Refugee Resettlement Contractor: We took a “beating” under Trump!

11/03/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran

Darn! It is comments like that which will force me out of semi-retirement because no one in the media ever calls them on this crap!

Thanks to a reader for sending me this news from CNN that appeared in a few media outlets around the country, here at CBS 58 in Milwaukee.

But, before I give you the money quote, pay attention to this story. The refugee contractors have long wanted to see a private refugee sponsorship program set up as a way to increase the numbers of ‘refugees’ admitted to the US.

The private sponsors would be in addition to their paid work as government resettlement contractors.

The massive number of Biden’s Afghans cannot be accommodated under the present system so this trial run at finding private sponsors for thousands of families outside the present system could be just the ticket they have long hankered for.

Note too that Afghans could be placed anywhere, and that the long understood one hundred mile radius of an approved refugee resettlement site will no longer apply.

Anyway, here is what Mark Hetfield of HIAS, Inc (formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) says and continues to say about how the Trump administration decimated the contractor system.

It just is not true!

But after four years of historic low arrivals under the Trump administration, agencies had to close some of their offices around the country, limiting where refugees can be relocated — a significant hurdle at a time when housing options are already hard to come by.

“We just didn’t have the capacity after the beating we took under the Trump administration,” said Mark Hetfield, the president and CEO of HIAS, a refugee resettlement agency.

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society did NOT take a beating under Trump as you can see from data at USA Spending!

In fact, Trump upped their income from early years of the Obama Administration.

First year under Obama:

First year under Trump:

Last full Trump year:

You could actually say that Trump nearly doubled the federal dole to HIAS from Obama’s early years.

But, now, they are in the money as Biden has gifted them just about $50 million of your tax dollars for their charitable (ha!) good works.

Apparently salaries did not suffer under Trump either!

From HIAS 2020 Form 990 (a Trump year!):

Curious? Here is Some Data to Consider as the Fiscal Year Wanes

08/12/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Editor: I’m taking a break as I am sure some of you have noticed, and I am trying to decide if I really want to continue to “feed the dragon.” That is a phrase someone shared with me decades ago about writing daily (or nearly daily) commentary on the news when there are so many other interesting things to do!

And, I think maybe it is time for the next generation to fight for the future!

In the meantime, I’ll continue to report on a few refugee issues even as I don’t have the time or the will to respond to comments, often snarky ones, from those who think I don’t post the things they want to see posted. My message to them is to write their own blog!

There are nearly 10,000 posts here at RRW, so please use the search window to look for information on refugee resettlement and related issues.

Checking the limited data at the Refugee Processing Center for this fiscal year which began on October 1, 2020 (ends on September 30th), I see that Biden will likely end the year with the smallest annual number of refugees admitted since the Refugee Act of 1980 (Kennedy, Biden and Jimmy Carter) became law.

As of July 31st, 6,246 have been admitted with two months until the fiscal year ends. Go here to see how many your state received:

https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/Refugee%20Arrivals%20by%20State%20and%20Nationality%20as%20of%2031%20Jul%202021.pdf

As for the Special Immigrant Visa holders from Afghanistan, those numbers and the states where they were placed are here. The total for the present fiscal year (to the end of July) is 4,181.

https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/Amerasian%20and%20SIV%20Arrivals%20by%20Nationality%20and%20State%20as%20of%2031%20Jul%202021.pdf

The Unaccompanied Alien Children (mostly teens!) released to sponsors data is only up-to-date to June 30th.

See it here (note that top ‘welcoming’ counties are also reported):

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/grant-funding/unaccompanied-children-released-sponsors-state

And, don’t miss the information, here, about how 84% of the “children” are ages 13-17. Most are males.

These sources of information do not include the hundreds of thousands of adult fake asylum seekers invading the border.

Note to Newbies! Read, Read, Read and Ask Questions!

07/20/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Today I had a question from a reader who asked me this:

Can you point me in the direction to find out how to track what is going on in my own and adjacent states?

It is almost like asking me, as I am beginning my 15th year of writing about refugees, tell me all about the US refugee program! And, I might ask how many hours do you have?

My reader’s question is not unreasonable and it is one I would have asked 15 years ago. I don’t mean to sound dismissive, but where could I begin?

So, here is my recommendation to any of you reading this post who are fairly new to the refugee controversy and the network of government actors and non-profits that call the shots, please use my search window. It is really very good!

Since my reader lives in Wyoming, let me say first she is lucky because Wyoming is the only state in the nation with no refugee admissions program (so far!). There was an attempt a few years back, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t one again, to open the state up to the ‘joys’ of third world diversity.

I covered that controversy extensively as it unfolded.

The first step would be to simply search RRW for each state (typing state name in search window) and be prepared for a very large number of posts to appear for each one—after all there are 9,667 posts at RRW!

If you are reading my posts on your phone, please open RRW on your computer and see the search window in the upper right.

You may wonder why some photos/images are missing for older posts and that is because I was deplatformed and had to scramble to save my material. Some images were lost in the process.

