Budget battles begin (or maybe not so much), you must still demand DEFUND of RAP

11/14/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

They are back, or just getting back as Congress is in full swing at least for a few days starting tomorrow! See a schedule here for the next few days.
BTW, I see no mention of the legally required hearing that Rep. Trey Gowdy (Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Immigration) is supposed to have had in advance of the fiscal year (before October 1st!) on the US Refugee Admissions Program (RAP) for FY2017.

First, listen to Rep. Brian Babin speaking on a FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform) podcast. (Hat tip: Richard at Blue Ridge Forum)
It is almost 13 minutes long and well worth listening to, but be sure to listen starting around the 1:50 mark where the Congressman says he plans to work hard and diligently to attach his DEFUND the RAP measure on the Continuing Resolution (or final budget plan) which ever they address in the lame duck session.
Readers will remember that he sought to attach language to the CR that is operative at the moment and had 37 members of Congress, including himself, behind the effort. Letter here.

So what is happening now that Donald Trump has shocked the country with his victory and the House and Senate remain in Republican hands?

The Hill is reporting that there may be another CR that would continue funding the government at FY2016 levels into February of next year. This would give the incoming Trump team an opportunity to shape the budget for the remaining months of the year to their liking.
It would also have the benefit of cutting out Obama and the likes of Harry Reid from presiding over a contentious December budget fight.
Unless the Department of State, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or the VOLAGs have money left over from last year, I am making the assumption that the FY2016 level is not adequate to get Obama’s 110,000 refugees in to the US by September 30th. They could try to do a rush job and bring them in at high levels now, but they will be gambling on whether they will have money in the second half of the year.
[An aside: I hope this is the last year of this shameful inattention to the federal budget and that Congress gets on the stick and completes the Appropriations bills BEFORE the fiscal year begins on October 1. Not finishing the bills is a sign of shoddy leadership in my opinion! See here.]
See the story in The Hill here (note some Republicans are on Obama’s team and want the budget finished in December):

GOP groups are seizing on Donald Trump’s victory in an attempt to avert the long-dreaded spending deal with President Obama in the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress.

Members of the Republican Study Committee are renewing their calls for leadership to hold off on negotiating this year’s spending bill process until after Obama leaves office.

bill-flores-getty-640x480 — RSC chairman Rep Bill Flores of Texas says extending the Continuing Budget Resolution in to February will give the Trump team time to put a mark on the federal budget for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year.

RSC Chairman Bill Flores of Texas said in an interview that his members are backing a short-term spending bill that goes through Feb. 28. That would give the next Congress and the incoming president about five weeks to approve the budget for 2017, which was initially due in September.

It’s an idea that conservatives, led by groups such as Heritage Action and FreedomWorks, had first floated this summer, long before Trump’s surprise victory on Tuesday.

Calls to kick the appropriations process into next year received a lukewarm reception on Capitol Hill earlier this year, with the prospect of a Democratic-controlled White House and Senate looming.

That calculation has now drastically changed.

[….]

Much of the outcome will depend on Trump, who must quickly decide whether GOP leaders should clear the decks or let him get involved during the precious first 100 days of his presidency.

Your job remains, no matter when they finish the budget, to demand DEFUNDING of the RAP.

Appropriations are policy!

Tell them to defund it until Congress can seriously look at either reforming it or trashing it altogether! See my thoughts on what Trump should do on January 21st.
For all of our many posts on Congress and the budget process see our tag ‘Where is Congress.’

Trump transition needs to weigh-in on Obama's Australian 'refugee' deal

11/14/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What is to be gained by admitting over 1,000 rejected Australian asylum seekers—-mostly Muslims?

Why are they our problem?

We have been writing about this stunning revelation for a couple of days, but it looks like it is going forward as Obama sends officials to the island of Nauru to start processing Australia’s rejected asylum seekers.
Update thanks to a reader: ‘Refugees’ from Nauru wouldn’t arrive until after January 20th. I don’t see this as necessarily a good piece of news because as I read it, the processing will proceed which puts Trump in an even worse position and that is denying entry to ‘refugees’ that the Obama Admin. has screened and given promises to. See the story here, what do you think?
See our previous posts here and here.

bannon-trump-priebus — Can they do anything to stop the DEAL? Remember the so-called ‘refugees’ failed Australia’s asylum application process.

Another news story from AP gives us more details.
Apparently we asked Australia to take some illegal migrants that were parked in Costa Rica. WTH! Why are those migrants in Costa Rica our problem? I will bet a million bucks these aren’t even legitimate refugees but economic migrants:

Turnbull announced at Obama’s Leaders’ Summit on Refugees in September that Australia would participate in the U.S.-led program to resettle Central American refugees from a camp in Costa Rica.

It makes me wonder if Australia is trying to save itself from too many Muslims so is willing to take the Central Americans instead.
This deal smells and is emblematic of an issue I haven’t written about since 2015 when I last posted my Ten Reasons for a Moratorium on Refugee Resettlement, see that post by clicking here.

