Failing to be granted asylum in US, Somalis heading for Canadian border

When one sees stories titled like this one:

Somalis With Criminal Records Are Heading for Canadian Border

One immediately assumes this story has to do with changing US refugee policy under Donald Trump’s presidency, but check this out, they were already heading to Canada under Obama.

From Alpha News:

Fear of deportation is causing some Somalis with criminal records to head for the Canadian border, according to a new report from Global News.

The usual route: http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/u-s-group-asks-asylum-seekers-not-to-cross-border-into-manitoba-1.3287759

A Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) intelligence brief from January 2016 obtained by Global News shows an increase in Somali nationals with criminal records crossing the border into Canada.

According to the report, 16 Somalis with “serious” criminal records crossed the border into Canada between 2012 and 2015. Of the 16, 11 had criminal records in Minnesota. Most of the asylum seekers crossed the border near Emerson, Manitoba.

The CBSA believes the asylum seekers are attempting to avoid deportation by U.S. immigration authorities by claiming refugee protection in Canada. Somali deportations began to rise under former President Barack Obama during the same time Canada saw an increase of asylum seekers with criminal records. According to data from the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 65 Somalis were deported in 2014, 120 in 2015, and 198 in 2016.

The number of deportations has continued to increase under President Donald Trump. As of early May 2017, about half way through the fiscal year, 259 Somalis had been deported. Of the 259, 80 were deported from the St. Paul ICE office. About one quarter of those deported have criminal records.

Alpha News has a nice graphic showing an uptick in Somali deportations from the US.

The CBSA intelligence report does not reveal data for 2017, however, border patrol officers in Emerson, Manitoba have reported a significant increase of asylum seekers with criminal records. Jean-Pierre Fortin, National President of the Customs and Immigration Union in Manitoba, told CBC News border officers in Emerson estimate as many as 50 percent of asylum seekers have a “serious criminality record.”

No official data, but Reuters is happy to produce some for 2017 anyway!

As Alpha News previously reported, Canada is seeing an influx of refugees that once found a home in Minnesota. Reuters reports nearly 3,500 have walked into Canada from the U.S. between January through May of this year.

Yahya Samatar swam in to Canada in 2015 to escape deportation by Obama. See his story below.

More here.

A case study—Yahya Samatar

As I researched the above news I came across Samatar’s story.  So his impoverished Somali family “scraped together” $12,000 usd to pay his way across the world (Somalia to Ethiopia to Brazil to Central America to Mexico and illegally across our southern border!), and we are expected to believe they found that much money through legal means in Africa.

Who is paying these illegal aliens? pirate money? An NGO? Someone like Soros?

From Hiiraan Online :

(original story from Winnipeg Free Press)

Samatar hopes he’s at the end of what has been a year-long survival odyssey.

He fled Somalia in August of last year when he became a target because he does aid work with a non-governmental organization and had no one to protect him.

“There’s no functioning government,” Samatar said. “As long as your clan has not a lot of power, you’re at risk.” Militia groups and Al Shabaab are active and night-time attacks are common, he said.

Samatar said he and his family scraped together US$12,000 to pay smugglers to get him to Ethiopia, then Brazil, and help him make his way by land through Central America to the U.S. border at Matamoros, Mexico. “I took buses and walked in the jungle for one month,” he said.

Was the Obama Administration, after a court failed to grant him asylum, letting him go with tacit approval to make a run for the border?

In the U.S., he was apprehended as an illegal alien and spent six months in a detention centre in Texas and another 10 weeks in a centre in Louisiana. After his refugee claim was formally rejected, he was released to await deportation back to Somalia. Desperate to set down roots in some place safe, he headed north. A contact in Minneapolis’s huge Somali community rented a car and drove Samatar and his companion close to the border crossing at Pembina, N.D., he said.

Continue reading here.

We have a large and growing archive on Canada, click here.

