Thanks to reader David for sending this short interview with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society’s Mark Hetfield.
Longtime readers know that Hetfield has been a leading opponent of any refugee program reform efforts the President has proposed both through political agitation and legal action his federally-funded organization has taken.
I always laugh when I hear their line that goes like this about the millions admitted to the US: “not a single one has committed a lethal act of terror.”
He leaves out the dozens who have tried to commit terror acts and failed or who were caught before they could act and the untold numbers that have murdered or raped someone after being admitted.
Reader Michelle had this to say about the clip:
Maybe not an act of terror but in my own town, a refugee slaughtered 3 young children with a machete. And this is only one town. There are lots more. IF that isn’t terror, what is it? I can’t stand these holier than thou officials. He seems to have forgotten all of those that were caught getting ready to act and lots more that have done worse like rape etc.
For more on HIASsee my extensive archive by clicking here.
It seems like an eternity ago that the Trump Administration, via an Executive Order, sought to give local governments and governors a say in whether their county/state would be open to refugee placement during a small portion of the present fiscal year.
In January a court in Maryland halted the President’s plan when refugee contractors filed a lawsuit challenging the reform effort and subsequently the Justice Department appealed the ruling.
Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of HIAS, here at an anti-Trump rally in NYC in 2017. HIAS sued to stop the President’s Executive order that would have given local governments a voice in resettlement decisions.
Now comes news that 19 states are asserting via an amicus brief that they don’t want local governments (or governors) to have any say and indeed assert that refugee resettlement is the right and responsibility of the federal government.
In effect they are saying that the UN, the US State Department, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and nine federal contractors know what is best for your county!
This is some of the press releasefrom California Attorney General Xavier Becerra a week ago. The title is a joke because in supporting the resettlement contractors’ lawsuit they are agreeing to have no states rights when it comes to refugee resettlement decisions.
Attorney General Becerra Blasts Federal Overreach, Continues Fight to Protect Refugee and State Rights
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh today co-led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in an amicus brief filed in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s unlawful executive order on refugee resettlement.
The executive order seeks to upend the existing process by requiring written consent from state and local authorities before being able to place refugees in their jurisdictions.
One of three primary opponents of the President’s efforts to reform the refugee program: Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh
Following a multistate amicus brief at the district court level, the U.S. Department of State was blocked from implementing the executive order while litigation is ongoing.
In this latest amicus following the Trump Administration’s decision to appeal the preliminary injunction issued in HIAS, Inc. v. Trump, the coalition again asserts that the executive order violates the Refugee Act of 1980, undermines family reunification efforts, and disrupts the states’ ability to deliver essential resources that help refugees contribute to the communities that welcome them.
“Our nation is already reeling from an unprecedented economic and public health crisis,” said Attorney General Becerra.“ Now is not the time for the federal government to throw a wrench into a system that helps bring billions of dollars to communities across the country. Standing up for refugees who are lawfully admitted to this country isn’t just right, it’s the smart thing to do. Despite what President Trump might say, refugees are welcome here in California.”
What the heck! The refugee program costs federal and state taxpayers billions of dollars. They are such liars and no one ever calls them on it. The comment about family reunification is a lie too—the order specifically says families can be reunited.
So here are the 19 states that ‘welcome’ any and all refugees that the feds and their contractors want to send them!
In submitting the amicus brief, Attorney General Becerra is joined by the attorneys general of Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
We are only a few months away from the November Presidential election and if the Democrat candidate wins, it will be all over on the issue of refugees. Biden has already signaled that he will start with 125,000 a year if he wins the White House.
125,000 divided by 19 = 6,578 for each of the welcoming states and then leave the rest of America alone!
Just now as I read this latest salvo against HIAS (one of nine refugee contractors that monopolize all resettlement to the US) charging that the ‘Jewish’ group has been snuggling up to Islam-first groups like CAIR and Islamic Relief, I went back to the Refugee Council USAmembers page that I had partially screenshot only a week ago when I wrote about the growing storm over the leadership of the Conference of Presidents—an organization that brings together groups that support Israel and the Jewish people.
I took this screenshot only a week ago of the membership page of RCUSA which is the lobbying arm of the refugee industry in the US.
There were 29 groups listed as members. Islamic Relief USA was one.
But somewhere between Monday and Friday this past week, Islamic Relief USA was removed (or removed itself) from the membership roster. See a screenshot today! There must be a story here!
Just to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating I went to the Wayback Machine and found that on April 27 Islamic Relief was still there and that RCUSA touted 29 member groups. Today it is 28 members.
So, the question is, did Islamic Relief quit or did they get the boot!?
We will likely never know because RCUSA is a secretive organization I’ve been trying to learn more about for years.
On the day a few weeks ago when my internet went down I was planning a post about them. They have a paid staff, they have a Washington, DC office, they are active ‘educating’ Congress about the need to bring in more refugees, they reach out to grassroots open borders activists to give them instructions, etc.
Yet….
They are not incorporated (as far as I can tell), they are not a 501(c)3 charitable organization, but supposedly their banker is Church World Service.
However, when I searched through CWS’sForm 990s I found no mention of money that passes through CWS to RCUSA.
News on refugees is pretty sparse these days involving mostly stories about how refugees (including illegal immigrants) don’t have work and are scrabbling to get their government bennies. Stories like this one from New Hampshire where my message to the Open Borders movement activists is this—you now need to step up and personally help (with your own time and money) all of the migrants you have helped bring to America.
However, I’m delighted to see that there is a spotlight shining on HIAS (aka the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) from within the Jewish community.
HIAS, formerly known as the Hebrew International Aid Society*** until 2014, is in the news following a firestorm over the prospects of Dianne Lob, formerly the chair of its board of directors, becoming the chair-elect of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
The increased attention on HIAS provides an opportune time to scrutinize its work in resettling refugees. Unfortunately, a close examination leads to the conclusion that HIAS knowingly promotes policies that endanger Jews, as well as aligns with those linked to Islamist terrorism.
Rather than debating whether a former HIAS executive should head the big tent of all big tents of mainstream Judaism, the Jewish community should instead begin discussing how to show HIAS the door, just as it would for any other organization that enabled dangerously racist communities.
[….]
….the company HIAS keeps is telling. It has been unapologetic in its partnership with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). The ADL has raised serious concerns about CAIR, citing the fact, among others, that it openly delegitimizes Israel.
Please visit my other blog (Frauds and Crooks) today to see the latest information on the king of non-profit scammers—the Southern Poverty Law Center.
I haven’t been paying any attention to them lately but apparently in March they published their latest Hate Crime report and have once again listed RRW as an anti-Muslim hate group.
As I have pointed out for years, RRW is just me and my blog—I HAVE NO GROUP—but apparently the facts be damned when they rake in millions scaring people out of their money.
As I said, they have once againlistedRefugee Resettlement Watch as a hate group, nevermind that RRWis just me and my blog. I wonder if I have any legal rights? I couldn’t claim that they have hurt my income since I do what I do without any funding.
By the way, I suspect I was recommended for their list by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society several years ago because I was exposing HIAS’s ‘business model’. I explained all that in 2014.
I have no way of proving it, but I suspect that HIAS and the SPLChad a hand in shutting down RRWlast summer.
In 2017, we learned that
