Obama State Department approves 100 Syrian Muslims for West Virginia state capitol

12/22/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Where were you WV Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Republican Rep. Alex Mooney? Only two choices!—either asleep-at-the-switch or in support of this move by a local ‘interfaith’ group to be named a federal subcontracting agency for the purpose of beginning a new refugee resettlement site in the state. (Charleston previously received a few refugees through Catholic Charities, but no where near this scale).
If Capito and Mooney had put up significant opposition, we would have heard about it and this decision might have turned out differently.
Does Obama think he can stick it to West Virginia (Trump territory) voters in his final weeks in office? And, where is Joe [Manchin]? He must be all for it too!

Just this morning we reported that in Wisconsin, Republican Rep. Sean Duffy sent a strongly worded letter about plans to begin placing Syrians in his district and here a few days ago we learned that the plan for Bloomington, Indiana was shelved because opposition had grown there and because it is expected that Trump will make some move after January 20th to slow (or stop) the flow of refugees to America (money for resettlement is drying up as well).
So why go ahead with this new site at the West Virginia state capitol?
For new readers we have followed the growing controversy in Charleston extensively for months, see here.
From the West Virginia Gazette-Mail (emphasis is mine):

The U.S. Department of State has approved an application to establish a refugee resettlement program in Charleston, officials announced Wednesday. But that decision could be reversed by the incoming administration, according to an expert on refugee resettlement law.

The West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry, which also is the name local organizers have been informally using to describe their humanitarian effort, will begin as a program of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Rev. Canon E. Mark Stevenson, director at Episcopal Migration Ministries, announced that the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry had been approved to join its network of 30 refugee resettlement sites throughout the country.

[….]

In October, they submitted an application for a resettlement agency to place 100 refugees in Charleston in the first year.

David Ramkey, chief financial officer for the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, said the refugees should be a “welcome addition” and “very productive part” of the community.

[….]

Neil Grungras, executive director of the nonprofit Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, said the Donald Trump administration could reverse the decision.

“The State Department is never obligated to allow even an approved refugee into the U.S.,” Grungras said. “The answer, with regard to the 100 approved, is that it probably depends where they are in their processing. [I will bet a buck that the Obama Administration is packing as many as they can into that pipeline right now!—ed]

[….]

Lynn Clarke, a local organizer, said the group had been told that, if they were approved, the refugees would likely begin arriving this summer. She said the group anticipates refugees fleeing from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, but she said they also could be from other countries. –

As I said in a previous post, I don’t know why this ‘interfaith’ group was so hot for Syrian Muslims (apparently Iraqis and Afghans too), they usually don’t get to pick their favorite ethnic groups, but actually get a little bit of everything.

Austin, TX mayor works with White House to welcome Syrians against official state position

12/21/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Before the Trump movement was born, I advocated that your grassroots efforts must focus on local initiatives to elect like-minded office holders (especially mayors seem to have been captured!) and defeat those working for Open Borders and increased refugee resettlement.
Now that the Trump movement is headed to the White House it is time for you to turn your efforts to getting mayors, like this one in Austin, TX, unelected. This is not to say you can rest and assume that the Trump Administration will do everything right, they won’t (Establishment influence is on the rise we hear) and you have to be ready to tell Trump when he gets wobbly!
It is imperative that the Trump movement, the reason Trump was elected, must stay alive (no matter what Trump does!) in your towns, cities and states.

President Barack Obama is greeted by Austin, Texas Mayor Steve Adler on the tarmac upon his arrival on Air Force One, Friday, March 11, 2016, at Austin Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas. Obama traveled to Austin, to speak at South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) and attend 2 Democratic National Committee fundraisers. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) — Mayor Steve Adler: Whatever you say man! See Adler bio, born in DC educated at Princeton. Come on Texans you can do better! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Adler_(lawyer)

Here is what the ever vigilant Judicial Watch is reporting about collusion between Austin’s Democrat mayor and the White House behind the back of Republican Governor Abbott. (JW obtained this information because the organization is the leading expert on the Freedom of Information Act.)

After the governor of Texas announced that the state would stop accepting Syrian refugees, the Obama administration went behind his back secretly conferencing with a mayor that offers illegal immigrants sanctuary and Syrians a welcome mat. The plan, evidently, was to continue sending Syrian refugees to the Lone Star State, even as the governor initiated litigation to halt the flow. This week Judicial Watch obtained records of the administration’s behind-the-scenes efforts to keep sending Syrians to Texas despite fierce opposition from state officials over the security threats created by refugees from an Arab nation that’s a hotbed of terrorism.

The White House looked to Austin Mayor Steve Adler, going around the governor to confer with a city leader who espoused the controversial Syrian resettlements, the records show. Shortly after Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state wouldn’t accept any more Syrian refugees, the administration responded by colluding with Adler, according to records of a conference call between the mayor’s office and the White House. The administration also furnished Adler with “talking points” involving the refugee resettlement and the parties discussed Abbott’s lawsuit. It seems bizarre that the feds would discuss legal action with a town mayor operating in the state suing them.

