Looks like deep state bureaucrats are blabbing to the New York Times on refugee ceiling issue

09/27/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

If Donald Trump continues to make no move to replace the top levels in the US State Department with people supportive of him, he has more than three years of this c*** ahead of him.

Here are some snips from the New York Times yesterday:

miller at podium — It is worth reading the whole NY Times piece. You will see how they are gunning for Miller.

WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to cap refugee admissions at 45,000 over the next year, according to current and former government officials briefed on the decision, setting a historically low limit on the number of people who can resettle in the United States after fleeing persecution in their own countries.

Blabbermouth bureaucrats:

Administration officials plan to inform senior lawmakers of the decision on Wednesday, according to the officials, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to pre-empt a formal announcement.

Mr. Trump’s decision follows a fierce internal debate among senior members of his administration. Military and foreign policy officials pressed for resettling more refugees as a national security and moral imperative, while other top officials, led by Stephen Miller, his top policy adviser, and backed by John F. Kelly, his chief of staff and former secretary of homeland security, advocated slashing the number to as low as 15,000 based on concerns about cost and safety.

[….]

But Rex W. Tillerson, the secretary of state, ultimately lowered his recommended limit to 45,000, the people said, and that was the number presented to Mr. Trump.

The White House declined to comment on the decision or on the deliberations surrounding it.

Linda hartke 3 — Of course the NYT will never tell you that Hartke’s Lutherans are paid by the head to resettle refugees and that her organization is 96-97% funded by you, the taxpayer.

I’ve been telling you, the refugee contractors are going to scream bloody murder over 45,000, so Trump should have gone for some really significant number—heck, even zero!

Refugee assistance groups reacted with outrage to the anticipated cap, calling it a departure from the American tradition of welcoming immigrants in times of need.

Partner! Partner! (grrrrr!) Does the NYT intentionally lie or are their reporters just lazy?

NYT reporters JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and MIRIAM JORDAN*** continue….

“Today a dark shadow has passed across the great American legacy and promise of protecting refugees,” said Linda Hartke, the president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, one of nine agencies — most of them faith-based — that partner with the United States government to resettle refugees. “The threat of a drastically low ceiling on refugee arrivals in the U.S. is contrary to American values and the spirit of generosity in American churches and communities.”

Just when I think I can’t do this anymore, I see the NYT write this deception (by omission) about the contractors and it energizes me to continue to get the truth out to you.

Here is the latest financial information on the refugee agencies (federal contractors) whose budgets are based on the number of refugees (aka “clients”) admitted each year. As the numbers decline, so too do their federally-funded budgets!

BTW, the outraged Hartke is pulling down a salary/benefits/related income package of over $300,000 a year—doing very well by doing good!

(That is a government-funded salary larger than a US Senator or a Supreme Court Justice makes annually!)

Finally, here, toward the end of the article, is the PR stunt letter I told you about in my previous post:

On Monday, 34 senators — all Democrats except for John McCain of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — wrote to Mr. Trump pleading for a cap higher than 50,000, calling the refugee program “a critical pillar or our national security and our foreign policy.”

Read the rest of the NYT piece here.

It is not too late, Donald Trump could still suspend the program and send Hartke (WHO WORKS FOR HIM!) to Puerto Rico and help American refugees for a change!

***Update*** Jordan says on twitter that she wants to hear from you: miriam.jordan@nytimes.com

Members of Senate Jihad Caucus ask Trump for “robust” number of FY18 refugees; joined by two RINOs

09/27/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

A couple of years ago, when Obama was considering how many Syrian Muslims to admit to the US, a bunch of far Left Senators sent a letter demanding he admit 65,000 Syrians on top of at least another 100,000 refugees from around the world.

Two Republican Senators (Murkowski and McCain) demand Trump admit more third world poverty to America.

So, friends of mine coined the term ‘Senate Jihad Caucus’ to describe them, see one post here:

I had a good laugh here in September of last year when we saw that the New York Times had picked up our nickname for the group but couldn’t bother to link or even name where they got it!

Now we see that Republican Senators John McCain and Lisa Murkowski have joined that distinguished growing group.

Here is their letter (notice in this anti-Trump PR stunt they can’t even agree on what they think is the appropriate number so have opted for the Left’s favorite word—robust).

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Obama’s State Department had big plans for new resettlement sites

09/25/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Throughout 2016 we reported on some of the proposed new “welcoming” communities that the Obama team was quietly targeting as new resettlement sites.

Screenshot (867) — When you look through the guide, you will see that many ‘stakeholders’ in your community were engaged in planning for refugees even while you, the taxpayer, was kept in the dark

One of those was Pittsfield, Mass (here and here).

Today we have news that since the number of paying clients (aka refugees) was declining under Trump, some of those sites are being cancelled. One is Pittsfield. See Feds drop plan for Pittsfield, here.

And, recently we reported that the new Episcopal church office in Charleston, WV was also cancelled.

But, I did see that, although the Rutland, Vermont pro-refugee-welcoming mayor lost his election bid, the arrogant contractor USCRI has applied for 100 Syrians and Iraqis again for FY18 (they likely won’t get them, but it makes for a media opportunity to bash Trump when they don’t).

