…..your heart would melt (she didn’t exactly say that!).
This is from one more article on the growing conflict about how many Syrian Muslim refugees we should admit to the US. Frankly, there are so many of these stories, I’m having trouble keeping track! This one is from the Associated Press, here.
Anne C. Richard, Asst. Secretary of State for PRM was formerly a VP (for advocacy!) at one of the federally-funded refugee ‘non-profit’ agencies she now contracts to resettle refugees—The International Rescue Committee. Was she a Soros protege at the International Crisis Group? Bio: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/188212.htm
Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration echoes a sentiment that permeates our refugee admission policy in the US. I’ve seen it used at the local level where the resettlement contractors parade out some sympathetic refugees in an attempt to soften any opposition to resettlement.
Our federal policy (what is right for America!) should be made in a clear-eyed way, not clouded by gooey emotions or done under pressure from the United Nations!
We might all have sympathy for those who live in hellholes around the world, but that doesn’t mean we have to invite them here in large numbers.
Honestly those promoters of more refugees for your towns and cities cannot give you any real reason as to why we need to do this without falling back on guilt-tripping emotionalism.
“These are people I think that if most Americans met them, their instinct would immediately be, ‘We have to help these people,'” Anne Richard, the assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
[….]
“I think if we talk about just this faceless mob of people from conflict-ridden lands, it seems very scary,” the State Department’s Richard said. “But if you meet individuals and individual families, you start to understand the very, very human nature of what it means to be a refugee.”
Everyone with such maudlin impulses should use your own resources, adopt a third world child or family, or send your own money abroad to help them there and leave the rest of us out of it!
Egg on face?
Last October Richard told the world at a meeting in Berlin (a kind of pledging event) that the US was stepping up now to bring in Syrians in a big way and said we have 5,000 in the pipeline that the UN has picked for us. See our post. In December she said there were 9,000 in the UN’s pipeline to America.
Reporter Julie Zauzmer does the stereotypical report on a Syrian family in fear of Assad who have just managed to be in the first batch of Syrians “welcomed” to America.
You can read the lengthy early paragraphs about the family’s long ordeal until they were rescued by America (through the UN), by the US State Department and by the State Department’s resettlement contractor Catholic Charities all geared to get your mind right before we get to the all important question—how are these people going to make it in America without enormous taxpayer support? He was a journalist who can’t speak English, she a hairdresser who can’t speak English.
Anne Richard Asst. Secretary of State (left) and Antonio Guterres (UNHCR): We take those that the UN sends us and run this whole program on a shoestring (over $1 billion a year) budget!
The State Department has promised that the United States will take in 10,000 Syrian refugees in the next two years. [Seems to me she said 10,000 annually here—so what is the truth?—ed]
[….]
The United States takes in a set number of refugees — 70,000 a year — no matter what troubled part of the world they come from.
The UN picks our refugees!
Candidates for resettlement are nominated by the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, then interviewed by State Department officials.The rigorous process involves a background check, review of any documents the refugees can provide to prove their lives are at risk and numerous interviews to make sure the refugees’ accounts of their hardships remain consistent.
“Their stories have to hold water. They can’t be dishonest or criminals or would-be terrorists,” said Anne Richard, the assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration. [She assumes they never lie, but she knows better. We have admitted terrorists through the refugee program.—ed]
One reason they got in, the teenage daughters were candidates for sexual assault (in a Muslim country, but they never say that).
US State Department Daniel Langenkamp: The vulnerable teenaged girls in the family helped move them up the list. Photo: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/daniel-langenkamp/1a/197/563
In the Smaisems’ case, State Department spokesman Daniel Langenkamp said that the specific threat against Khaled, as well as the fact that the family had two teenage daughters in an environment known for its sexual-assault hazard, may have contributed to moving them up the list.
Richard said that 105 Syrians were resettled in the United States in fiscal 2014. In fiscal 2015, which began on Oct. 1, 112 have arrived.
As of mid-December, 9,972 Syrians had been nominated by the U.N. office and begun the process of applying for U.S. resettlement, Richard said. She said nearly all likely will be accepted within the next two years.
