Lexington KY: Catholic Church and Interfaith group stage refugee “pilgrimage” tomorrow

10/19/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is what I don’t get: Why does their love of “the other” always have to be demonstrated via a political event— a staged event to show how good they are and how bad you are?

Screenshot (1498) — Social justice warriors: The Catholic Church and an ‘Interfaith’ group hold a political event in Lexington tomorrow.

Can’t these Catholics simply (quietly!) help refugees and immigrants without making a show of it?

Here is news from Lexington, KY about such an event tomorrow entitled: “Share the Journey with Migrant, Refugee, and Marginalized Sisters and Brothers” pilgrimage.

Implicit in the advertising is the political message: in the Trump era immigrants are suffering.

Maybe the good Catholics could help them privately and quietly with food and private loving care! (We assume that they have run out of poor and homeless Americans to care for in Lexington!)

Does it really help immigrants personally to showcase them, or is this all about the midterm elections?

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Show solidarity with migrants, refugees at Saturday pilgrimage, service

This is a time of great and increasing uncertainty for immigrants living among us, whatever their citizenship or country of origin. In fact, it is an extremely difficult time for the marginalized and members of minorities living among us, whether they were born in this country or not.

While immigrants from some countries have been welcomed over the years, too often refugee and immigrants from other countries have faced indifference or hostility. This has happened while we have often relied on them to do difficulty and sometimes dangerous jobs for long hours and for very low wages. [How about if the good Catholics find them work other than in low wage meat and poultry plants!—ed]

Recent changes in immigration and enforcement policies have left many of these people with very little sense of security or, sometimes, hope. Those of us in more fortunate circumstances must, in conscience, step up and offer them both expressions of solidarity and practical help. [How about some serious practical help without the showboating!—ed]

One important chance to express solidarity is the “Share the Journey with Migrant, Refugee, and Marginalized Sisters and Brothers” pilgrimage taking place Saturday, Oct. 20, starting at 10 a.m. at the Courthouse Plaza and ending at Historic St Paul Catholic Church, where there will be a brief service, beginning with song and dance by our Congolese sisters and brothers. [They love to bring out the refugees as props for their political message!—ed]

The intention of the event is “to promote a just and inclusive community, especially in this climate of enhanced danger for immigrants, refugees, and the marginalized. We stand together, walk together, and pray together as a public witness to the dignity of the human person and the obligation we have as companions on the journey to accompany one another and build the culture of encounter.” [They have that social justice lingo down pat, don’t they!—ed]

This event is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington with Lexington UNITED Interfaith Encounters, Catholic Charities, The Catholic Action Center and others.

More here.

Kentucky is a ‘welcoming state’!

What do the Kentucky refugee admission numbers look like?

When I wrote this post yesterday, I learned that Kentucky ranks #14 in the list of states with the most resettled refugees.

In fact, according to Wrapsnet, since October of 2008, Kentucky ‘welcomed’ 16,901 refugees!

Here is a list of the top twelve countries whose refugees, Catholics and other ‘religious’ resettlement agencies, have added to Kentucky’s diversity (mostly chosen by the UN).

Syrians to KY — See first Syrians arrive in KY in 2015 with the help of an Islamic charity. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2015/02/15/first-syrian-refugees-arriving-in-louisville-ky-helped-with-grant-from-islamic-charity/

Burma (3,964)

DR Congo (3,040)

Bhutan (2,592)

Iraq (2,435)

Somalia (2,171)

Cuba (827)

Syria (495)

Sudan (231)

Burundi (210)

Eritrea (127)

Afghanistan (120)

Pakistan (107)

Go here for my Kentucky archives. Don’t miss the story about the Iraqi refugees arrested a few years ago in Bowling Green, now doing life in prison on terrorism charges.

Two weeks in to the fiscal year, Maryland moves to the top of the list for the most refugees resettled

10/14/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I had told myself that I was going to be more diligent in checking data this year as refugees were being placed by the Trump Administration.

eritrean-refugees2 (1) — Eritreans make up one of the largest groups attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

The first arrivals were reported here four days ago.

So, when I checked just now I was surprised to see that Maryland, which usually comes in in the middle of the pack, had moved to the number one state for resettlement so far.

Granted we are only talking about 30 refugees out of a total of 274 that have arrived in the US since October 1, but I think it is worth mentioning.

Eritrea map — The Trump Administration is prioritizing Africa for resettlement to the US this year. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2018/09/25/trump-administration-to-prioritize-africans-in-fy19-refugee-admissions-to-us/

Using the interactive data reports at Wrapsnet, here is what I learned.

Forty Eritreans entered the US in the last two weeks and 25 of them were placed in Maryland.