[….]

While the legal process was taking place, the Obama administration reached out to a friendly official to assure the Syrian refugees would have a place to land in Texas. Adler, Austin’s mayor since 2014, had publicly proclaimed that Syrian refugees would be received in his city of about 900,000 residents. He even wrote a piece in a local publication last year titled “Syrian Refugees are Welcome in Austin.” Adler assures his constituents in the state’s capital city that “any Syrian refugee coming to the United States faces the most stringent background checks of anyone entering the country.” He proceeds to write that the U.S. only considers refugees screened by the United Nations (the famously corrupt world body) who are then vigorously vetted by the FBI Terrorist Screening Center and other federal agencies. Last month Adler participated in an immigration rally outside City Hall to reiterate his commitment to protecting illegal aliens.

More here.
And, by the way, Austin is a sanctuary city. President Trump must cut off federal funding to cities breaking federal law. After all, weren’t we beaten over the head a few years ago with the idea that immigration is a federal issue! The Open Borders cabal can’t have it both ways!

How many refugees has Austin been getting?

At Wrapsnet.org, I went back to FY2007 and looked at the numbers up to December 15th (6 days ago). The whole state of Texas took in 69,413 refugees in that time frame (they are trying to turn Texas blue!).
I’m not including in this list the smaller numbers of about a dozen other ethnic groups that went to Austin, but here are the major groups (FY 2007 to FY2017, so far):

Afghanistan (95)

Bhutan (589)

Burma (1,677)

Burundi (94)

Cuba (294)

DR Congo (427)

Eritrea (90)

Iran (191)

Iraq (1,775)

Somalia (278)

And, here is how the Syrians break down so far:

FY2015 (21)

FY2016 (161)

and so far in FY2017 (18)

We have a huge archive on Texas, click here for more information about the number-one state in the nation for resettlement of third worlders!
Update: Just looked at numbers again and TX has ‘welcomed’ a total of 2,217 refugees in the first 11 weeks of the fiscal year. That is a rate far and above anything they have ever seen, so clearly the feds are getting them seeded as fast as they can despite what the governor says!

Unaccompanied refugee minors program, small but could grow

12/20/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Two days ago we reported that Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) had introduced a bill in the waning days of the Congress to admit 25,000 Syrian ‘orphans’ to the US.
So I found this story interesting and something you should know about. We do have a program for ‘unaccompanied refugee minors’ not to be confused with the ‘unaccompanied alien children’ flooding across our southern border at the moment (and for the last few years). The refugee minors program is for children who are deemed refugees (not the phony asylum seekers from Central America). Although I think the reporter in the story at US News has the efforts confused.
Or, is it possible that the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement really has no authority to pay out over a billion dollars a year for those illegal alien children and is doing it under this one?

unaccompanied-minors-graphic — I don’t know if these formal refugee minors programs are also taking care of the tens of thousands of unaccompanied alien children (who are not legitimate refugees!). If your state has a program, you might add this to your investigative work. How many of the refugee ‘children’ are being cared for in your state? Are they all legitimate refugees? Does the program cost state and local taxpayers anything? When they become 18, what happens to them?

This news says they (resettlement agency reps) can find very few truly ‘unaccompanied’ children from Syria (although they are looking!) because most, if separated, quickly find parents or family members who take them in. This makes me wonder why Rep. Honda felt there was a need to bring in 25,000 orphaned Syrian children on a “temporary” basis.
From US News:

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, or LIRS, and eight other refugee resettlement groups have worked with the federal government to resettle roughly 17,000 Syrian refugees, including many children within family units, since the conflict broke out in the country in 2011. But of those, the State Department says only one has been a minor without a parent or guardian to care for him or her. Out of privacy concerns, they could give no details about the minor.

The U.S. has the capacity to accept more orphans from the war-ravaged country, Haynes and other experts say. It’s just that for now – as jarring as it might sound while Aleppo’s trapped children plead for help – there aren’t many Syrian minors who qualify for this particular form of assistance.

The Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program in the United States is the only formal program in the world that is specifically designed to bring unaccompanied refugee children into a unique domestic foster care system, says Haynes. Since its founding after the Vietnam War, the program has accepted about 13,000 minors. It’s a relatively small program, admitting about 200 children last year.

The system gives refugees access to all the support available in the regular foster care system, but also provides additional assistance for things like language training and mental health services. It’s a federally funded program, and like all refugee resettlement services, can be changed or terminated at the whim of the president.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service monopolize this federal grant program.

Children can come into the program a range of ways. They’re frequently referred by United Nations refugee agency partners based in other countries. In other scenarios, they’ve crossed the southern border and are classified as victims of trafficking or asylum seekers. LIRS works with another group, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, to place the children. The program prioritizes family reunification, meaning officials try to place minors with relatives who are able and willing to care for them before putting them in the foster care system.

Now, pay attention to this! Once the ‘unaccompanied’ refugee reaches the age of 18, he she doesn’t leave, but can apply for family members to come to America!

