Trump on pace to break Bush record of lowest refugee resettlement numbers since 1980 law enacted

04/03/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Trump and Bush — Bush (so far) holds the record for low refugee admission years: **Bush admitted 27,070 in 2002 and 28,117 in 2003**

We have now reached the six month mark of the first full fiscal year of the Trump presidency and Trump could easily break the Bush record set in 2002 of 27,070 refugee admissions for one year.
(See post here on the Bush record low years.)

At the six month mark, the Trump Administration operating well under a CEILING of 45,000 refugees, is at 10,548 admitted so far.

Assuming that rate continues for the next six months, Trump could be at 21,000 (give or take a few) for the year, handily smashing President Bush’s record.
Since the nine federal contractors*** are paid on a refugee per head basis for placing the refugees in your towns and cities, they surely are taking big hits to their budgets.
Here is a map from Wrapsnet of where those 10,548 have been placed. Wyoming is the only state in the nation that never signed up to ‘welcome’ refugees and for some unexplained reason, Hawaii gets very few even though the government there has said they welcome diversity!

map top

Screenshot (354) — Sorry numbers are not clearer. They aren’t very clear at the website itself.

Top ten resettlement states are in descending order: OH, TX, NY, WA, CA, PA, AZ, NC, GA, and MN.
Admissions by month for the last ten+ years (Wrapsnet):

wrapsnet by month

The top sending countries so far in FY18 are:

DR Congo (2,569)

Bhutan (1,925)

Burma (1,769)

Ukraine (1,176)

Eritrea (760)

Muslim numbers drastically reduced to 16% of total.

In recent years the Muslim refugees accounted for sometimes as close to half of all refugee admissions. As of April 1, of the 10,548 admitted, 1,725 are Muslims of one sect or another. (Data maintained at Wrapsnet)
Significant numbers of Muslims are coming in the Burma and DR Congo flow.
Let the President know what you think!

Contact the President by clicking here.

*** The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with (low paying) jobs in food production and cleaning hotel rooms, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.
As long as the nine contractors are paid largely by you via Congress and the US Treasury, and then act as community organizing/political agitators, there will never be serious reform of the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program.

Kentucky refugee numbers dip, drop, dwindle

04/02/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We know that, so why am I posting yet one more “plummet” story that the refugee industry has fed the media?
Because in this story we see the beginning of the strategy for Fiscal Year ’19 which I mentioned here the other day.
Right on cue they have begun the PR push for pre-Trump levels of refugee admissions.
From The Messenger:

International Center of Kentucky faces dwindling refugee arrivals

Albert Mbanfu, the center’s executive director, met with community partners Thursday to discuss resettlement issues. Mbanfu said after the meeting that the center is experiencing a slowdown but that the federal government isn’t saying why.

(Learn about Stakeholder meetings, here.)

Screenshot (347) — Mbanfu is presiding over a Stakeholders meeting that includes school and health officials, etc. These meetings are supposed to be open to the public, so all of you should be finding out when they are held and request to be present. After all, as the taxpayers paying for all of this, you are the biggest stakeholder of all! Photo: http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/international-center-faces-dwindling-refugee-arrivals/article_9c2588e6-342d-5dd5-a332-fc937311fd7a.html

The Messenger continues….

In light of this [discussion about Trump slowdown.—ed], Mbanfu said the center has been asked to rework its budget. He said in a follow-up interview that the center has made cuts and reduced staff.

“A year and a half ago we were at about 30 and right now, full- and part-time staff, we are down to 22, and there are still plans to reduce that further,” he said of the agency’s employees.

[….]

During the meeting, Mbanfu also discussed plans to scale back funding for refugee resettlement agencies across the country.

“Beginning Oct. 1 [Fiscal year ’19 begins that day.—-ed], not all of the refugee resettlement agencies will be open,” he said. “Many will close their doors.”

Mbanfu said the center’s volunteer agency, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, is working on a proposal to keep its affiliated agencies open. More information should be available in August or September, he said.