Once refugees arrive, they are assigned to a private organization that partners with the State Department to get the families settled. In the case of the Smaisems, it was Catholic Charities, the largest such group. [Partners! They are contractors and why can’t these reporters for the mainstream media ever say that! Or, don’t they even know!—ed]
Refugees receive U.S. government stipends for up to three months, and federal grant programs help states support them for longer. But the money quickly tapers off. [Federal grant money goes to the contractors who then launder it through their offices.—ed]
“This is not a luxurious program. This is very challenging,” Richard said. “It’s kind of run on a shoestring budget.”
Shoestring budget! It is over $1 billion just to get 70,000 in the door! That does not include most of the social services they will live on for years and years!
Khaled is keenly aware of that. His family’s initial cash aid has ended. According to Derek Maxfield, the associate director of Catholic Charities of D.C., the family is receiving food stamps, which will end after they have been in the country for eight months; local government cash assistance that amounts to $200 to $300 per month; and $1,000 monthly per family member through a Catholic Charities program. [There is no reason the food stamps will end! And, haven’t we been told many times that refugee resettlement doesn’t cost local taxpayer dollars?—ed]
The large Catholic Charities stipend is not charitable Catholic money—it is federal taxpayer money! Come on reporters, stop being lazy, or is this to mislead?
That large Catholic Charities stipend, which will end after about four months, is predicated on the family’s efforts to become self-sufficient. Smaisem has been looking for work, though he says that his lack of English hampers him.
After you’ve read the long mushy (superficial) story, tell me—any chance this family is going to be “self-sufficient” any time soon?
Isn’t it about time that publications like the Washington Postand the New York Times begin to do some serious and careful reporting? I know, I know, stop laughing!
….but not to worry, the UN is identifying for us the widows and children, the elderly, and people with medical needs (all people not likely to be terrorists, just costly)!
Oh brother! I wonder if the “widows” are those of Sunni fighters?
Asst. Sec. of State for PRM, Anne Richard (blue jacket), tours Syrian camp in Jordan. Photo by REUTERS/Ali Jarekji.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne Richard says the United States will dramatically increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed to resettle permanently in the United States from about 350 this year to close to 10,000 annually as the crisis grinds on into its fifth year. [Previously Richard said we would be taking 9,000 this fiscal year.—ed]
While the number is minuscule given a total Syrian refugee population of 3.3 million, it reflects US recognition that the civil war in Syria is not about to end anytime soon and that, even when it does, Syria will need years for reconstruction and reconciliation. [If the war ended tomorrow, these refugees will be here forever.—ed]
In an interview with Al-Monitor Dec. 22, Richard said, “People are surprised we haven’t taken more.” She said the initial low numbers reflect the reality that “resettling refugees is never the first thing you do when people are fleeing an emerging crisis” and that other countries — in particular Germany and Sweden — have “stepped forward and offered to take a lot” of Syrian refugees.
According to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Germany has pledged to absorb 30,000 Syrians just since 2013 — nearly half of those processed for resettlement.
“We thought that was a great offer and unusually generous so we encouraged UNHCR to take advantage of that,” Richard said. [LOL! Isn’t she magnanimous, let Germany kill itself first!—ed]
After initial vetting by UNHCR, Syrian refugees who want to resettle in the United States must be interviewed by officers of the Department of Homeland Security at US diplomatic facilities in Amman, Jordan or Istanbul, Turkey. That leaves out a million Syrians who have fled to Lebanon and large populations in Iraq and Egypt. Richard said lack of space and security concerns have kept the United States from interviewing Syrian refugees at the US Embassy in Beirut but that US officials are looking at the possibility of setting up a refugee vetting operation in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
UNHCR seeks to identify the most vulnerable candidates, Richard said. “By Dec. 15, we had 10,000 referrals from UNHCR and they are coming in at 1,000 to 1,500 a month.” [Do the math! Sounds like more than 9,000!—ed]
Asked how many of those referred would be accepted, Richard said, “I think most”because they are likely to meet the United State’s definition of a refugee as someone fleeing persecution or threats because of race, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs or membership to a particular social group.
As we have reported many times, the UN is picking our refugees! Since they will come from UN camps, they will be Muslims!
Refugees must also pass medical and security checks. “The last part has been tricky in the past,” Richard said, but added that it is not likely to be a major problem with the Syrians referred by UNHCR. She said she expected them to comprise mostly widows with children, the elderly and people with medical conditions. “It will be fairly clear that they are not terrorists bent on harming Americans,” she said.