Additionally Maryland received 5 from the DR Congo.

Baltimore was the resettlement city for all of the Congolese and all but three of the Eritreans.

Of course if you know anything about Maryland you are likely wondering what the heck are they going to do for jobs in Baltimore (no meatpacking plants that I know of!).

We don’t know what religious affiliation the Eritreans who came to Maryland claim, but know that 17 out of the total 40 Eritreans who came to the US in the last 2 weeks are Muslims.

The usual reason given for why Eritreans are leaving their country is because the dictatorship there has mandatory military conscription. Because of that, you get new neighbors!

(It has been awhile, but see a post I wrote about the diversity being added to a troubled Baltimore.)

Missouri: Catholic refugee agency complains about cuts to their federal funding

10/13/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is my solution for those doing Christian ‘charitable’ work for refugees—find more VOLUNTEERS!

Do Catholics have to be paid by taxpayers to do their religious charitable work, it sure sounds like it!

Everywhere I turn there is a new story about how that mean ol’ Donald Trump is cutting the funding to ‘non-profit’ ‘humanitarian’ groups who place refugees in your towns and cities. There are so many now I don’t post most of them.

This story, however, from Columbia, Missouri had a few nuggets of information, one in particular was new to me.

Refugee and Immigration Services, operated by Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri says it is being paid $4,000 a head per refugee it places. Yikes! That is almost twice any number we have ever seen for the per head payment.

Screenshot (739) — Somali family welcomed to Columbia by Catholic Charities in wake of Trump 2017 ban. https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/somali-refugees-affected-by-the-travel-ban-arrive-in-columbia/article_f7645b92-f54b-11e6-a52c-ab441118728a.html

From the Missourian:

Cuts to refugee admissions hit Columbia resettlement agency

The staff at Refugee and Immigration Services has been under increasing pressure, given the caps President Donald Trump has placed on the number of refugees allowed to enter the country. Those diminishing caps result in less federal money for agencies that serve refugees.

[….]

The budget from fiscal 2017 to fiscal 2018 fell from $1 million to around $625,000, Dan Lester, director of Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri, said. The local office also went from staff of 11 to seven, with only four being full-time. That means more duties for fewer people.

I just had a look at a recent Form 990 for this Catholic agency and yes they did receive a million dollars of taxpayer money and approximately $793,000 of it went to salaries, benefits, and pension plans for employees!

The agency, which is funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has traditionally received about $4,000 per refugee to provide services during their first six to 12 months in the country, Lester said.

Agencies must help provide:

Payment for their first six months of rent.

Clothing, food and all daily household items.

Assistance in finding a job.

Access to English classes.

Access to social programs they may need, such as counseling or SNAP benefits. [Other welfare—ed]

Orientation into an entirely new culture.

It seems to me that most of that list could be handled by volunteers and private donations!

The Missourian continues…

While the agency still gets its $4,000 per refugee, that funding doesn’t factor in those who came to Columbia in previous years and still rely on local services, Finn said. [That is funny because we are told repeatedly that refugees are self-sufficient and on their own in under 6 months. Hmmm!—ed]

“We just don’t have the time and energy to give the refugees that we used to,” Finn said. “Everyone has a lot more families to work with.”

“Time and energy” sounds like something they could get for free from volunteers!

More here.

By the way, Catholic Charities are usually under the umbrella of their primary federal contractor—The US Conference of Catholic Bishops—for their refugee allotment each year.

Denver: Former law enforcement officer accused of absconding with refugee charity funds

10/12/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The refugee resettlement contractor has apparently, according to news reports, been shuttered for a couple of years, but now its former Board Chairman, a former deputy sheriff, has been indicted for taking money from the publicly-funded charity.

According to the Patch:

DENVER, CO — A fired former division head of the Denver Sheriff’s Office and a former president of the state Fraternal Order of Police was indicted by a grand jury in Denver earlier this month for allegedly pocking $50,000 from an Aurora refugee charity.

Franklin Gale, 55, of Denver was indicted by a Denver grand jury in connection with the alleged diversion for his own use of multiple checks paid to Ecumenical Refugee And Immigration Services, a non-active refugee resettlement agency that closed under a cloud in 2015 after another embezzlement scandal.

Gale is charged with money laundering, theft, attempting to influence a public servant forgery and vehicle theft. The indictment was handed down Oct. 3 and Gale turned himself in to the Longmont Police, a statement from the Denver District Attorney’s Office said.

[….]

Gale was serving as a non-compensated board member of ERIS in 2015 when the charity was closed down following a 2014 criminal investigation by the Aurora Police Department that resulted in embezzlement and theft charges against two staffers, Genevieve Marie Cruz and Adam Cole Shryock.