This is what I wanted you to see!

Despite the low number of arrivals, Mbanfu told the center’s partners it is going to ask for permission to resettle 440 refugees next fiscal year.

The center was previously granted permission to resettle that amount before Trump took office.

I have to laugh. I’ll bet some of those officials which have to cope with large numbers of refugees in the schools and health system are keeping their fingers crossed that 440 won’t be coming next year!
The strategy is taking shape!
Apparently, the strategy is for all three hundred or so subcontractors (of the nine major contractors***) to prepare Abstracts for the coming year as if President Trump wasn’t even there. They know he won’t go for Obama-level numbers, but they plan to use their request for high numbers in the inevitable media agitation campaign.
Those Abstracts go to the US State Department (as a basis for next year’s determination) and if the DOS was smart they would put the word out right now that they won’t entertain any Abstracts that come in at Obama-era levels. They could even put out a percentage. For example an Abstract must come in at say 25% of its FY18 submitted level.

If the Trump State Department does not head this off now, they face another refugee industry anti-Trump media blitz come September.

(They will get one anyway, but at least the contractors won’t be able to use their submitted Abstracts in the process.)
BTW, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has never lifted a finger to reform the refugee program. At one point, after those Iraqi refugee terrorists were caught in his home town, Senator Rand Paul took a stand against the program, but quickly shut down his criticism. I think KY is one of those states that welcomes cheap refugee labor for BIG CHICKEN! and for the Chamber of Commerce.
Wouldn’t you like to know what ol’Mitch and Rand are telling Trump behind the scenes about refugee resettlement!

*** For new readers, these (below) are the nine federal refugee contractors that have been driving more refugee resettlement for over three decades. The program will never be reformed as long as these fake non-profits are funded with taxpayer dollars and are permitted to wage political organizing/agitation campaigns.
The International Center of Kentucky works for the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a contractor which has a checkered past (in Kentucky too!).
Go here for my USCRI archive to see what I mean. Don’t miss this one: CEO Limon is out!
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with (low paying) jobs in food production and cleaning hotel rooms, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.

Trump Administration looking to enforce the law: "public charge" requirement coming back!

03/30/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

To my readers who have asked me about this for years—-asked me what happened to a law already on the books—here is a glimmer of (potential) good news.
welfare office
Needless to say the No Borders Left will go insane, but frankly if the Dems do go on a warpath against the idea that immigrants shouldn’t be sucking up welfare, it will hurt them at the polls in November.
No sensible Republican or Democrat supports the importation of welfare recipients.
From Neil Munro at Breitbart (hat tip Richard @highblueridge):

Homeland defense officials are reviving enforcement of a law that is intended to bar legal migrants who cannot earn a living in the United States.

The proposed regulation would implement the existing law, which bars legal immigrants from imposing a “public charge” on Americans. However, the plan is likely to be bitterly opposed by a loose alliance of business groups and by Democrats, both of whom gain when the federal government provides taxpayer aid to migrants, legal or illegal. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Breitbart News:

The administration is committed to enforcing existing immigration law, which is clearly intended to protect the American taxpayer by ensuring that foreign nationals seeking to enter or remain in the U.S are self-sufficient. Any proposed changes would ensure that the government takes the responsibility of being good stewards of taxpayer funds seriously and adjudicates immigration benefit requests in accordance with the law.

The plan was mentioned in a 2017 work-plan released by DHS, but it was highlighted Wednesday by a report in the Washington Post. The report said:

Immigrants who accept almost any form of welfare or public benefit, even popular tax deductions, could be denied legal U.S. residency under a proposal awaiting approval by the Trump administration, which is seeking to reduce the number of foreigners living in the United States.

The proposal would also require Americans who sponsor migrants to post bonds of up to $10,000, which could be used to repay taxpayers for migrants’ use of federal aid.