IOM: Over 1.2 million Syrians have returned home in last two years

As Syria is showing signs of a return to some order and ISIS strength is diminishing, Syrians are going home says the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

So, does it make any sense for the US to PERMANENTLY resettle thousands at great expense to the US taxpayer? No!

From MWC News:

Syrians who have been displaced by the ongoing civil war in their country are heading home in larger numbers, according to a migration agency.

The Switzerland-based International Organization for Migration (IOM)*** said on Friday that nearly 603,000 Syrian refugees have set off to return to their cities and villages in the first seven months of this year.

The Syrians included in the figures were returning from other locations in Syria or from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan or Iraq.

The number nearly matched the 685,662 people who returned during all of 2016, Olivia Headon, IOM spokesperson, said.

The returning Syrians were motivated by the desire to protect their homes and possessions, an improved economic and security situation in Syria, and problems with integration in their host countries, according to the IOM.

More here.

***IOM was once an independent NGO but is now part of the United Nations.

El Cajon again! Refugee contractor accused of skirting housing rules when placing large families

Sheesh! A few minutes ago we told you about the huge US refugee contractor—the IRC—working with Starbucks to find refugee employees to make your morning coffees in the San Diego area, and up pops more news (not good news!) about the IRC there.

 

https://www.rescue.org/united-states/san-diego-ca

 

This sort of news will result in a cry for more start-up money for refugees.  It will never result in formal questions being asked by Congress about whether we are bringing in more refugees than we can afford!

From KPBS San Diego:

Three large refugee families that a local nonprofit helped resettle at an El Cajon apartment complex are being asked to move because they have too many people living in their homes.

Uh-oh!

They came forward after KPBS aired an investigation nearly two weeks ago about other refugee families who said the same resettlement agency — the International Rescue Committee in San Diego — put them into too-small apartments by encouraging them to sign leases that omitted the names of some occupants.

IRC’s national office in New York has said it is investigating the recent claims made by refugees. In an email Tuesday, a spokesman said the office is aware of the new cases, which it is also looking into, “and is supporting our clients through their next steps.”

What say you, David? IRC CEO David Miliband giving George Soros their highest award in 2013. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2013/11/09/federal-refugee-contractor-gives-freedom-award-to-george-soros/

The three families, who moved into their two-bedroom apartments last year, said they received the 30-day notices to vacate a day after KPBS’s story was published on July 27. A manager for the complex, which is under new ownership, said only five people are allowed in a two-bedroom apartment. Two of the families have eight members, while another has seven.

Lalmir Hamdard, a refugee from Afghanistan who arrived here in September, said he relied on an IRC translator to help him sign the English-language lease. A copy of the document provided to KPBS showed five names on the lease instead of all eight members of his family.

“At the time, I didn’t understand it in English — even my daughters with little English didn’t understand,” he said in Farsi through a translator. “I only understood that it said here, ‘Write this, sign here, do this.’ And I did.”

Two neighboring Syrian families who speak Arabic shared similar stories. They would have to find a three-bedroom apartment, which would be more expensive, and they are already having trouble keeping up with rent on their two-bedroom units. However, even a larger apartment may not be big enough depending on a complex’s policy.

More here.

Nice to see some real investigative journalism for a change, but reporter needs to ask….

Where is the US State Department that oversees agreements with its contractors (the IRC is one of nine that contracts with the federal government to place refugees) which surely include rules about how many tenants are in each apartment or house?

We have a huge archive on the IRC and its head honcho—David Miliband—here. Go here to see my latest financial  accounting for the IRC.

Memory lane! CT Senator Richard Blumenthal sought to REDUCE security screening for Syrians in 2015

Editor: This is a repost of a repost!  Since President Trump was ‘highlighting’ the storied career of Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal yesterday (so that Blumenthal today is all over the Leftwing cable news), I thought new readers might like to know more about the man.

Come to think of it, I haven’t heard Blumenthal lately asking for more Syrian refugees for Connecticut.

Here is my post from earlier this year, which is a repost itself from 2015:

Because he is all over the news today as the focal point in one more attack on President Donald Trump, I’m re-posting this story from 2015 so you know just who Senator Blumenthal is and why he must be pretty unhappy with Trump.

