“He (CEO Hetfield) expects HIAS to spend $80 million this year, its largest budget to date.”
I recently showed you, here, that indeed the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (one of nine federal refugee resettlement contractors***) is doing better under the Trump administration than it did previously for most of the Obama years.
Now here is news where HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield tells us why that is.
They are expanding their offices into Central and South America, and elsewhere.
So why the wailing about the Trump administration’s reduction in numbers? HIAS can certainly do its ‘religious charitable work’ elsewhere and stop pushing more migrants to America, right?
Refugee crisis continues to grow, HIAS director says
When we spoke earlier this week, Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of HIAS, was traveling through Central and South America, visiting some of the organization’s many offices in the region. The number of those offices continues to grow.
We’ve long had programs in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama for refugees from Colombia,” Mr. Hetfield said. But now, with the refugee crisis in Venezuela, the organization has had to create new centers to handle the situation. And while thousands of refugees are streaming out of Venezuela, others continue to come in.
Only one year ago, HIAS had 45 offices across the world; today it has 71.
Most are in Central and South America and Mexico. “Our office in Ecuador has 250 staff members, with 16 offices across the country,” Mr. Hetfield said. He noted that in the United States, Venezuelans comprise the number one asylum-seeking group, “but nobody seems to be noticing this crisis.”
HIAS also has offices in Africa, Israel, and the United States. “We aspire to be where there is a refugee crisis,” Mr. Hetfield said.
Here is my favorite bit of news from this story!
They don’t want to reform the US Refugee Admissions Program because they fear they would lose in a fight in Congress because they know the American people are not on their side!
Unfortunately, he noted, “All international and domestic law is basically responding to the problems of World War II. It hasn’t been updated to reflect realities. And people are afraid to revisit it because of the fear that if we reopen it, it will be contracted rather than expanded.”
See my post yesterday about a Catholic publication pushing the BIG LIE that the Refugee Act of 1980, which is 40 years old this month and needs to be repealed or reformed, was signed into law by Ronald Reagan. It was not! Our peanut farmer President was responsible for creating the dysfunctional program that set up the taxpayer-funded money stream to these nine contractors.
***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.
A ‘religious’ message from CWS one of three federally funded contractors suing to stop the President’s effort to reform the UN-driven Refugee Admissions Program.
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 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.
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My first thought when I saw this news was, everywhere we are told by the likes of Michael Bloomberg’s New American Economy that refugees are working and bringing economic boom times to dying cities, so why do they need more taxpayer dollars?
And, my second thought was, why can’t a bunch of entertainers like Stiller pool their excess cash and donate the $5 million. Why should the hardworking families of NY state, scrimping and saving for their kids’ college educations, have to pay anything for refugees?
Oh, but it isn’t really for the refugees, it is to keep the phony-baloney non-profit groups afloat.
Actor Ben Stiller joins advocates urging aid for New York refugees
ALBANY — Actor Ben Stiller’s latest role is no laughing matter.
The “Zoolander” star joined lawmakers and advocates Tuesday in the capital in calling for more money for a state-funded refugee program.
Stiller is an ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. How many refugees has he welcomed to his home?
“New York has a great history of doing this,” Stiller said. “These programs need to keep going. There’s institutional memory that needs to stay alive and as the refugee flow is lower right now at some point it’s going to come back up and these institutions need to be up and working when it happens.”
He means that they expect to oust Trump and then go back to full steam ahead with 100,000-200,000 annual refugee admissions (compared to Trump’s 18,000 this year).
And, as for this next bit, in my analysis of six of the nine major federal resettlement contractors, five are doing financially as well or better under Trump as they did under Obama.
Federal funding for refugee resettlement services has dropped significantly in recent years as Trump administration policies restricted the number of people being granted asylum or refugee status each year.
[….]
The New York State Enhanced Services to Refugees Program has received $2 million each year in the budget since it was formed in 2017 in response to the changes at the federal level.
But advocates say the state needs to step up and ensure funds are available to non-profits assisting the thousands of refugees already here.
[….]
The 14 resettlement agencies in the program, the Fiscal Policy Institute, and the New York Immigration Coalition joined Stiller, Ryan, and other lawmakers in calling for at least $5 million set aside for the program. [They have salaries to pay, after all!—ed]
Gov. Cuomo included no funds for the measure in his fiscal proposal earlier this year.
Cuomo trying to balance his budget to slow the bleed of taxpayers leaving the state?
But, heck, a state full of fully employed refugees and immigrants paying taxes should keep the state budget flush, right?
I don’t know how I could have missed this dreadful murder case!
The crime happened in 2018, but on Friday Richard Segabiro, a refugee from the Congo who has been in the US since 2005, was sentenced to spend what really amounts to the rest of his life behind bars being taken care of with your tax dollars.