I was making the point that there is ample evidence that the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program is being used for extracurricular activities of the State Department, not (as advertised!) to help poor downtrodden people who are pawns in these deals.
Why did we admit thousands of Meskhetian Turks to America when Russia didn’t want the Sunni Muslims in their midst (those who came to my county had to sell homes in Russia when they resettled here)? They could hardly be ‘refugees.’
Why did we airlift Uzbek Muslim extremists to America in the Bush Administration and call them ‘refugees?’
What national interest was involved in helping the UN close camps in Nepal to move nearly 100,000 Bhutanese (Nepali!) people here over the last 9 years (many did not want to come here)? I suspect we were sucking up to the UN.

Now, what is to be gained by admitting over 1,000 rejected Australian asylum seekers—-mostly Muslims. Why are they our problem?

Here is what I said in my Ten Reasons for a Moratorium….
This is number 7. Only legitimate refugees should even be considered. Moving people around the world for other reasons should be specifically prohibited.

Congress needs to specifically disallow the use of the refugee program for other purposes of the US Government,especially using certain refugee populations to address unrelated foreign policy objectives—Uzbeks, Kosovars, Meshketians and Bhutanese (Nepalese) people come to mind.

I don’t know if Trump and his team have any power to halt this DEAL before the 20th of January, but I sure hope he tries!

Charleston, WV rally Tuesday: We want Syrian Muslims in our city!

11/14/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

You know what strikes me as different about this pro-refugee rally scheduled for tomorrow evening (Nov. 15th) at 5 p.m. is that it is specifically a rally to welcome Syrians (99% of the Syrians the Obama Administration is admitting to the US are Muslims even as we see Christian genocide in the Middle East).
In most locations where an ‘Interfaith’ group advocates for refugee resettlement they don’t pick a specific nationality/religion. Indeed, a new agency like the one proposed for Charleston won’t get to choose its favorite nationalities either—they will take a mix of people from different regions of the world.

rabbi-victor-urecki — Rabbi Victor Urkecki suggests we must atone for mistakes in WWII when the US turned away Jews, by inviting tens of thousands of Syrian Muslims to the US. I do not get this logic!

So here is the latest from Charleston. Longtime readers know that West Virginia has taken very small numbers of refugees over the years and those that have been resettled were placed by Catholic Charities. Now, Episcopal Migration Ministries wants in on the action.
From The Charleston Gazette-Mail:

Volunteers are planning a rally for Tuesday in Charleston to send a welcoming message to Syrian refugees fleeing their war-torn country.

The second-annual West Virginia Welcomes Refugees rally will be held at 5 p.m. in the mini-pavillion at Court Street and Kanawha Boulevard East.

Episcopal Migration Ministries, one of nine national refugee resettlement agencies that works with the U.S. government and local groups to place refugees, and the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry have been working together in hopes of making Charleston a safe haven for refugees.

Last month, the ministries submitted an application to the U.S. Department of State to turn Charleston into one of its “resettlement communities” and place 100 refugees in the first year in Charleston. The State Department has not yet made a decision.

Then below we hear the story about how some Jews were turned away from America in WWII (yes, it was an awful mistake). But, I fail to see how throwing America’s gates open to large numbers of Muslims (Sunnis in the case of Syrians who form the basis of ISIS and Al Qaeda) is equivalent in any way.
Please someone explain to me why an error of 75 years ago somehow requires us to invite to America tens of thousands of participants of a religious civil war in the Middle East!
Update: And tell me why this isn’t a rally for the Christians facing genocide in the Middle East which would be the real equivalency argument to what happened to the Jews in WWII.
But here we go again with the guilt trip:

“These are people that are escaping the same forces of evil that we are opposed to,” said Rabbi Victor Urecki, one of the organizers.

“There is a sense that America is not welcoming to the other — to the refugee, to the immigrant,” he said. “And this is our response, to say ‘We are together. We stand in solidarity and hospitality to all who come to our state. We are a city of tolerance and love.’”

Urecki noted that at one point in America’s history, America’s border was closed to the Jewish community.

“The best way I can show that I’ve learned the lesson of what it’s like to be an outsider is by embracing the outsider and the other,” he said.

How many Syrian Muslims will Rabbi Urecki take home with him? How many would even want to go home with him?
Is the huge cost of resettling large numbers of refugees of any concern to the Rabbi and the local ‘Interfaith’ activists?
Learn about Charleston’s ‘Interfaith’ group here, and go here for more posts on the Charleston refugee controversy.
For West Virginians who are not happy with what you are learning, you must contact your two US Senators and Congressman Alex Mooney who represents Charleston and let them know what you think!
Endnote! I don’t want to hear from any readers who think this is a Jewish plot. This is about political ideology. Remember that most resettlement in America is being done by Leftist Christian organizations. There are many people of the Jewish faith who disagree vehemently with our policy of admitting large numbers of Muslim refugees, not to mention those who have serious concerns about the economic impact on local communities and state governments and are working hard to bring attention to the enormous cost to taxpayers.