There is more, read it all. The article even mentions the fact that Richard was an executive with one of the contractors she now awards grants and contracts to!
Editor’s note: I am coming down to the wire on the Christmas holiday crunch, but have at least six other things I want to post. We’ll see if I can get to them….
Parents must be “lawfully present” to apply for their kid to join them, but I would like to know how it is that someone is here legally and their kid isn’t with them already?
Anne Richard, Asst. Sec. of State for Population, Refugees and Migration didn’t actually make the big announcement today, but she is responsible and in charge of this new racket. Richard revolved into her State Department job from a high level job with a contractor.
And, check it out! The contractor racket is on full display!
If you are a “lawfully present” parent trying to get your kid into the US as a “refugee” from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras you have to use a contractor to fill out the paperwork.
When a contractor fills out your kid’s paperwork, the contractor is paid for its services by you (the taxpayer) and the kid becomes a full-fledged refugee and thus eligible for every welfare benefit known to mankind and on a fast track to citizenship!
Today, the United States is announcing the official launch of an in-country refugee/parole program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to provide a safe, legal, and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States. This program will allow certain parents from one of these three countries who are lawfully present in the United States to request to bring their children to the United States as refugees via the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Children who are found ineligible for refugee admission but still at risk of harm may be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis. The refugee/parole program will not be a pathway for undocumented parents to bring their children to the United States. Instead, the program will provide certain vulnerable, at-risk children with an opportunity to be reunited with parents lawfully present in the United States.
Applications for this program may be initiated by a lawfully present parent in the United States.Form DS-7699 must be filed with the assistance of a designated resettlement agency that works with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to help resettle refugees in the United States. Parents do not need to pay any fee to file this form or for assistance in completing and submitting the form, but they are expected to cover the initial costs of DNA testing to confirm claimed biological parent-child relationships. Costs of DNA testing are reimbursable under certain circumstances. [DNA testing is great, but you the taxpayer get to eat that cost too!—ed]
Form DS-7699 will not be available on the Department of State website to the general public and cannot be completed without the assistance of a Department of State-funded resettlement agency. These nearly 350 resettlement agency affiliates are located in more than 180 communities throughout the United States.Additional information about the program, as well as a list of the resettlement agency affiliates that can assist with filing the DS-7699 can be found at: http://www.wrapsnet.org/CAMProgram/tabid/420/Default.aspx
Those initials in the left hand corner of each entry stand for the nine major contractors that control the Refugee Admissions Program and are as follows:
The Obama Administration has been dancing around the issue of how many Syrians are on the way to your towns and cities and I suspect that is because they don’t need one more thing before Tuesday to rock the Democrats’ boat.
Asst. Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Richard: 5,000 Syrians are being processed to arrive in the US soon (Not enough to satisfy the UN however).
Anne C. Richard is the Assistant Secretary of State who represented the US this week in Berlin, Germany where a confab was held to discuss what the heck the (western) world is going to do to help all those Syrian Muslims flooding UN camps.
Obama announced our refugee plan for FY2015 at the beginning of the month, but was pretty quiet about how many Syrians we are going to admit. At about that time, it leaked out that the UNHCR had lined up 4,000 Syrians to arrive soon. However, watch this news clip (just before the 3 minute mark) of Richard in Germany where she says we now have 5,000 in the pipeline.
Germany has accepted 70,000 Syrians (not clear if they are all in the country yet), but check out how the arrival of more Muslims is sitting with the German people as thousands rioted in Cologne last weekend. See our post of a few days ago byclicking here.
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society would like to see 30,000 real soon! See our post of two days ago where we learned that HIAS (a federal refugee contractor*** being paid to resettle refugees) is getting up a petition to tell Obama to increase our total refugee quota for the year from 70,000 to 100,000. Why HIAS wants more Muslims in America is beyond my understanding.
*** For new readers (we have many every day) here are the nine major federal refugee contractors (they then have 300 or so subcontractors spread out through America). And, btw, Anne C. Richard was formerly the VP of one of them—the International Rescue Committee—and before that she worked at the US State Department. She represents the classic case of the federal contractor/federal agency revolving door. See also in her bio that she worked for the International Crisis Group which George Soros played an instrumental role in forming.