Charity navigator CO refugees — See that Charity Navigator has given ERIS its High Concern Advisory rating.

According to the indictment, Gale was a friend of Cruz, who was brought onto the board initially as a consultant. He ended up the president of the board as the organization closed down.

ERIS had received public funds to assist with refugee resettlement through the CARES branch of the Colorado Department of Law Human Services. Those funds were revoked after Cruz and her colleague were charged.

In May of 2015, Gale was elected president of the board of directors and the organization closed its doors.

When Cruz and Shyrock pleaded guilty in 2016, they were ordered by the court to pay $50,000 in restitution to the agency, the indictment said.

According to the grand jury indictment, about a dozen checks were sent to the defunct agency in care of Frank Gale at his Denver home address.

The indictment alleges that between November 2015 and April 2017, Gale wrote $48,668 in checks to himself from the ERIS account and deposited them into an account he established for his minor son. Gale would then make bank account cash withdrawals, ATM withdrawals, and/or transfer the funds from his son’s account to other accounts under his control, thus laundering the money, the indictment alleges. The actions ultimately added up to the theft of $50,000, the DA’s office said in a statement.

Gale is also accused of forging the name and signature of the former board director on a motor vehicle title for a truck owned by ERIS and then getting a new motor vehicle title in his own name.

More here.

Gale is expected to appear in court on Monday, see here.

I was surprised to find that the website is still up for ERIS here.

And, I learned from that site that it was a subcontractor working for two of the nine federal refugee resettlement contractors:

Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services (ERIS) helps to resettle refugees and asylees who are legally in Colorado (by Church World Service and Episcopal Migration Ministries), by providing them assistance with educational needs, family and social services, medical attention, employment, and cultural orientation.

There needs to be much more scrutiny than there is at the present time of non-profits benefiting from state and federal tax dollars.

Twin Falls, Idaho welcomed nearly 3,000 refugees in ten years

10/11/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I was very interested to see the list of top cities in the US that ‘welcome’ refugees when I published The Tent Foundation/Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Refugee Hiring Guide the other day.

Where is Twin Falls?

Screenshot (1478)

Today I had a chance to look at the list more carefully and I’ll be darned, I don’t see Twin Falls, Idaho. (If you all check for me and see if somehow I overlooked it, see page 17, 18, and 19 at the guide, here.)

You would think that since The Tent Foundation is Chobani Yogurt CEO Hamdi Ulukaya’s foundation that Twin Falls would be on the list.

Is it possible, I wondered, that Twin Falls welcomed less than 100 refugees in the ten years being analyzed by the Lutheran contractor for the hiring guide?

Important note to readers: I hear from some of you referring to refugees as illegals. They are not. The immigrants we discuss mostly on these pages come to the US through the Refugee Admissions Program signed in to law in 1980. The numbers I’ll be giving you below are primary refugees placed directly in Twin Falls. The data comes from the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center. The numbers below do not include: asylum seekers, asylees, Special Immigrant Visa holders, Diversity Lottery winners, etc. They also do not include secondary refugee migrants. Those are legal refugees placed in another location who have moved, (possibly in this case to Twin Falls) for work or to be with others of their ethnic group. Again, secondary migrants are not included below.

These are all the primary refugees placed in Twin Falls by the US State Department and its local resettlement contractor during the ten year period, 2007-2016 presented in Tent’s Hiring Guide. Data is from Wrapsnet (Refugee Processing Center).

A total of 2,723 were placed in Twin Falls, population 48,260, from 2007 to 2016. (Boise by comparison received 6,918 in the same time period placing it at #29 on the Tent list of top resettlement locations.)

The Twin Falls number of 2,723 should have placed it on Tent’s list (where to find refugees) between Richmond, VA and Lincoln, NE

Screenshot (733)_LI — Twin Falls should be here. I am wondering now how accurate the other numbers are!

When I analyzed the data at Wrapsnet, I learned that Twin Falls ‘welcomed’ refugees from 17 different nationalities during that time period with the largest numbers coming from the following countries:

Bhutan (650)

Burma (620)

Iraq (382)

Eritrea (242)

Iran (229)

DR Congo (217)

Sudan (179)

Afghanistan (85)

Smaller numbers came from 9 other countries surely making it challenging for the school system, the health system and the criminal justice system there to deal with the language barriers and requirements for translation services (just one more cost being passed on to local and state taxpayers!).

I’ll be red-faced, but please let me know if you find Twin Falls on the Tent list of top cities in which employers can find refugee workers.

This post is filed in my ‘Where to find information’ category and in ‘Refugee statistics.’