I was looking for something else just now and was reminded that we previously posted the Code of Federal Regulations link for the Public Welfare section of the Immigration and Nationality Act as it relates to refugees.   You can find those regulations here.

Just a reminder:  information of this sort is posted in our category entitled appropriately ‘where to find information.’

If you are wondering if we have posted on a certain topic, use our excellent search function for key words (try different key words if you don’t find it the first time) to see if somewhere in our nearly 3000 posts we have written about the topic that concerns you.

Your tax dollars

Here is an article yesterday on a site called Virtueonline that was brought to my attention by a reader.   The author of the article, Allan S. Haley, charges that the federal dollars for refugee resettlement at EMM (Episcopal Migration Ministries) keep the books for ECUSA in the black.   And, this is my big question, with refugees suffering throughout the US, how is it that EMM has a surplus of federal dollars?

The latest budgetary statement available from the ECUSA finance site is the (as yet unaudited) report for November 2009. With eleven-twelfths of the year’s income and expenses booked, the picture of ECUSA’s finances is becoming clear. ECUSA is no longer fulfilling its mission as a church. Its mission operations have been scaled back severely. The greatly reduced expenses help keep ECUSA’s deficit from being so large — and they help bury the unbudgeted drain caused by 815’s subsidies to the dioceses engaged in litigation over property. Meanwhile, ECUSA is able to show an operating “surplus” in part because — are you surprised? — its revenues from the Government are up.

ECUSA? Getting federal money? Yes — the Government is the second largest source of ECUSA revenues, after diocesan contributions, and is now even greater than ECUSA’s income from investments. They are called “EMM Revenues,” for “Episcopal Migration Ministries.” Essentially, the Government pays ECUSA to assist in finding homes for refugee families. ECUSA is one of ten* official “resettlement agencies” recognized by the federal Government, and accounts for settling between 2500 to 3500 individuals per year via a network of thirty offices in twenty-six of the 96 domestic dioceses.

The EMM operations for 2009 have helped keep ECUSA in the black (on paper, at least). Here are the year-to-date figures through November 2009:

EMM Revenues (Govmt.) $ 8,843,729
EMM Revenues (Non-govt.) + 517,852 Total, all
EMM Revenues $ 9,361,581

EMM Expenses (all depts) – 9,022,731

Operating Surplus $ 338,850

These actual figures may be compared with the budgeted amounts:

EMM Revenues (Govmt.) $ 8,238,420
EMM Revenues (Non-govt.) + 385,917 Total, all
EMM Revenues $ 8,624,337

EMM Expenses (all depts) – 8,374,545

Budgeted Surplus $ 249,792

Read on, the author explains more about the creative bookkeeping at ECUSA.  And, by the way, readers should know that the federal government does not do financial audits of refugee resettlement agencies, they do instead program audits.  Those are audits that only address whether the agency is getting refugees jobs etc. in a timely fashion.

Is there an EMM affiliate near you?  Are they doing a good job with their refugee caseloads?  Here are the affiliates.  Note that you wouldn’t know by their names that they are getting their funding as pass through money from EMM.  Some have “Lutheran” in their title so one would think their money would be coming through the major Lutheran volag (Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services), and I note our friends at the Virginia Council of Churches are also an affiliate of EMM.  But, they are an affiliate of Church World Service too!  Can you see how complicated it would be to audit where your tax dollars are going!

Also, while you are at the EMM site, note the advocacy page, they are busy advocating for more refugees which in turn keeps the federal funding spigot open.  I sure hope they aren’t using tax dollars for support of amnesty legislation!

Here is the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s annual report to Congress for FY 2007, you can learn more about EMM in Appendix C-2.   Note that their affiliates resettled 2,296 refugees in that fiscal year.

* Here are the top ten resettlement agencies.  I have never been able to get financial figures from USA Spending.gov on EMM.  Checking guidestar there is no Form 990 for EMM instead it appears each of their affiliates is listed separately and some of those do not file Form 990’s (presumably claiming they are ‘churches’ and don’t have to file them).

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (Dept. of Health and Human Services) is required by law to file annual reports to Congress and I note that the last one filed is for FY2007.  What gives?  We are now in FY2010 and I would expect at least FY2008  should be complete!  Cynic that I am, I’m guessing the employment and welfare numbers are rotten and therefore they aren’t anxious to tell Congress.  Imagine what FY2009 is going to look like!

Readers should check these reports from time to time, they are full of all sorts of interesting and sometimes shocking information.  You will be especially amazed at all the grants given out for all sorts of programs run by these government contractors.

I mentioned this story back in early December, here, but I don’t think I had the link for the report that must have spawned the story (or is certainly part of the political campaign). Here is a link to the Human Rights Watch report provactively titled “Jailing Refugees” which says refugees are being detained by ICE and face deportation if they fail to update their immigration status. 

The report claims that no one advises refugees to do this necessary paperwork.  So where are the government contracted resettlement agencies?  Isn’t this part of their job? 

Each year, the US government sends officials to refugee camps overseas to interview thousands of people displaced by persecution and conflict, classifies a select number as refugees in need of resettlement, and brings those refugees to live in the United States.

After one year in the United States, every resettled refugee is required to apply for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, more familiarly known as a “green card.” However, refugees’ limited English, ignorance about the requirement, confusion over the legal process, and lack of resources, as well as the government’s failure to notify them of the requirement, often prevents them from timely filing to adjust their legal status. In some parts of the country, the consequence of not applying can be lengthy, indefinite and arbitrary detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The purpose of this report is to encourage legislative and policy changes that will eliminate the potential for indefinite detention of resettled refugees for failure to file for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status after one year in the US.

Instead of eliminating detention, why not write a law that specifically says resettlement agencies (or state refugee agencies) are responsible for this notification requirement.   It might also force resettlement agencies to keep track of refugees they resettle—something not presently required.

Refugees are supposed to notify Homeland Security when they move, but I wonder how many actually do.