For new readers, (assuming the DOS is keeping it up to date), go here to see the available resettlement sites. They can resettle within 100 miles of each location.

For all of you trying to stay on top of the issue—-which towns are targeted AND WHY!—here is the Dept. of State’s New Site Guide introduced by none-other than Laurence Bartlett.

Note that it is undated, but I believe it was prepared in anticipation of an expansion of the program toward the end of the Obama Administration (an expansion that obviously didn’t happen).

Screenshot (868) — Bartlett was the headliner at the recent Heritage Foundation event: https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2017/09/14/is-the-heritage-foundation-selling-you-out-on-unus-refugee-admissions-policy/

This post is filed in my ‘Where to find information’ category. I suggest you download the guide before it disappears.

One of the things in the document is the list of items that the local contracting agency must have available for its new clients—right down to the towels and kitchen utensils. So, if you get word that your local contractor isn’t meeting its contractual obligations, raise a red flag!

And, take note of the fact that in about 90 days the resettlement agency contractor is done with them, and they are in your town or city’s care.

For new readers, here are the nine major contractors which receive compensation on a per-head basis for each refugee they place in your town:

Trump travel ban morphs into new list, extra vetting

09/25/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Big deal!

Where is the Refugee Determination!

We are still waiting to hear what the Trump Administration is going to do with the Presidential Determination on how many refugees (and from where they will come) starting in 6 days.

Puerto Rico is a US territory and you know we will need to help them! So, on top of that financial burden, is Trump getting ready to invite 40,000-50,000 third worlders to the US beginning next week when so many people in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico are homeless?

In six days you could see a new wave of 40,000-50,000 third worlders begin arriving in your towns and cities as American refugees suffer in the wake of three major hurricanes

Although Trump lumped the two issues together in his first Executive Order….

Don’t get the refugee ‘determination’ confused with this latest so-called ‘travel ban’ issue especially because while adding Venezuela and North Korea (few come to the US anyway!), Trump won’t do extra scrutiny of the refugees arriving in potentially large numbers from Iraq, Afghanistan and Burma (Rohingya!). He even took Sudan off the list!

(See Leo Hohmann at World Net Daily on the Rohingya, here. And, see Politico on the latest list of countries with new restrictions on travel.)

We are six days away from the new fiscal year!

Where is the State Department report to Congress, where is the consultation with Congress, where is the publication in the Congressional Record of the consultation, and where are the House and Senate Judiciary Committee hearings that are supposed to proceed the final determination (See the steps set out in the Refugee Act of 1980, here.)?

America First!

The politically smart move for Trump now is to suspend the Refugee Admissions Program for FY18, for at least 6 months until American people are back on their feet!

And, he could tell Congress to hold oversight hearings on the USRAP with an eye to trashing the system altogether or reforming it!

More blabbing by State Department on refugee determination

09/21/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

As you know, we expected President Donald Trump to announce his refugee admissions ceiling for FY18 at least a week ago. But, if CBS has it right from the State Department blabbers, we learn his decision will come after this weekend.

In fact, by law, this whole process should have been started at least a month ago, as I told you here. Unfortunately, like all Presidents before him (and Congress which is supposed to be consulted in advance), following the law is the least of their concerns!

So Donald, as you think about this over yet another weekend, consider the optics!

America First!

There are Americans hurting—in Texas, in Florida and now Puerto Rico. They need housing, medical care, and food.

Are you going to tell the nation, tell taxpayers, they will, in addition to our refugees, be shelling out for another 40,000-50,000 third world impoverished people to begin arriving on October 1?

Suspend the program for at least 6 months—it is the politically sensible thing to do!

(George Bush already set a precedent in 2001 by delaying the determination due that September!)

And besides, the Open borders Left and the contractors are going to scream bloody murder over 40,000-50,000 anyway (they want 75,000)!

Here is CBS reporting on the blabbers at the US State Department:

Simon Henshaw bio — Simon Henshaw is the acting assistant secretary for refugees because (shamefully) Tillerson/Trump have not replaced him.

The Department of Homeland Security has been pushing for a reduction beyond the 50,000 maximum-entry mark set by Trump earlier this year as part of his travel ban executive orders – a number that is already the lowest in modern American history. In a proposal submitted late last week, the department called for a reduction to 40,000 refugees in the next budget year starting Oct. 1, citing concerns about its workload and ability to adequately vet those seeking entry.

The State Department, which oversees the program, has formally recommended that the number be kept at 50,000, according to Trump administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations.

Agencies had been given until the close of business Wednesday to submit formal recommendations for consideration.

State Department “officials” virtue-signalling!

State Department officials would have been inclined to set their recommendation higher, several of the people said, but were taking their cues from the president’s executive order and felt that 50,000 was the highest number that would be palatable to him.

Trump has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to determine how many refugees to admit under the Refugee Act of 1980. He is expected to consider the issue over the weekend, after he finishes up at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, one White House official said.

[….]

Simon Henshaw, the top State Department official for refugees, said the decision was ultimately Trump’s.

CBS must have been talking to Henshaw.

It looks like we have a few more days—tell Donald Trump what you think!