You’ve been hearing the news here and at other news outlets about the stepped-up deportations of Somalis back to their homeland. Many failed asylum seekers are in the mix.
Asylum, for new readers, is, in a way, the other side of the same refugee coin. Either ‘refugees’ are chosen abroad (usually by the UN these days) and are flown to your towns after supposedly proving that they are persecuted people, or one gets in to the US either illegally or through some temporary legal way and then applies for asylum. It is difficult (impossible I think) to find photos of Somalis being deported from the US, but there are an unending supply of the Saudi deportations in 2014. Saudi Arabia deported as many as 12,000 Somalis that year. I wonder did Trump ask the Saudis why they don’t take any refugees, including their fellow Muslims?
When the wannabe ‘refugee’ cannot prove his or her case—that they will be persecuted if sent home—then they are supposed to go home!
Conversely, if granted asylum, the migrant is then given all the rights of a ‘refugee’ who was chosen abroad and flown here and will be put on track for US citizenship. Now, under the Trump Administration, more of those who failed in their asylum bid are being found, detained and sent home.
By the way, this up-tick in deportations is news that should be sent far and wide so as to discourage even more illegal entry and flimsy asylum claims that clog up the courts. DHS should actually promote an ad campaign around the world trumpeting the news of stepped-up deportations! Here is Voice of Americaon the news about Africans, but more importantly I learned about a new and very cool data base.
The United States has expelled about 326 Somali nationals since January.
That number is greater than the total for all Somalis expelled from the country in 2016.
This is the third consecutive year in which the number of Somalis deported by the U.S. government has risen. The rising numbers have increased immigrants’ fears of raids, detentions and deportations.
The deportations of Somali citizens appear to be part of a larger movement, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse*** at Syracuse University. It found that in the first three months of 2017, the U.S. government ordered the deportation of more than 1,200 Africans. Citizens of Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia and Kenya have received the most removal orders.
Recent deportation orders are undoing a ten-year-long trend.
From 2006 to 2016, the number of Africans deported every year fell from 2,100 to about 1,000. If the trend continues, four times more Africans will be deported by the end of this year than during 2016.
Continue reading here.
***Now check out the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse!
Here is one page that I screenshot to show you what interesting stuff is archived there.
On this page we see that there were 19 deportations for reasons of national security in fiscal year 2017 (that fiscal year began on October 1, 2016). You can learn in what states and what courts those cases came from and the nationality of the person to be deported. From this screenshot page, we note that there was one, an Iraqi, ordered by the court in Detroit to be removed.
This post is filed in our ‘Where to find information’category.
You can watch that 2014 video about Saudi deportations here: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Saudi+arabia+deports+Somalis&view=detail&mid=6490B0418567061F00636490B0418567061F0063&FORM=VIRE
Washington is all a tither this morning about how now former FBI Director James Comey might make a reappearance on The Hill next week. So, lest you forget, the man of the hour, the day, the week, hell, the century! James Comey said this on his last visit to the Senate. Any chance that Senators McCain, Graham, Rubio, Lee, Tillis or Lankfordwill ask about this bombshell from his previous testimony? Don’t hold your breath! (Below is a repost from May 9th! Written earlier in the same day that Comey was fired.)
FBI looking at 2,000 cases of US links to foreign terrorists, 300 are REFUGEES
Just when you thought you had had it with FBI Director Comey he admits something that you would never expect a politically-correct Washington insider to reveal.
Comey grilled on the Hill: All they ever want to hear from Comey is information about Hillary Trump and how the Russians elected Trump. No mention that I’ve seen anywhere, except from Mark Krikorian, about the stunning news that 300 refugees are being watched.
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Wednesday, Director Comey said in response to questioning by Senator Thom Tillis of NC about those being watched by the FBI who are in contact with foreign terrorists (from a transcript published by the WaPo):
Then we have another big group of people that we’re looking at who we see some contact with foreign terrorists. So you take that 2,000 plus cases, about 300 of them are people who came to the United States as refugees.
As far as I know no reporter has mentioned this stunning news. Mark Krikorian, Director of the Center for Immigration Studies caught it though and published the revelation at National Review Onlinehere yesterday.
Krikorian reminds us that Comey had testified to Congress on more than one occasionwhere he admitted that there is no way to thoroughly screen refugees from failed states like Syria and Somalia.