In 2015 Senator Blumenthal held a press conference with the director of CAIR Connecticut seeking to speed up Syrian refugees to America by reducing security screening requirements. 98% of Syrians entering the US are Muslims.

This is what I said October 7, 2015:

Update: Who was that man over Senator Blumenthal’s left shoulder?

Yesterday we told you that Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is leading the charge to lessen the security screening for Syrian and other Middle Eastern refugees and he wants to expand the so-called P-3 (fraud ridden!) family reunification program.

See yesterday’s post by clicking here. (Go there to see exactly how Senator Blumenthal wanted to make it easier for Syrians to get  through the refugee screening process.)

That is CAIR-Connecticut’s Executive Director behind Senator Blumenthal. Getting pretty brazen aren’t they, or is Blumenthal just pretty dense to invite CAIR to be so prominently involved in lessening security screening for refugees?

 

Now we know the answer to the question I asked all of you to help answer.  Looming over Blumenthal’s shoulder is none other than Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)- Connecticut director Mongi Dhaouadi.

(When I mentioned to a friend that I had updated my post with that information (thanks to Kyle), she suggested I write a second post because as a subscriber, who received the earlier one, she would not see the update.)

But it is worth mentioning again because this is now the second time we have seen CAIR involving itself directly in the Syrian (mostly Muslim) resettlement issue (and you can bet they are not advocating for the persecuted Syrian Christians).

Clearly their interest is in boosting the Muslim population in the US.

CAIR was here in the St. Louis ‘Bring them here march’ last month.

Here is Mr. Dhaouadi’s bio at CAIR’s website:  (update: Apparently Mr. Dhaouadi has moved on since I first wrote this story)

Mongi Dhaouadi
Executive Director

Mongi S. Dhaouadi was born and raised in Tunisia. He moved to the US when he was 19 years old and studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As The Executive director of CAIR-CT, he conducts civil rights workshops throughout the state of Connecticut under the title “Know Your Rights.” Also, he leads several workshops and discussions on Islamophobia and the Muslim experience before and after 9/11. He has participated in and led several media campaigns and press conferences on issues concerning the Muslim community ranging from discrimination cases to advocating for the change of racial profiling laws in the state of Connecticut. Dhaouadi was featured in countless local, national, and international media outlets including NPR, FOX News, and Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. During the summer, he runs a youth internship program during which high school and college students work on several projects ranging from preparing a toolkit on Islamic cultural competency for schools, to writing and publishing articles from a Muslim youth perspective in the local papers and publications. Dhaouadi leads a Connecticut delegation at the Capitol Hill visits; an event that is organized every year by CAIR National, where members of the Muslim community visit their representatives in Wasington, DC and advocate for issues of concern domestic and foreign. Prior to joining CAIR-CT on a full time bases Dhaouadi was the Head Administrator at SKF Academy in Hamden Connecticut. Dhaouadi is married with three children: ages 11, 14 and 18. He lives with his family in New London, Connecticut. His favorite past time is playing or coaching soccer.

So far Connecticut doesn’t get very many refugees compared to other states.  I guess Blumenthal and Dhaouadi would like to change that.

Is CAIR getting into the refugee resettlement program where you live?  Let me know.  And, while you are at it, see if you notice the involvement of Islamic Relief (USA) as well.

Go here to find the regional offices of Islamic Relief (USA) thanks to reader Cathy.

More on Connecticut here.

North Dakota: Summer study bill on cost of refugees to the state moving along

You know I get alerts each day on a variety of news involving refugees around the world.  Honestly I wasn’t planning to post on this news simply because it is frankly ho-hum.  But, for some reason the story of the North Dakota legislature’s effort to get to the bottom of the question of what it costs taxpayers to ‘welcome’ refugees, including many Somalis to the state, is being reported all over the place, so I thought I better mention it too!