After you have read as much as you can handle about each state—all of the states surrounding Wyoming have seen their share of controversies—then you should have an idea about which of the nine contractors*** have subcontractors in those states.

Find out where they are located and call them on the phone to find out more about what they are doing.

Here is a whole list!

https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/R&P%20Affiliate%20Directory%20(Updated%20May%202021).pdf

And, don’t be stupid by being confrontational! You want to get information right? Then the best thing to do is play dumb! Seriously! Sound interested in their work!

Likewise you have a state refugee coordinator. I previously had a whole list of those, but can’t put my finger on it now. However, you can search the internet for refugee agencies in your state. You should call the coordinator too and ask for information (after you have read enough of my posts to get a feel for the program).

Knowledge is Power

And, one more thing of a thousand things I could write! Check out a series I wrote a while back entitled ‘Knowledge is Power‘ for an overview of the program.

Take the time to learn about the US Refugee Admissions Program (believe me, it isn’t going away anytime soon!) before jumping into action because it will do you no good to launch an activism initiative until you have some basic understanding of how it works.

The Open Borders agitators and the refugee contractors (with media backing) know their stuff and will quickly neutralize you if you don’t have your facts.

And one last thing…

Right now the contractors are on a hunt for new resettlement sites and to expand existing ones as I reported here about Winchester, VA. If you hear that your town might be a target, get in touch with your local elected officials and see what you can find out.

It Begins: Federal Contractors Out Scouring America for New Target Towns for Biden Refugees

***These are the nine major refugee resettlement contractors, there are at least a hundred subcontractors working under them:

Based on Recent Polling, Biden’s Planned Hike in Refugee Numbers Will Not Go Over Well!

07/13/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Remember dear readers that Biden has already said he plans to boost the refugee admissions ceiling for FY2022, which begins in less than three months, to a high not seen in decades—125,000!

Biden said he was aiming for 62,500 this year, but will likely only hit around 10,000.

Remember also that President Trump reduced the ceiling dramatically (to much wailing and moaning by the refugee pushers) and admitted 22,555, 30,000, and 11,814 respectively from FY18-FY20.

Decades ago, following 9/11, we saw low refugee admission numbers, but 11,814 is the lowest in 40 years.

FY02 was 27,000 and FY03 was 28,000 (rounded numbers). Otherwise, in the last few decades the number ranged from roughly 40,000 to 85,000 annually.

Here is the story I found intriguing. Sure looks like the Progs are searching desperately to get their messaging right so as to convince the general public that Trump had it wrong and we now must open the gates to the third worlders from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The poll analyzed below sought to determine if the public was more willing to support large numbers of refugees if they were told they were women and children.

Surprise! It didn’t make a big difference. In fact they suggest that the images at the border of women and children given a free pass may have turned people off!

From International Policy Digest:

By the way, the authors seem to get a little mixed up in the opening paragraphs, confusing the border issue with the refugee program, so I skipped their opening….

Does Framing of Refugee Question Change Public Opinion?

According to research by Mariano Sana covering public opinion on refugees from 1938-2019, Americans tend to view the number of refugees in the U.S. as “about right.” Yet, despite the growing global refugee crisis, the annual refugee ceilings under the Trump administration were the lowest in 40 years and have not returned to pre-Trump levels under the Biden administration.

Presidential administrations have chosen to keep relatively low refugee ceilings partly because of the public backlash. When examining the Syrian refugee crisis, it is easy to see a clear change in U.S. public opinion of refugees. Before the San Bernardino and Paris terrorist attacks, only 19% of U.S. survey respondents believed that the U.S. should stop admitting refugees and 44% of respondents felt like the U.S. should be doing more to aid refugees. However, after the terrorist attacks, there was a shift in the perception of Syrian refugees as threats. Another survey showed that after the San Bernardino and Paris attacks, a slight majority of 53% of Americans said that the U.S. should stop receiving refugees altogether. While these events occurred during the Obama years, this anti-immigrant sentiment carried through the 2016 election and allowed the Trump administration to easily lower the refugee ceiling with little public backlash.

[….]

Past research has found that Americans tend to prefer non-Muslim refugees and women and children. If women and children are seen by the public as more sympathetic and deserving of refugee status, this should increase support for refugee policies overall. However, considering the increase of unaccompanied minors arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border and broader anti-immigration sentiment, such support for women and children has declined.

As you look at the questions the pollsters asked, be aware that the numbers they used (they rounded the numbers I gave you above) are the LOWEST in the history of the US Refugee Admissions Program.

V1: In fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020, the U.S. admitted approximately 23,000, 30,000, and 12,000 refugees respectively. Should the number of refugees entering the U.S. decrease, stay about the same, or increase?

V2: In fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020, the U.S. admitted approximately 23,000, 30,000, and 12,000 refugees respectively, including many women and children. Should the number of refugees entering the U.S. decrease, stay about the same, or increase?

Below is one chart of their initial data.