Krikorian:
So 15 percent of the FBI’s terrorism cases are refugees – far more than their share of the immigrant population, let alone the general population. And that denominator of 2,000 presumably includes people with no immigration nexus at all – skinheads, antifa, Klan, environmental and animal rights extremists, et al. So the refugee share of immigration-related terrorism investigations is more than 15 percent, perhaps much more.
Krikorian goes on to argue that, except for a few special cases, we should help legitimate refugees where they are in the world and not risk bringing them to your town and mine.
Read all of Krikorian’s post here.
His “clients” are refugees admitted to the US in recent months.
Yes! for resettlement agencies paid by your tax dollars, the ‘refugees’ they resettle are “clients.” I think that is a better word than ‘refugee’ since most aren’t legitimate refugees in the first place. US Togetheris a subcontracting resettlement agency of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society,see here.
Here is a bit of the interview at IdeaStream (All things considered) entitled: Uncertain Future Remains For Northeast Ohio Refugee Resettlement Agencies.
After you listen, I want to give you some facts about what the US Together employee is talking about and on resettlement to Ohio in general.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer yesterday said President Trump’s travel ban order is fully lawful, and he was confident the order would be upheld by an appeals court. The comments came after a three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle heard arguments in Hawaii’s challenge to the ban. [As is the case with most reporters, they don’t know the difference between the ‘ban’ and the President’s lawful power under the Refugee Act of 1980 to set refugee admission numbers each fiscal year.—ed]
After the first executive order in January affecting travel from mostly Muslim countries, Northeast Ohio refugee resettlement agencies feared lay-offs and uncertain finances [because they are paid out of the federal treasury!—ed].
Yesterday I spoke with Evan Chwalek with agency Us Together, about how things were going:
CHWALEK: “The way I like to think about it is, there are the things that the judiciary can affect, and the things they can’t affect, and we’ve been able to continue the resettlement process, but because the President has essentially cut the number of refugees admitted to the country in this fiscal year in half, we have fewer refugees to resettle, and unfortunately because of that we had many lay-offs.” [You see how they do this, “cut…in half!” From what, from Obama’s 2017 dream number of 110,000 for a year he would be in the WH for only 3 and a half months!—ed]
GANZER: “How many would you say?”
Hear the whole interview with US Together employee Evan Chwalek here: http://wcpn.ideastream.org/news/uncertain-future-remains-for-northeast-ohio-refugee-resettlement-agencies
CHWALEK: “Somewhere in the neighborhood of 10, I would say, across the Cleveland office, and then we have offices in Toledo and Columbus, as well.” [Chwalek identifies the employees let go as “contractors.”—ed]
GANZER: “And you personally were affected by this. You were laid-off, right?”
CHWALEK: “That’s correct. I was laid-off in February and because of the changes in staff, they actually brought me back on as a full-time employee just three weeks ago.”
GANZER: “Not knowing many of the things that will come through the courts, or what the Administration might do next, what is the mood would you say around Us Together? Is it one of fear, or panic, or optimism?”
CHWALEK: “Fear isn’t the word I’d use. Resiliency comes to mind. Despite the uncertainties of the future, we have to continue offering the day-to-day services to our clients: getting them from medical appointments, applying for Social Security, making sure they understand how to use the bus on the way to work.” [If only poor Americans knew ‘refugee’ “clients” get such “services!”—ed]
[….]
GANZER: “How many families do you think will come to Cleveland this year, projected, would you say?”
CHWALEK: “I don’t really know the answer to that, but I would say somewhere around 175 individuals by the end of this fiscal year, which ends in September.”
GANZER: “In a pre-Trump Administration era, can you compare how many families we can look at?”
CHWALEK: “I look at the arrival sheets, and they are almost completely blank now. We probably had 400 resettled in the last fiscal year, individuals that is.”
[….]
CHWALEK: “We recommend that our clients don’t leave the country.
Chwalek goes on to say they are waiting to see what Trump does for the next fiscal year after admitting that Trump can change the numbers within a fiscal year (either up or down). We too are waiting to see what the Trump State Department does in September when the Presidential Determination is sent to The Hill for FY18.
First, on this last point I snipped above, if a ‘refugee’ is truly a persecuted person, why would he/she leave the safety of America to risk the danger they supposedly escaped?
I went toWrapsnet to get a feel for the numbers that Chwalek is talking about.
Look up data for Ohio and you can readily see how deceptive they can be to reporters who don’t have their facts in advance.