Lutheran Social Service’s director, Shirley Dykshoorn, testified on Wednesday. Did she turn over important information like how many refugee children entered the school system and how many refugees use Medicaid or public housing?

Here is a report in the Bismark Tribune. If nothing else, the legislature’s effort has an important educational value.

Eight days after a racially fueled confrontation in a Fargo parking lot, North Dakota lawmakers began examining the state’s refugee resettlement program Wednesday.

The interim Human Services Committee’s study was prompted by legislation passed earlier this year that sought an examination of various aspects of resettlement, and the committee was tasked with reviewing the impact on workforce, government services, human services, education and health care.

The study bill received some backlash during the legislative session over concerns it singled out refugees, and didn’t account for the economic and cultural benefit they bring to their new communities. Committee Chairwoman Rep. Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, said the panel should weigh the costs and benefits of resettlement, although some data may be hard to come by.

[….]

The number of refugees resettled in North Dakota every year has roughly tripled over the past decade, according to a Legislative Council memo. Last year, 558 refugees were resettled in the state, down from a recent high of 590 in 2014. In 2006, there were just 182.

Lutheran Social Services runs the show in ND:

The state Department of Human Services moved most refugee-related services to Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota under then-Gov. John Hoeven in July 2010, according to the Legislative Council. LSS is the only federally recognized and approved refugee resettlement organization in the state.

[….]

Wednesday’s meeting came about a week after a confrontation between three Somali-American women and a white woman at a Fargo Walmart parking lot, where a parking dispute descended into an anti-Muslim outburst that went viral. The two sides later made up after Fargo Police Chief David Todd brought them together.

Now, this is what I want to address—the community organizers!

“The state and the city asking for how much it costs to have refugees in the community, while a sensible question from the financial standpoint, it has negatively impacted our image in the community,” Hukun Abdullahi, the head of the Afro American Development Association, said at the Fargo City Commission’s meeting on Monday. “And it also has increased the number of hostile incidents against the refugees.” [Does he have data to back that up?—ed]

I think North Dakota’s Somali community track record with crimes and terrorism might have more to do with the public attitude toward refugees than some financial study!

More here.

This is how Leftwing community organizing works!

Here is Abdullahi apparently being guided by some white guy community organizers on what to say at that demonstration against a local TV station’s report (May 2016) on TB in the immigrant population in ND. http://www.inforum.com/news/4038410-refugees-elected-leaders-denounce-fargo-tv-station-bad-journalism

Here we have one Somali guy (some media reports put him at 21 years old), Hukun Abdullahi, who runs an organization incorporated in 2014 (basically a one man show it appears) that has virtually no funding and he becomes the spokesman for the “community.”

Most people on the conservative side of the political spectrum don’t do this, something George Soros has promoted—create many ‘groups,’ with a handful of people in each one, making it appear that there is widespread support for whatever it is they are promoting. 

And, of course, when it comes to Somalis and Muslims generally, there is always a victim theme to their organizing. Simply wanting more answers about the cost of the US Refugee Admissions Program makes one a racist, xenophobic Islamophobe!

Has anyone in the mainstream media ever looked into ‘groups’ like Abdullahi’s to see who is behind it, who helped him incorporate as a 501(c)3? Someone had to pay for the legal work to set up the ‘non-profit’ group.

When I attempted to search for background and a website (I didn’t find one) all I got was this, from Tax Exempt World.  

He has no requirement to file a Form 990 because he takes in less than $25,000 a year.

 

 

People ask me  all the time what they can do—-spend a few hours at your computer and research community organizing ‘groups’ like this one.

You can find their incorporation papers on line, their board members’ names, figure out who was behind creating the ‘organization.’ Research their finances, are any local businesses contributing? Any government funding?  And, most of all expose them as Leftwing community organizing grievance ‘groups,’ just so the average taxpaying citizen knows who is being promoted by the media as the voice of  the “community.”

I have written many posts on North Dakota, see here.

It was also on my 2016 summer roadtrip to see refugee controversy hotspots firsthand.