Richard Segabiro raped and brutally “butchered” his niece.
Your tax dollars also paid to bring him here almost 15 years ago, and will likely now help support his family in Connecticut. So much for robust screening and for the idea that refugees benefit America.
The sentencing, which happened on Friday, was delayed last month when it was revealed in court that the teen victim’s mother was still alive in the Congo which begs the question, how much investigating went on back in Africa before the whole bunch was admitted to the US?
Segabiro’s attorney had argued that he suffered from PTSD from his years in wartorn Congo. (Mental health care needed for refugees, something rarely discussed!)
Conn. Man Sentenced to 45 Years for Killing Teen Niece
Read it yourself.
Here is the story from last month about how the sentencing had been delayed. From the Connecticut Post:
Convicted killer’s sentencing halted after claim victim’s mother may be alive
BRIDGEPORT — A convicted killer facing nearly half a century behind bars got a sentencing stay Friday after the sudden announcement that the mother of the young murder victim, once believed dead, may in fact be alive and hiding in the jungles of Congo.
“I am very cautious that I should not go forward (with the sentencing) because of the possibility the mother is alive,” said Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander. “I would like the opportunity to give the mother a chance to make an impact statement.”
Richard Segabiro is facing 45 years in prison for butchering his 15-year-old niece, Francine Nyanzaninka, with a multi-tool in the bathroom of their Fairfield Avenue apartment in February 2018.
Segabiro, his lawyer, Public Defender Joseph Bruckmann, and state prosecutors had all believed the girl’s mother had been killed along with the rest of her immediate family by Congolese rebels.
But as the sentencing hearing began, Segabiro’s wife suddenly stood up in the back of the courtroom and called out in her native Swahili that not only was the girl’s mother alive but she had spoken to her by telephone.
A Swahili interpreter told the judge Segabiro’s wife told him she had located Nyanzaninka’s mother, her sister, in the Congo and briefly spoke to her on the phone. She said the call was brief because of the isolated location but she intended to call her again to get her opinion about the sentencing.
They have been here for 15 years and still can’t speak English? CT taxpayers are paying for the interpreter!
BRIDGEPORT — Standing on his porch, soaked in his teenaged niece’s blood, Richard Segabiro told police he stabbed the girl to death because he has Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome as a result of his escape from war-torn Congo. [Sounds like he had his excuse ready!—ed]
But an autopsy showed the 15-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted by Segabiro. [Was it the first time? Or, is it possible she finally stood up to him?—ed]
“The state would not be able to prove whether that occurred post mortem or prior to the murder,” Senior Assistant State’s Attorney David Applegate said in court Wednesday.
[….]
Segabiro had fled tribal violence in the Congo with his wife, three young children and his niece, Francine Nyanzanika in 2005, settling in a second-floor apartment on Fairfield Avenue here with the help of a refugee agency. [The media never names the refugee agency, but here are eight listed in CT–—ed]
Shortly after 11 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2018, 911 operators received a call from Segabiro that he had just killed someone.
Police said when they arrived at the home, they found Segabiro standing on the porch, covered in blood. They said he told them he had just killed his daughter because he had PTSD and believed she was trying to poison him.
Applegate said police found the girl lying in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. He said she had killed by a sharp object and nearly decapitated.
By the way, these are apparently ‘Christian’ refugees so the next time you say we should bring only Christian refugees to the US, think about this case.
And, the most maddening thing about it? They are working to assure illegal aliens are not deported.
Yesterday, I told you that the International Rescue Committee is diversifying its business model and is soliciting grants to set up legal offices to help illegal aliens fight deportation.
As I have been saying the Refugee Resettlement Contractors are now full service Open Borders organizations that you fund with your tax dollars!
So I figured it was time to see how the big kahuna of the US refugee industry, the International Rescue Committeewas doing under the Trump administration especially since they are among the chief wailers and moaners about the low refugee admission numbers that they say has led to a need to close some of their subcontractor offices and let some low level staffers go (hint! It looks like the big honchos are still in a job).
Using data from USASpending.govI’ve now had a look at five of the nine federal resettlement contractors. The IRC will be number six.
First here is how the IRC is doing at USA Spending.
They sure jumped on the federal gravy train in the last couple years of the Obama Administration and are still riding it for all it is worth!
A very big chunk of their federal dough comes from USAID—a money pit that doesn’t get enough attention!
Next I went over to Charity Navigator where they always provide these handy little pie charts to tell us what percentage of their income you contributed (involuntarily) via the US Treasury—a hefty 60%!
But, wait, notice they say over $422 million is government boodle.
Okay, so thought I might solve the mysterious discrepancy by visiting their annual reports.