The plan must be approved by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and then undergo a months-long public comment and regulatory process before it becomes a large regulation. If adopted, it will replace a 1999 regulation.

Much more here.
If the requirement extended to refugees the entire refugee program would crash and that is because the primary job of the resettlement contractors is to sign incoming refugees up for their ‘services’ (aka welfare). They also help refugees find those low skilled jobs (slaughterhouse and hotel workers, etc) and show them how to supplement meager wages with welfare.
And, that idea of posting a bond makes me chuckle.
Imagine this: Catholic Charities, the Lutherans, the Episcopalians and the Jews among the refugee resettlement agencies*** could sponsor refugees and instead of being paid to place them, the non-profit NGO puts up a $10,000 bond for say each family they place with the bond money coming from private charity.
When they have to put their private money where their mouth is, we would find out very quickly that their humanitarian zeal isn’t real!
***These are the nine major federal refugee contractors presently paid millions of tax dollars to resettle refugees. There will never be reform of the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program as long as they collect federal funds and act as community organizing and political agitation groups.
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with (low paying) jobs in food production and cleaning hotel rooms, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.

Refugee lobby in high dudgeon over Trump refugee numbers slump

03/27/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Their paying client numbers are very low right now and could hit an all-time low if this trend continues.
I started this post simply wanting to let readers know what the normal sequence is in a given year as the feds move toward the next fiscal year, but then I noticed the press release from the Refugee Council USA-–the lobbying arm of the refugee industry.
I wanted to get the jump on them as we approach the 6-month mark in the refugee admission year of FY18 by telling you what the time table for their action will be. (Fiscal years begin on October 1 and extend to September 30th, so April first marks the 6 month mark.) So, I’ll do that, then tell you about the press release.

Mary and Eleanor — Ms. Giovagnoli is now the director of the Refugee Council USA the lobbying arm of the refugee industry and on the left is Eleanor Acer of Human Rights First at an earlier event.

And, I said here yesterday, admission numbers are way below where they would normally be at this time of year (that isn’t to say they won’t rebound in the second half of the year because some of that depends on how much cash Congress put in the recent gigantic omnibus).
Abstract prep
At about this time in a normal year, the subcontractors are busy as beavers in hundreds of US towns and cities putting together their ‘Abstracts’ in secrecy. That is the plan for your community with how many refugees your local agency desires.
Scoping meeting sham
In a normal year the US State Department holds a scoping meeting in about May to basically see how many refugees the contractors want in the upcoming year and where they might come from. (The State Dept. did not hold such a meeting last year that we know of, and I’m betting the newbies in there don’t even know about it.)
Ostensibly the scoping meeting is to gauge your views too, but in a number of years where we participated and many of you, my readers, sent in comments, it was pretty clear that the State Department did not want to hear about objections to the program. If anyone is interested in what we said, there are dozens and dozens of posts filed here about what happened in 2012-2016 with those “scoping meetings.” (See category drop-down for State Department Testimony.)
It would be nice (and fair!) if the State Department reinstated scoping meetings and made them available to all Americans. Heck, it would be great if they went on the road and held hearings!
Presidential determination for coming year
The Abstract prep and the scoping meetings were (are) lead-ups to August when the President’s people supposedly meet with Congressional committees in the House and Senate to discuss the coming year. There are supposed to be Congressional hearings (before the submission of the ceiling) at this point, but that never happens.
The President then sends a ‘determination’ letter (and report) to Congress for the new fiscal year which begins October 1. The President decides what the CEILING will be for the coming fiscal year—how many refugees and from where. This is a CEILING, A CAP, and is not a goal although the contractors want it to be a goal or target.
I told you yesterday about the myriad stories in the media about “plummeting” numbers.
And, also yesterday, the lobbying arm of the refugee industry—Refugee Council USA sent out a press release to whack the Trump Administration and beg for this year’s 45,000.
Right now, for new readers, the CEILING is 45,000, but at the present rate of entry we will get no where near that (thus the press blast yesterday from RCUSA).