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society lectures Trump; never mentions its pecuniary interest in refugees

11/13/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is one more in my continuing update and review of the financial positions of the nine major federal refugee resettlement contractors.
Here we have HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield admonishing Donald Trump on the day after his big win last Tuesday. I might respect the resettlement contractors a bit if they would make it clear somewhere, sometime, that they have a vested financial interest in the resettlement of refugees rather than this usual holier-than-thou pontification. LOL! maybe there should be a little disclaimer at the end of all media references to them—“This organization is paid by the taxpayers of America to place refugees in towns and cities in 49 states.”

mark-hetfield — CEO Mark Hetfield is pulling down a salary package worth $336,323 running this ‘charity.’ http://www.give.org/charity-reviews/national/human-services/hias-in-silver-spring-md-19163

So far I’ve updated our older financial information on USCRI, LIRS, World Relief, and Church World Service.
USCRI is here (97% funded by taxpayers).
LIRS here (95% funded by taxpayers).
World Relief here (73% funded by taxpayers).
Church World Service here (64% funded by taxpayers).
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society is up next.
And, btw, HIAS was given a huge grant a few years ago to study the growing opposition to the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program and mentioned RRW as a site that should be investigated by the Southern Poverty Law Center which did just that, see here.
Headquartered in Silver Spring,MD, HIAS had an income in 2014 of $36,161,323 according to this Charity Report. Their website is here.
This is how their income breaks down. The way I see it, they are 56% funded by you, the taxpayer, which is the best of the contractors so far as some are above the 90% taxpayer funded level. (The service fee and operating grants below might be tax dollars too, but will give them the benefit of the doubt. The Migrant loan fee is definitely your money).

screenshot-65 — From full report here: http://www.give.org/charity-reviews/national/human-services/hias-in-silver-spring-md-19163

You can check out their Form 990 for that year as well by clicking here.

riva-silverman — Riva Silverman ($250,000)

You will see on page 9 that in addition to CEO Hetfield, they have 9 other staffers making in excess of $100,000 at the top of a paid staff of 76! Why does Riva make so much $$$? And, where is Melanie? As I have said many times before. If these were truly private charitable non-profits and not quasi-government organizations I wouldn’t care what they chose to pay their staff, but since we fund them, we have every right to publish and question their salaries.
Here are some of the places HIAS works:

Affiliates

Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency
Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services
HIAS New York
HIAS Pennsylvania
Jewish Child and Family Services (Chicago)
Jewish Community Services (Baltimore)
Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Pittsburgh
Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco –
Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay
Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County
Jewish Family Service of Greater Seattle
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Jewish Family Service of Metrowest
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
Jewish Family Service of Washtenaw County
Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts
Jewish Family Services of the Silicon Valley
Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest New Jersey
US Together

HIAS was very involved in lobbying for the ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty bill a few years ago in the Senate. Still don’t understand why a group resettling legal refugees in search of jobs would want to make it even harder for their refugee clients when they must compete with mostly Hispanic laborers for low skilled jobs.
And, one final thing. It was HIAS that went crazy going after Donald Trump Jr. about likening a decision to take in not properly screened refugees to being told that one skittles candy in a handful was poisoned and asked if you would thus eat any. See what I mean—google HIAS and Skittles.
Our complete archive on the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society is here.

Sec. of State John Kerry agrees to deal, we will take Australia's rejected 'refugees'

11/13/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Think about this! In 2013 Australia, being invaded by boat people from mostly Muslim countries, declared anyone arriving illegally by boat would be turned back or sent to offshore islands like Nauru where they could submit asylum claims.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry testifies at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 8, 2014. Kerry squarely blamed Russian agents on Tuesday for separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine, saying Moscow could be trying to lay the groundwork for military action like in Crimea. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Only two more months of this guy! So how many refugees is he taking to his home?

Those rejected refuse to go back to their home countries, so guess what! The Obama Administration has agreed to take over a thousand of them to your towns and cities as full-fledged refugees with all the benefits of our welfare system available to them.
How many of our illegal Mexicans and Central Americans is the prosperous country of Australia going to take off our hands?
We told you this was in the works, here, yesterday. And, now here is news from Aljazeera that we are going to do this. (If their asylum claims have been rejected by Australia they are NOT refugees by definition.)

Australia has reached a resettlement deal with the United States for refugees being held in offshore prisons after trying to reach the country by boat.

The Obama administration had agreed to resettle refugees among a group of almost 1,300 people held at on the island nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Rights groups have been scathing about conditions at the prison camps.

Another 370 who came to Australia for medical treatment and then refused to return to the islands would also be eligible.

[….]

US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed that the US had “agreed to consider referrals” from the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. [If we are doing this and are sending Homeland Security people to screen the refugees, why does the UN have to have its nose in this business? Are they getting a cut of your tax dollars as middlemen?—ed]

[….]

US Department of Homeland Security officials are expected in Australia this week to begin assessing refugees.

Turnbull would not say how many refugees the US might take, but said the most vulnerable would be given priority. [And, prosperous Australia can’t take the most vulnerable???—ed]

More here.
See our Australia category by clicking here. And, if you are interested in learning more about this practice—of the US taking illegal aliens off the hands of other countries—see our Malta archive as well.
Australia is always in the top three countries from which readers arrive at RRW.