Ensuring that minors are truly unaccompanied takes time, she says. And once they qualify and arrive in the U.S., they can’t apply for any family member to join them in the U.S. until after they are 18.

Continue reading here.

At present rate, almost 14,000 Syrians would enter US this fiscal year, 98% Muslim

12/18/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Donald Trump arrives at the Miss USA 2013 pageant, Sunday, June 16, 2013, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Jeff Bottari) — Will Donald Trump follow through beginning on day 1?

Two days ago, I reported on the total number of refugees being rushed in to the US right now presumably to beat an expected cut-off of resettlement from at least some countries (terror-producing) of the world after Donald Trump becomes President on January 20th.
And, although we reported new proposed sites have been placed on hold (see Bloomington, IN), there are still plenty of existing sites where refugees are being placed at the highest rate in recent memory.
Here is a map from Wrapsnet.org showing the numbers and placement of Syrians admitted to the US in the first ten weeks of this fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 10, 2016).
2,671 have been placed, and at this rate we would expect 13,889 by September 30th, 2017, if Donald Trump doesn’t do what he promised.

screenshot-92 — This map is for the first 10 weeks of FY17. Florida is 132 (couldn’t fit whole map in shot) and Alaska and Hawaii are zero.

Here are the top ten states so far in FY2017 receiving Syrians.

Data from Wrapsnet puts the percentage of Muslims at 98% and the vast majority of those are Sunnis (remember it is the UN choosing our refugees!).

screenshot-93
Just a reminder, this is only data for resettled refugees and does not take in to account Syrians getting in to the US through other means.

Bloomington, Indiana: Plans for new resettlement site on hold; federal money drying up

12/18/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

“We in Bloomington and groups all throughout the United States are waiting for the new budget to come out. Like a lot of vulnerable populations, we will have to see how much funding will be allocated.”

(Refugee promoter Diane Legomsky)

This is the first in what I expect to be many reports from controversial potential refugee resettlement sites that the Obama State Department was attempting to get open quickly. Why? Because actions by Congress to limit funding in the appropriations process are causing the DOS and the ORR to start pulling in the reins on new sites.

bloomington-forum — US STATE DEPT. NO-SHOW! More than 100 people came out to a refugee forum in Bloomington, Indiana in early November. Experts DON BARNETT and JIM SIMPSON debated one lonely pro-refugee immigration lawyer, when Barbara Day, representing the US State Department, was a no-show and purportedly discouraged refugee agencies in the state from participating as well. Photo and story from Bloomington, here: http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/11/locals-discuss-concerns-for-refugee-families

Elections have consequences and the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) may be changed beginning January 21, 2017 (the day after inauguration day).
We expect the present political appointees, Anne Richard at the Dept. of State and Bob Carey at the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS) to be job hunting soon if they aren’t already. Indeed, they could go back (revolving door!) to the ‘non-profit’ resettlement contractor they both came from—the International Rescue Committee.
Showing once again the impact that federal funding (or the lack of it!) has on local resettlement offices, the announcement that the planned program is now on hold for Bloomington, IN was reported yesterday at the Herald Times (emphasis is mine):

The effort to resettle refugees in Bloomington has been put on hold as local and national aid organizations await details of the incoming presidential administration’s 2017 budget plans.

The announcement came Saturday from Bloomington Refugee Support Network chairwoman Diane Legomsky, who said while the organization is no longer expecting refugees to arrive this spring, she is confident this is just a delay of the inevitable.

“We in Bloomington and groups all throughout the United States are waiting for the new budget to come out. Like a lot of vulnerable populations, we will have to see how much funding will be allocated. However, this is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when.’” Legomsky said. “We certainly anticipate that resettlement will be happening here; it just might be in late 2017 or in 2018.”

The State Department has been clear that it considers Bloomington an ideal resettlement city: In addition to being extremely welcoming, it is an exceptionally well-resourced city, able to resettle and give support to refugees in a very cost-effective way. Any budgeting decisions about resettlement are based on national, rather than state or local, considerations, Legomsky said.

[….]

Local efforts to welcome refugees to Bloomington have sparked opposition from the Grassroots Conservative political group, which has raised concerns at public forums about safety and potential cost to host communities.

Earlier this month, Congress passed a continuing spending resolution to fund the federal government through April 28, providing an opportunity for the new administration to put its imprint on the 2017 budget. [Will Trump severely restrict federal funding in the second half of FY2017?—ed]

President-elect Donald Trump was critical of the Syrian resettlement program, in particular, during his recent presidential campaign, and he called for suspension of immigration from areas of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism until “extreme vetting” measures could be put in place.

The law is very clear on this last point, the President of the United States can stop immigration from any region of the world he wishes.
More here (but warning this requires a paid subscription).
One commenter said that local millionaire developers (who have empty apartments) will be disappointed! Remember refugee resettlement is big business! Federal dollars (your money) grease the skids.
Look for more from me going forward about the federal Budget and Appropriations process in the new year.