I went back to FY12 (in the Obama Administration) and found that the average number of refugees admitted to the whole state of Ohio for FY12, 13, 14 and 15 was 2,709 per year. Then the numbers jumped in Obama’s last year as he pushed for the huge increase in Syrians. Ohio “welcomed” 4,194 in FY16 (obviously well above the previous average for 4 years). So far in FY17 (about 7.5 months) Ohio has received 2,274 refugees. Again the pre-FY16 average for Ohio is 2,709 for the whole year, so they will likely hit their average this year (excluding the anomaly year FY16).
As for numbers for Cleveland/Cleveland Heights, the average resettlement there was about 75 per month during that anomaly year of FY16 and at this moment Cleveland/Cleveland Heights is getting an average of 60 per month—clearly not so far off the FY16 banner year. Chwalek was rehired because the numbers are not that drastically lower and paying “clients” are still coming in, but they don’t want reporters like this guy Ganzer to know that! The story line they are selling is that Trump is bad and the agencies need money (so please give!).
(There are several resettlement contractors in addition to US Together vying for paying “clients” in Ohio so some of those going to Cleveland are clients of other federal contracting agencies.)
For new readers, in 2013, I alerted Ohioans that the big push was on to diversify Cleveland by seeding it with ‘clients’ of federal contracting agencies like US Together and its parent organization the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
By sending a bipartisan letter like this (below) with the likes of Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durban (leader of the Senate Jihad Caucus!) as co-signers, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford signals that he wants more refugees for his state and at the same time shows complete ignorance about the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program—how it works and what its goals are—not to mention the fact that this letter with its hostile tone is a clear signal that these six do not support President Trump’s stated refugee reduction goals. Senator James Lankford, leader of the pack of six Republicans questioning Trump and Tillerson about refugee flow to US. Sure sounds like they want MORE refugees! What! No ‘pockets of resistance’ in OK? If any of these six Republicans is your Senator, you need to educate him or her quickly if there is still any hope of Trump’s campaign promises being fulfilled or the USRAP being reformed at all. With friends like these….
Senator James Lankford (R-OK)
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT)
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Here is what ‘Foreign Affairs’ says about the letter in an article entitled: “Senator Lankford Encourages Trump Administration to Support Assistance for Refugees and Victims of Genocide”
WASHINGTON, DC -Senator James Lankford (R-OK) sent a bipartisan letter to President Trump to inquire about the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which has successfully resettled more than three million refugees from various parts of the world to American communities in all 50 states.
Specifically, the letter encouraged the administration to uphold USRAP as it enables the United States to fulfill key international commitments and assist those fleeing genocide and oppression.
[….]
Lankford was joined by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mike Lee (R-UT), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Thom Tills (R-NC), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
More here. Apparently those Republicans signing the letter do not know we are NOT saving the Syrian Christians from genocide. And, it is pretty shameful that Senator Lankford, a former Baptist leader in OK, doesn’t know that fact—we are NOT saving the Christians of Syria through this program!
According to Wrapsnet, in FY17 we have admitted 6,132 Syrians (that is since October 1, 2016 through today). Of that number 6,001 are Muslims (the vast majority Sunnis). That makes the Syrian flow to America right now 98% Muslim. So much for saving those facing genocide. Oh, there were a whopping 22 Yezidis in the arrival numbers.
By the way, letters like this one, meant to draw media attention, are usually generated by lobbyists working for the ‘refugee resettlement industry‘ (see myprevious post) which has many lobbyists working The Hill. A lobbyist, or several lobbyists, will write the letter and then find some willing Senate staffer who will persuade the boss to sign on (might not take much persuasion!). The lobbyists shop the letter around to Senate offices.
Our side (the pro-reform side!) on the UN/US RAP has no lobbyist dedicated to this issue working The Hill which is all the more reason that you, grassroots citizen activists, must call-out your Senators on this letter especially those of you in Oklahoma!
