Tag: Idaho

Idaho: Magic Valley refugees don’t have Ebola says resettlement contractor

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Snake River Gorge Idaho (http://www.strengthinperspective.com/Pictures-USA/Idaho-23/MagicValley.html)

 

OK? Has there been an Ebola scare in Idaho I missed?

Is the purpose of this news story (based on a press release from a resettlement contractor) the result of a real problem of “hostility” toward refugees in the Twin Falls, Idaho area, or was it meant to head any “hostility” off-at-the-pass before anyone gets an idea to be hostile?

Could there be a ‘pocket of resistance’ forming in Idaho?

Whatever happened to Idaho’s Uzbek refugee alleged terrorist?

The story at KMVT (Fox 14, Sun Valley) caught my attention this morning and led me down a winding trail of trying to figure out exactly why there is a refugee contractor with the name—College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center (CSIRC or P for Program).  Why is a college involved in this?

I haven’t written much about Idaho over the years, but here is our archive of what we have.

I see they did have the arrest of that Uzbek refugee alleged terrorist there in 2013, but whatever happened to the case?

So let’s have a look at CSIRP.  But first here is the news:

Twin Falls, Idaho ( KMVT-TV / KSVT-TV ) – The South Central Public Health District and the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center Director are speaking out after concerns have been raised over refugees arriving from West Africa.

In a news release, Logan Hudson with the Health District and Ron Black with CSI said, “Refugees come to the Magic Valley area in search of a new life, but right now some are being met with hostility and concern due to stigma from the Ebola outbreaks in West Africa.”

“None of our refugees are from West Africa; they are no more likely to have Ebola than anyone else living in this area. Every refugee goes through several rigorous medical screenings before they can enter into the United States,” said Ron Black, College of Southern Idaho (CSI) Refugee Center Director. “The medical screening and waiting period they go through is longer and more intense than any protocol used for ordinary travelers. Plus, most CSI refugees arrived years before the Ebola outbreak.”

Ron Black, Director of resettlement in Twin Falls: Some refugees are being met with hostility.

Stigma is happening in the Magic Valley due to several factors including myths and fears of the disease, gossip that helps spread the fear, and a lack of knowledge about how Ebola is actually spread.

[….]

This is a daunting time for everyone, especially our refugees. We ask that the community show empathy and most importantly remember that no one in this area, let alone the state of Idaho, has been diagnosed with Ebola.” said Ron Black, CSI Refugee Center Director.

Idaho is a Wilson-Fish state.

That means that the refugee program there is being run jointly between the feds and their quasi-government contractors with little state government control or oversight.  Learn more about Wilson-Fish here.

The College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center is a subcontractor of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants  (one of the big nine) and apparently doesn’t have a separate tax Form 990 (that I can find), so it’s hard to figure out exactly how big they are and how much of your tax dollars are flowing through it.   See their history here.

The CSIRP has brought 2,500 refugees to Magic Valley providing workers to local businesses and bringing your federal tax dollars for their social services (aka welfare):

Since it’s inception, the CSIRP has resettled more than 2500 refugees from a variety of different continents; providing local businesses with a steady source of entry level workers. The Program has also brought more than $3 million of federal money and benefits back to the Magic Valley that have been used to purchase goods and services from local merchants.

Check out all the nationalities of refugees resettled in Southern Idaho in the last 20 years:

1993 to 2011

Kosovar
Bosnian
Croat
Serbian
Iranian
Iraqi
Burmese
Russian
Vietnamese
Burundi
Mesketian Turks
Eritreans
Bhutanese

2012 to Current

Afghani
Congolese
Sudanese
Iranian
Iraqi
Bhutanese
Burmese
Eritreans

 

I recommend if you are a reader from Idaho that you explore their website and also the Idaho Office for Refugees (NOT a state agency) which along with the federal government calls the shots in Idaho.

P.S. If anyone sees news stories about real hostility to refugees over Ebola, please send links to this blog post!

Idaho: Uzbek refugee facing terror charges will not be in court this week due to security concerns

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What the heck?

Here (below) is the AP story on the latest on the legal situation facing Uzbek Muslim Fazliddin Kurbanov.  The story starts with the provocative phrase “for security reasons” but never tells us what the security threat is!

Fazliddin Kurbanov

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — For security reasons, an Uzbek national charged in Idaho with terrorism-related crimes won’t be in court early next week when his lawyers discuss progress of the case with prosecutors and a judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodge said Fazliddin Kurbanov can skip attendance at Tuesday afternoon’s hearing.

Kurbanov, a refugee living in Boise who has pleaded not guilty to all charges including helping teach people to build bombs, faces a trial set to start July 1, 2014.

The 30-year-old Kurbanov arrived in the United States in 2009, a refugee from violence in his home country.

Since then, he’s been living in Idaho’s capital and working as, among other things, a truck driver.

But prosecutors say he also was working secretly to facilitate attacks, including on public transportation systems.

So what is the security concern?  Other Uzbeks would show-up and blow away the courtroom? Shoot Kurbanov so he can’t talk?  What?  Back in June we learned his public defenders wanted out of the case citing budget constraints, or were they afraid of something?

See our previous coverage of this case as well as all of our ‘Uzbeks refugee’ posts here.

We are still bringing Uzbeks to the US—51 so far this year, click here.

And, I wonder if Jan Reeves, Idaho refugee director, pictured with Holly Johnson, here in my previous post, knows Kurbanov?

Lawyers for Uzbek refugee arrested in terror case want out

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Not enough funding from the feds for what will surely be a long and complicated trial they say.  Sequestration to blame?  Or, could there be a little fear too?  Just wondering.

This is an update of the story we reported here last month.

Fazliddin Kurbanov needs a “free” lawyer

From AP via the San Francisco Chronicle (hat tip: Joanne):

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawyers for an Uzbek national facing federal terrorism-related charges in Idaho and Utah want a judge to let them withdraw from the case, saying federal budget cuts have left their office with limited resources.

Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, of Boise, has pleaded not guilty to charges that authorities say involve teaching people to build bombs to target public transportation.

In a motion late Monday, court-appointed attorneys Richard Rubin and Thomas Monaghan of Federal Defenders Services of Idaho sought the immediate appointment of a substitute counsel.

Rubin told The Associated Press on Tuesday that federal budget cuts known as sequestration have reduced the budget of his office by 10 percent for the current fiscal year, and as much as an additional 14 percent next year.

“It would be more detrimental to the client to have us continue on to a certain point, totally run out of resources, and then come into the court saying we just can’t go any further, ” Rubin said.

In all, the federal court system, including public defenders, must absorb about $350 million in cuts through the end of the fiscal year in September.

U.S. judiciary administrators last month asked for supplemental funding of $41 million for defenders services, to help avert what they called an unprecedented crisis.

Representing Kurbanov, who was arrested May 17, in the potentially long and costly case would sap funding necessary to defend other clients, Rubin said.

Just wait until amnesty passes and the courts are filled with all sorts of needy people wanting lawyers…  in addition to the lines at the unemployment and welfare offices!