lee’s campaign his first major policy initiative was his “Roadmap for Rural Tennessee” which he highlighted by riding around on a tractor and talking about “his farming roots” and about how Tennessee is just one generation away from losing this way of life.

Not sure what happened to all that rural love, because what we have now, is the rural governor scrooging Tennessee’s rural counties in deference to the urban-based federal contractor resettlement agencies.

Read it all here.

As of this writing, Lee’s ‘welcome refugees’ letter is not on file at the US State Department.  See if your governor is here.

The nine federal refugee contractors salaried workers are working day and night to get those consents into the State Department by Christmas.  Therefore….

Shame on You if You Don’t Take 15 Minutes to Do This!

 

North Dakota Republican Governor is a Definite Yes for More Refugees

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Because of the national attention Burleigh County’s Monday meeting was generating, the governor obviously went to the Administration to get clarification on how the process works and I want to comment on a few items he posted from the governor’s office.

But, he hadn’t gotten the clarification when he sent his letter supporting the program way back on November 19th in which he says they are happily integrating their refugees into their workforce.

White House clarifies proposed figures for refugee resettlement as local jurisdictions weigh consent

Forbes calls Governor Doug Burgum ‘America’s Best Entrepreneurial Governor’ https://www.forbes.com/sites/richkarlgaard/2017/06/13/americas-best-entrepreneurial-governor/#33d337087f21

Here are a few points I want to highlight this morning from what the governor reports.

First, he got clarification that under the new Trump resettlement program this same process will be used every year, and each year the local community and the governor must consent.

The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs confirmed that local jurisdictions will need to consent every year for refugee resettlement to continue.

He learned that in addition to the 18,000 cap on the regular refugee program for fiscal year 2020 (which began on October 1, 2019) there will be 10,000 additional special refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq (virtually all Muslims we surmise) who supposedly helped our military in some way or other.

They are treated as refugees with all the social service benefits refugees receive, but with one important exception—they can go anywhere in America they wish.  Regular refugees are placed by contractors*** in the locations they choose.

The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs also stated that up to 10,000 Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders – individuals who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in either Iraq or Afghanistan – are eligible for reception and placement services through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Unlike refugees, SIV holders can choose where to settle in the United States. LSS is allowed to provide services to SIV holders and has served up to 21 annually since 2016, though none were served in 2019, according to the agency, which includes SIV holders in its reported total for refugee resettlements.

Then he did confirm why Republicans like himself support the flow of low-skilled refugees to America—because their state business interests want the low wage workers.  And, because they don’t want any global corporations that might be eyeing ND to think the state is filled with bigoted hateful people. (He doesn’t say that, but that is what he means.)

“We support the administration giving states and local jurisdictions the consent authority on whether to continue receiving refugees, and we respect the right to exercise local control,” Burgum said. “That being said, we have serious concerns that denying resettlement to a handful of well-vetted and often family-connected refugees would send a negative signal beyond our borders at a time when North Dakota is facing a severe workforce shortage and trying to attract capital and talent to our state.”

Never mind that those low-skilled refugees earning low wages will need taxpayer-funded services and will eventually vote the Republicans out of office.

North Dakota is done for now, but you will have another shot at it later this year as the feds prepare for fiscal year 2021 that begins on October first of 2020!   Assuming he runs again, Burgum will be up for re-election at that same time.

For others of you….

Shame on You if You Don’t Take 15 Minutes to Do This!

 

This post is filed in my ‘Where to find information category’ where all of my recent posts on this make-or-break issue may be found.

Also, see my archive on North Dakota.

For many years, it has seen a lot of controversy over refugee resettlement.  I just was reminded when I scanned my posts on the state that the Somali knife attacker in St. Cloud in 2016 was a refugee originally resettled in Fargo, ND

 

***For new readers these (below) are the nine refugee contractors that monopolize all refugee placement in America.  For decades they have decided in secrecy where to place refugees and they don’t want to lose that power because even as they pontificate about their religious convictions and humanitarian zeal, they are Leftwing political groups working to change America by changing the people and using your money to do it!

North Dakota’s Burleigh County Says Yes to More Refugees, Sets a Cap

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 1 Comment

In a packed meeting room, County Commissioners in Bismarck, voted 3-2 to ‘welcome’ more impoverished refugees to the county in the coming year—25 total they say.

As the country watched (even the NY Times was watching) the county leaders took a wishy-washy middle of the road position because as far as I know there is no rule or regulation that lets them set a cap.

Once you agree to take in third worlders from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, a county can’t dictate numbers or select refugees by ethnicity or religion.

 

Although their decision was not exactly overwhelming, the fact that this county commission actually held a hearing to take the pulse of the community is very significant. All across the country governors and local elected officials are deciding behind closed doors.  Demand public hearings!

 

Here is a brief story from local KFYR-TV:

Burleigh County Commission vote to allow refugee resettlement in 3-2 decision

BREAKING: Burleigh County commissioners vote to allow refugee resettlement with a cap of 25 for next year after a four hour hearing.

Both sides of the issue voiced opinions and addressed the commissioners.

Commissioners include Brian Bitner, Jerry Woodcox, Mark Armstrong, Kathleen Jones and Jim Peluso.

Peluso and Bitner voted no.

The option surfaced after President Donald Trump issued an executive order allowing local governments to make their own decisions.

Cass County recently voted to accept refugees.

 

For a more complete and incredibly biased report see the New York Times story from overnight.  As always there is absolutely no mention that the do-gooder Lutherans who resettle refugees in ND are paid, as federal contractors, to place the refugees throughout North Dakota.

The NYT reports that Burleigh County Commissioner Bitner did not even know that refugees were being placed in the county demonstrating that this program operates in SECRECY whenever the contractors can get away with it.

The NYT does point out some pitfalls we see with the President’s approach when he opened this can of worms. (Don’t get me wrong, chaos/confusion is a good thing politically !)

There is one very bright side all of you need to note:  the process is forcing state and local elected officials who have been happy to hide behind the mantra—this decision of where refugees are placed is a federal decision—to go on the record for all voters to see who is friend or foe on the issue of our time.

I see the vote for more refugees as a proxy vote for more immigration across the board.

You can read the whole NYT story yourself, here.

LOL! One thing jumped out at me and that was that although the reporter calls the President, President Trump, once at the beginning of the story.  In four additional references he is relegated to “Mr. Trump.”

Mr. Obama is referred to as “President Barack Obama” (not former President…).

Shame on You if You Don’t Take 15 Minutes to Do This!

This post is filed in my ‘Where to find information category’ where all of my recent posts on this make-or-break issue may be found.

See the right hand side bar for the governors who have caved already and told the President that they want more impoverished refugees placed in their (your!) state.

The NYT says 16 governors have sent letters, if that is true they are keeping their mouths shut in the media.

If you are contacting elected officials please send me feedback at refugeewatcher@gmail.com