Here is the letter:
The Honorable Rex Tillerson
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C St NW
Washington, DC 20520
The Honorable John F. Kelly
Secretary
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
3801 Nebraska Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Secretaries Tillerson and Kelly,
We write regarding current administration of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which has successfully resettled more than 3 million refugees from around the world to American communities in all 50 states. The USRAP is a critical pillar of our national foreign policy and enables the United States to fulfill key international commitments. Refugees come from the most vulnerable and persecuted populations around the world and are the most securely vetted travelers to the United States, spending an average of two years in the application process prior to approval.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, we are in the midst of the largest refugee crisis in modern history. More than a year ago, on March 17, 2016, then-Secretary of State John Kerry formally designated the actions of ISIS as genocide. As part of that declaration he said: “[ISIS] is… responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities… [ISIS] kills Christians because they are Christians; Yezidis because they are Yezidis; Shia because they are Shia. …naming these crimes is important. But what is essential is to stop them.” While the recognition and need to address these horrific crimes is important, we must not lose focus of the need to also protect others fleeing persecution around the world.
As you know, Executive Order 13769, issued on January 27, aimed to place a temporary 120-day halt on the USRAP and reduce the total refugee admissions for Fiscal Year 2017 from 110,000 to 50,000. This Executive Order was subsequently rescinded by Executive Order 13780, issued on March 6. Executive Order 13780 also aimed to place a similar halt and reduction on the USRAP. However, the U.S. District Court of Hawaii issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on March 15 followed by a preliminary injunction on March 29, which currently prevents the implementation of portions of this Executive Order, including the entire section addressing the USRAP.
Given that there is currently no active provision from either of these Executive Orders affecting normal USRAP administration, we respectfully request a response to the following questions regarding the current status of USRAP operations, both domestically and internationally:
1. In light of the Hawaii District Court’s decision to block enforcement of the EO dated March 6th, does the Administration anticipate admitting refugees consistent with the previous Administration’s Presidential Determination for FY17 or will the Administration release a new Presidential Determination? How many refugees does the Administration anticipate admitting this Fiscal Year?
2. Is the U.S. continuing to conduct overseas interviews of both Priority-2 Direct Access applicants, including U.S.-affiliated Iraqis, and of applicants referred to the USRAP by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees? If so, how many individuals are currently going through this process and how long will this process take? If not, under what legal authority?
3. Given the genocide designation from the U.S. State Department, are survivors designated as a special humanitarian concern?
a. How many nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria who are members of a religious group subjected to genocide by ISIS and are at risk of forced migration have been admitted to the United States as refugees since March 17, 2016?
b. Under which mechanisms are these individuals able to apply and interview for admission to the United States as refugees?
c. Are survivors of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, eligible for Priority 2 processing under the refugee resettlement priority system? If not, why not?
i. If so, how many have been admitted since March 17, 2016?
4. During the seven weeks between the issuance of EO 13769 and the March 15 TRO, please describe any changes the Administration made to USRAP operations, including instructions given to all personnel responsible for carrying out USRAP duties in a way that continues to provide for the security of the American people while also maintaining the United States as a refuge for those fleeing persecution.
a. If changes were made, how will these changes continue to impact USRAP operations and capacity in the future?
b. If changes were made, what immediate effect have these changes already had on the USRAP’s overall resettlement capacity, including the impact on overseas Resettlement Support Centers and on domestic resettlement agencies?
c. What steps have you taken since the issuance of the TRO, including the rescission of relevant instructions to USRAP personnel, to restart the administration of the program?
5. We understand that there are DHS-approved refugees awaiting final medical clearances and travel bookings. What is the Administration’s timeframe for resettlement of these refugees?
a. How many cases within this group are cases of reunification with family members already in the United States?
b. How many cases within this group are genocide survivors?
6. In addition to these DHS-approved refugees, there are more in earlier stages of the screening process. Are agencies continuing the application and screening process for these refugees? If so, are there any new difficulties that would have the effect of slowing down the review process? If not, under what legal authority?
a. Of all refugees who have currently begun the resettlement process, how many are US-affiliated Iraqis?
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to your timely response.
You have probably seen them—bushels of stories about how the nine federal resettlement contractors are wailing and moaning as Trump cuts off their refugee/money flow—but I was surprised that the Wall Street Journaldidn’t do a little better job of putting it all in perspective.
For new readers like Nancy, here are the nine federal resettlement contractors (aka Volags, short for Voluntary Agencies, Ha! Ha!) that make up the “refugee-resettlement industry:”
The WSJ does make it clear that these NON-Profit groups (six are ostensibly religious groups) are paid by the head to place refugees in your towns and get them signed up for their stuff. For the first few years that I wrote this blog, mainstream media never mentioned that fact! So, yes, their budgets will vary as they have become almost completely dependent on federal money for their salaries/benefits, office rental, travel, etc. For them to be whining that they have to raise private money for their ‘religious’ charitable work as refugee numbers vary makes me want to scream. When the Refugee Act of 1980 became law it was supposed to be a public-private partnership, but as the years have passed, federal funding (and state and local funding!) has become a greater and greater share.