And, too funny, see who is co-chairman of the board!
Remember Obama’s Treasury Secretary who couldn’t get his taxes done correctly! Turbo-tax Geithner himself!
Yikes, now Geithner’s annual reportshows $544 million from grants and contracts for the same year. That would be taxpayer funding.
These numbers would put them at 73% taxpayer funded. They could barely survive if they had to depend on private donors. You might want to see who they are—you will recognize the names of many rich and famous celebs!
Here is page nine of the Form 990 for the same recent year:
That number for government grants matches Charity Navigator but not their annual report. Don’t ask me why!
And, definitely these numbers do not match USA Spendingnumbers. I’m guessing that the IRC is getting funding from other governments around the world other than ours.
Alas, there is no taxpayer group working for us that might have the skill to unravel all of this!
However, here is one thing that is not a mystery—doing ‘charitable’ good works is lucrative business as I said in a post at ‘Frauds and Crooks’ this week: Tell your kids to grow up to be non-profit execs!
Just have a look at the salaries at the top of the International Rescue Committee!
Warning! Don’t look if you have high blood pressure or a heart condition!
That is largely your money! See page ten! Over $300 million for salaries and benefits! And, travel alone was $40 million! Does Miliband travel first class (or private jet!)?
And, now they are making sure illegals scheduled for deportation in Dallas (where else?) have a lawyer.
I wonder, if one of those illegals they defend commits a crime, could the IRC fat cats be sued? Hmmm!
This is an excellent opinion piece from Maine, a state we have extensively reported on here at RRW.
The writer very logically explains that before the state willy-nilly invites even more refugees and asylum seekers who supposedly would fill the needs of businesses looking for labor, more data is needed because right now it sure looks like Maine taxpayers are picking up the slack.
Maine Compass: Work permits for asylum applicants? Slow down
We need more data on how long it takes most refugees to make enough in wages to support their families without taxpayers’ help.
As more asylum seekers arrive in Portland, members of Maine’s congressional delegation want to accelerate work permits, pointing to labor shortages and taxpayer costs. But on a closer look, good reasons exist for continuing to require applicants to wait for work permits.
[….]
I believe that the labor benefit of employing asylum applicants is exaggerated, as court denial rates for West African applicants range from 40 percent to 50 percent, which suggests that almost half of Portland’s asylum seekers will eventually be denied and become potentially deportable. And of those who achieve refugee status, there are substantial costs.
Proof that the costs of refugee resettlement are shifted to states, while supposedly some financial benefits accrue at the federal level.
An internal study rejected by the Trump administration and leaked to The New York Times, “The Fiscal Costs of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program at the Federal, State, and Local Levels from 2005-2014,” provides important data for Maine’s representatives in Washington. The authors estimate that refugees and their dependents generated a $52.8 billion federal surplus but caused a net deficit at the state and local levels of $35.9 billion. Since the federal surplus would be shared nationwide, but the state and local deficits fall entirely on state and local governments, increasing the number of refugees in Maine would cost Maine taxpayers.
And the federal benefit? I imagine that the study’s computed federal benefit is inflated, as the impact of refugees on the high cost of national defense or federal debt was not included in this study — a surprising omission.
I suspect the enormous cost to our economy of remittances—money sent back to the home country—was never included either.
Christian continues….
Refugee costs shouldn’t surprise us. Moving to a new country, learning the language and making enough money to support your family is difficult.
The Maine Department of Labor looked at the employment data five years after Somali immigrants arrived in Lewiston-Auburn in 2001. By 2006, only half of working-age Somalis had worked at all. Many of those jobs were seasonal and low wage.
Excellent questions that are NEVER answered:
Before providing work permits to a new population of asylees, we need more data. How long does it take most refugees to make enough in wages to support their families without taxpayer programs? Will Portland’s applicants remain when they get refugee status? Or will they move to cities with better wages and larger populations of their compatriots? Do they have the skills our employers need?
[….]
When politicians provide foreign workers to employers that don’t pay a livable wage, then taxpayers will eventually subsidize the employee with public programs. It would be better to require employers to recruit Americans.
Now here comes the ticking time bomb that no one wants to talk about—what is going to happen to all of the low-skilled workers we have admitted (and continue to admit) by the millions as the automation monster rears its ugly head?
And we might ponder the future. A recent McKinsey study is projecting that automation will replace nearly half of the American workforce by 2055.Walmart already uses robots to stock shelves, and McKinsey predicts that automation will sweep the economy. Let’s slow down, and think this one through.
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Now here comes the ticking time bomb that no one wants to talk about—what is going to happen to all of the low-skilled workers we have admitted (and continue to admit) by the millions as the automation monster rears its ugly head?