It is stunning to see that only a small percentage of respondents want to see those (Trump!) numbers increased, even as they are the lowest three consecutive years ever!

Less than 20% want to see an INCREASE from the lowest numbers, and when asked about women and children the number went down!

There is more. Most notably more Republicans (grrrr!) than Democrats wanted to see the numbers increased!

International Policy Digest wraps with this:

The results suggest difficulties in gaining broader sympathy for refugees, which will likely complicate efforts at raising the ceilings on refugees accepted each year.

It is pretty clear what you should do! Tell everyone, even Dems, that you know at every opportunity that Joe is boosting refugee admissions from approximately 12,000 to 125,000 in one year beginning in October!

Seattle: A Decade after Threatening to Blow Up a School Bus, Somali Refugee Running for County Council

06/14/2021 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here we go again…. move over Ilhan Omar!

The story from The Blaze:

Leftist political candidate once threatened to blow up school bus, called children ‘white cowards’ as they fled: court docs

A political candidate in Washington once threatened to blow up a school bus full of children, and when the students attempted to flee the potentially deadly situation she called the kids “white cowards,” according to court documents.

Ubax Gardheere is running for the King County Council in the Seattle area. Gardheere is the director of the Equitable Development Division in Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development, which works with organizations on “anti-displacement efforts in high displacement risk neighborhoods, with a continued emphasis on serving BIPOC communities that have been targeted by systemic and institutional racism.”

Gardheere labels herself as a community organizer “focused on policy and systemic healing.” Gardheere, who calls herself a “bureactivist,” says she has “extensive experience in social justice and transformative practices.”

[….]

On Jan. 12, 2010, Gardheere allegedly boarded a school bus while it was transporting children to the Chinook Middle School. “Gardheere demanded the driver tell his dispatcher ‘that a national security incident was going on,'” according to a new report from the Post Millennial.

Gardheere, who is a Somali immigrant, began yelling at the children about America’s relationship with Somalia, according to police reports.

The school bus driver instructed Gardheere to exit the vehicle, but she retaliated by saying that she may have a bomb and a gun, the court docs say.

“You need to calm yourselves down ’cause I could have a bomb. Look how loose my clothes are,” Gardheere said, according to an audio recording of the incident described in court documents.

I’ve highlighted that line above because just yesterday at my local women’s shooting club meeting we were instructed on “situational awareness” and told to be more observant about clothing that could hide a weapon (obviously Gardheere was aware of the advantages of her Somali clothes). In our case yesterday we were instructed that someone wearing an item of winter clothing on a hot summer day might be of concern.

But I digress, back to the story….

Gardheere was hit with felony charges of kidnapping, but worked out a plea deal with prosecutors to get the felonies down to a misdemeanor.

A few weeks after she made veiled threats to bomb a middle school bus with children onboard, Gardheere gave an interview to Seattle Weekly. Gardheere told the paper that she was suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her son three years earlier.

“She said her mental condition worsened after she stopped in Dubai to see in-laws on her way to visit Somalia in 2008,” the article from January 2010 said. “Then, according to her account, she was nearly raped by someone at the house where she was staying–and beaten up by police when she tried to report the incident.”

Continue reading.

She writes-off the school bus terrorism as temporary mental illness.

Her mental illness aside, here is the big question for me!

(See her campaign website where she discusses her refugee status.)

If she was admitted to the US as a starving refugee at age 15, her family would have told the UN and the US State Department that they would be persecuted in Somalia and that they feared for their safety if they were forced to return to their home country.

Then why was she returning to Somalia for a visit in 2008?

Which begs the next question—why was she a refugee admitted to America in the first place if she can just pop back there for a social visit?

Rep. Ilhan Omar did the same thing!

Is Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar a Poster Child for Refugee Fraud?

This returning to the home country (where a refugee claims they were persecuted) for a “visit” is common practice among Somalis and some other refugee frauds as well.

In my dreams I see deportation for any ‘refugee’ who returns to the country they claimed they were escaping!

Curious about a time-line for Gardheere, here is a brief summary of what I found. I couldn’t quickly find an article reporting her age, but did find that she was 29 when she terrorized the school children in 2010, and she admits she was 15 when she was resettled as a refugee.

That makes her around 40 years old today.

She describes herself as a single mother with three children and I wondered where might hubby be now. She did have in-laws in Dubai in 2008, or so she says.

(Wondering about Somalis in Dubai, I learned that there are many prosperous Somalis doing business between Dubai and Mogadishu, so was Gardheere a legitimate refugee?)

We assume she was resettled in the Seattle area because unfortunately for Americans there, the area was a prime resettlement site for Somalis. Not as huge as Minneapolis, but up in the top 5 or so for sure.

I went back to one of the most-read posts of my nearly 14 years writing this blog, and see that she was likely ‘welcomed’ to America in 1996 during Bill Clinton’s term in office.

How did we get so many Somali refugees—the numbers are telling

It is a shame that I stopped updating that post in 2016, because as I reported previously, the data is now not available to the public except possibly in Annual Reports to Congress and available there only up to 2018.