Before I give you the latest whine-fest from the WSJ, here is how the contractors got in to this pickle. Obama set the CEILING for FY17 at 110,000 in his final months in office. The WSJ tells us it was the highest ceiling since 1995. Thus the contractors were building their budgets on a pipe dream of more paying clients (aka refugees) than they have had for years and years. That 110,000 was, by far, Obama’s highest ceiling as we have reported ad nuaseum and as you can see in this chart from the Refugee Processing Centerand is beingused dishonestly as the benchmark for measuring the Trump flow:
Note that the US DOS has gotten around to removing the 110,000 ceiling for FY2017. This chart last month still listed it. See last month here: https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2017/05/05/despicable-usa-today-says-refugee-numbers-plummet-under-trump-but-were-silent-when-obama-monthly-numbers-were-low/
Last night I wondered just how the first seven months of the fiscal year matched up (FY17 runs from October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017). At the end of April we are 7 complete months in to the fiscal year, and those wailing contractors have been paid handsomely for 7 months based on the fact that by April 30,2017 we had admitted more paying clients/refugees than any of the previous ten years. Do the math using the chart above!
As of the end of April, the US admitted 42,414 refugees, the highest number in the first seven months of any of the years since before FY07. In fact, Bush had the lowest first seven months in 2007—17,150, but even Saint Obama had only 26,181 in FY12 as of April 30th. He never had a year with this high number (by April 30th) in his time in office.
Now here are a few snips from the Wall Street Journalgiving the contractors another opportunity to wail and moan!
Although, I have to laugh to see the phrase “refugee-resettlement industry” in the first line!
Even though President Donald Trump’s travel ban has been put on hold, his administration is already reshaping the refugee-resettlement industry.
The Trump administration has cut the rate of refugee arrivals in half in the first months of the year [this is so dishonest!—ed] and charity organizations that settle refugees are slashing their budgets in response.
Has Hetfield slashed his salary? https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2016/11/13/hebrew-immigrant-aid-society-lectures-trump-never-mentions-its-pecuniary-interest-in-refugees/
More than half of the nine agencies that are approved by the State Department to resettle refugees in the U.S. have already either laid off staff or frozen hiring. Some agencies have let hundreds of people go. Many are staging fundraising campaigns the help make up for lost federal funding, which is tied to new refugee arrivals but also supports programs for refugees already here.
“We’ve been asked by the State Department to cut our budget twice already,” said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit that resettles refugees in the U.S. HIAS has instituted a hiring freeze. “You can’t manage a program like this.”
[….]
In the last fiscal year, the federal government allocated more than $554 million for refugee admissions, and 84,994 refugees were resettled. More than $227 million of that money was distributed to the nine resettlement agencies, most of them religiously affiliated, that help newcomers adjust to the U.S.
[….]
World Relief, one of the resettlement agencies, began adding case workers in the fall, expecting a huge influx of refugees. At the organization’s 25 offices, case workers shepherd refugees through all aspects of life in America. They pick them up at the airport; set up housing, complete with furniture and clothes; advise them on searching for jobs; and help enroll children in school.
Oopsy! As Mark Krikorian pointed out on twitter last night the reporter left out one important duty of the contractor in that line above—they sign the refugee up for all forms of welfare and move on to the next client!
WSJ continues….
Resettlement agencies had been hoping 2017 would be a banner year. In September, before the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year, Mr. Obama announced he would raise the number of refugees allowed into the country to 110,000, the highest total since 1995. Many agencies began staffing up. [Sniffle—ed]
[….]
The nine resettlement agencies contract much of the work settling new refugees out to hundreds of local affiliates. These organizations are paid $2,075 for each refugee they resettle, the majority of which goes directly to refugee assistance. [No! About half goes to the contractor for salaries and overhead!—ed]
[….]
Many resettlement organizations have started fundraising campaigns to try to make up for lost revenue.
Pity! They actually have to go out to the public and look for private charitable dollars for their humanitarian good works.
You know what it means if they can’t find private money? It means the public is generally not behind their efforts to import poverty and diversify American cities and towns with refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Read the whole article hereand be sure to see that Mark Krikorian is quoted.