Washington, D.C. – Midway through Fiscal Year 2018, the Trump administration has admitted only a quarter of the 45,000 refugees it pledged to take in, making it highly unlikely that the United States will meets its anticipated admissions goal. Instead, the administration appears to be on track to admit roughly 22,000 refugees, far below any admissions number since the modern refugee program began in 1980. Today, Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) gathered experts to discuss the immediate and long-term implications of this failure.

More here. Mary, Eleanor and others participated.

Trump and Pompeo — Mike Pompeo at the State Department is still a wildcard!

Get ready for the big FY19 push to start at any time
Although they are still in panic-mode and pushing for the 45,000, this is about the time of year the yammering begins for next year’s numbers. The contractors shoot really high.
Watch them ask for 100,000 or more (to make up for lost time and lost revenue for them).
Last year, because of Trump’s campaign promises they were pushing for a paltry 75,000. What will it be this year? We will be watching!
The Refugee Council USA has an Activist Toolkit that you might benefit from seeing. Click here. It might give you some ideas!

I sure hope that none of this is being paid for with our tax dollars! Congress are you paying attention?

And lastly, I got a chuckle seeing this sample letter (from the toolkit) that refugees are encouraged to send to newspapers:

RCUSA sample letter

Refugee numbers "plummet" under Trump (so far)

03/26/2018 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I laughed this morning as I noticed more new articles from all over the place using the word “plummet” in their headlines, a sure sign that talking points have gone out (probably from the Refugee Council USA) and the media lemmings have followed the instructions.

(I’ll report on the 6 month of FY18 numbers a week from today, but it looks like Trump’s State Department is on target to reach just over 20,000 this year far below the admission ceiling of 45,000 the Trump Admin set back in September. However, don’t forget that paying clients are coming in as SIVs from Iraq and Afghanistan to help put money in the contractors’*** pockets.)

This is the one today that got me thinking about that ‘P’ word:

Refugee resettlements in U.S., Maine plummet under Trump administration

Here are more:

San Diego County refugee numbers plummet following Trump’s block on arrivals

Trump lifts refugee ban, but admissions still plummet, data shows

Refugee admissions to U.S. plummet in 2017

Number of refugees moving to Buffalo plummets under Trump administration

Refugee Resettlement Agency Revenues Plummet Under Trump

Refugee Admissions Plummet to 1,242 in First Month of FY 2018

Refugee Resettlements Plummet Under Trump

Resettlement of Somalis in Minnesota plummets in wake of Trump policies

You get my drift! LOL! Even I have used the word to describe resettlement numbers since President Trump arrived in the White House.

US Refugee admissions plummet even further

Other words that are being used include: “tumble,” “dip,” and “dropped dramatically,” but none have the ring or impact of “plummet.” ***Update*** Add “drastic decline.”
Note to Minnesotans!
When I looked at the admission numbers (Wrapsnet) for this month so far—March 1 to today—I was surprised to see that MN was the top receiving state for refugees. Now remember this is only for a few weeks, but the top receiving states are usually California, Texas, Ohio, Florida, New York (big population states).
In the last 3 weeks MN ‘welcomed’ 124 new Minnesotans (only 10 were Somalis). The largest group were Burmese (78). When I do my monthly accounting a week from today I’m going to check to see how many Burmese Muslims (Rohingya) we are bringing in now. So far, our refugee flow from Burma has been dominated by Christian and other religious minorities, but the Rohingya numbers are picking up.

***For new readers, these (below) are the nine federally-funded refugee resettlement contractors that work with over 300 subcontractors around the country to place refugees in your towns. They also are leading community organizing (political agitation) groups that outright oppose Donald Trump and his policies on, not just refugees, but all types of immigration including the fact that they support amnesty for illegal aliens.
Reform of the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program is not possible until they are stripped of their power which you provide through your tax dollars.
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line them up with jobs, and get them signed up for their services! From most recent accounting, here.