Tag: Lewiston Maine

Maine governor’s effort to cut welfare to asylum seekers/other migrants stymied

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Maine has a reputation in the country (and probably in Africa too!) as the go-to state for welfare benefits before one is even a legal resident.  In fact, it is the welfare magnet that brought the first of what is now tens of thousands of Somalis to Maine.  (Click here for one of our most-read posts about Maine the welfare magnet).

Maine Somali community organizers: We want our welfare! Photo: Bangor Daily News

On Friday, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills ruled that it would be unconstitutional for Maine to disallow social services to those seeking asylum or generally illegally in the state.

Keep in mind that federal laws do not give benefits to asylum seekers UNTIL they have been granted legal asylum status.  Just because one says one is seeking asylum that does not give them the rights of legitimate ‘refugees.’   Maine has been giving benefits to one and all, thus the flood of migrants to Maine.

The fiscally conservative governor has been trying to stem this budget-bleed since he took office in 2011.

Here is the latest at The Bangor Daily News (emphasis is mine):

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills has ruled that a proposal by Gov. Paul LePage to bar immigrants and asylum seekers from receiving General Assistance is illegal and unconstitutional.

Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew reacted with dismay and said she will continue to pursue implementation of the rule.

The proposed new rule, which was unveiled late last year by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, was meant to align qualification for the state’s General Assistance program with other public assistance programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In essence, the proposal would block anyone from receiving General Assistance until they receive full U.S. citizenship.

Mayhew said Friday in a written statement that she has revised the rule so that only illegal immigrants — and not legal noncitizens — would be barred from the General Assistance program.

Lewiston, the Somali capital of New England, is one of three migrant-overloaded cities in Maine.

The rule would allow towns and cities to continue to provide the benefit, which is intended as an emergency measure to help individuals and families through financial crises, but without any financial support from the state. In most municipalities, the state pays 50 percent of the benefits, though there are three cities — Bangor, Portland and Lewiston — where state support ramps up to 90 percent after local spending reaches a certain threshold.

General Assistance cost the state and local municipalities a total of $12 million in 2013 and provided an average benefit of $966 to approximately 12,000 people. About 64 percent of that cost was in the immigrant-heavy cities of Bangor, Lewiston and Portland.

Go here for our extensive Lewiston archive and here for everything we have on Maine.

Lewiston, ME: Wealthy Somali couple sentenced in housing fraud scheme

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We earlier reported on the case of husband and wife welfare fraudsters here in 2010 and 2012.     More of David Lubell’s immigrant entrepreneurs?

 

Immigrant entrepreneurs Ali-Nassir Ahmed and wife Roda Abdi in December 2013 Sun Journal photo.

 

They have now been sentenced to a measly few months in prison and three years on probation after serving their time.

Unhappy, and not at all remorseful, they are appealing their case to a higher court.

From the Lewiston Sun Journal (Hat tip: Michael).  Emphasis below is mine:

AUBURN — A Lewiston couple who owns Lewiston’s first halal market was sentenced Tuesday to a total of 19 months in jail for bilking the federal government out of more than $46,000 in housing subsidies.

Roda Abdi, 46, and her husband, Ali-Nassir Ahmed, 54, both of 208 Ash St., Lewiston, appeared in the Androscoggin County Law Library on Tuesday. Each was convicted of a single count of felony theft by deception at a bench trial last year.

Active-Retired Justice Robert Clifford sentenced Abdi to four years in prison with all but 10 months suspended; Ahmed received four years with all but nine months suspended. Both are to spend three years on probation once they’ve served their time in jail.

The couple remained free Tuesday pending appeal. They filed notice to take the case to the state’s highest court shortly after sentencing.

The couple who owned a halal market and apartment buildings had gobs of cash, but reported that they had no assets on forms for the housing subsidy.

Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin offered other examples of sentences for welfare fraud similar to those recommended for Abdi and Ahmed.

But unlike those defendants and unlike most Mainers, she said, the Lewiston couple had so much money at their disposal that they were able to buy a multi-unit apartment building in Lewiston and were in the process of buying a second building — all with cash. Deposits to their store accounts over 4½ years totaled more than $3.2 million, she said.

At the same time, they told the housing agency they had no income or assets, or minimal income.

So where does a refugee couple get millions of dollars in cash?  We may never know! (Sounds like a racist question!).

They have been (and still are!) promoting themselves as good role models for their fellow countrymen arriving in the Somali capital of New England—Lewiston.

“They have not accepted responsibility,” Robbin told the judge. Two dozen letters submitted to the court on the couple’s behalf suggest “they have not come clean with friends, family and acquaintances.”

They and their business are held up as models of good citizenry and community, Robbin said.

“That becomes a concern to the extent that they are translating for newcomers and helping them to transition to American society. We need to send a message that they are not role models in how they conducted themselves in defrauding the system,” Robbin said.

She noted that neither defendant had expressed remorse, nor accepted responsibility for his or her criminal actions.

What most Americans don’t get is that in Islamic culture, ripping off the infidel is perfectly legal and encouraged!

For new readers:  See all of our posts on the mess in Maine by clicking here.  “Rich diversity”, what a joke!  See especially Maine the welfare magnet, one of our most popular posts of all time.

Endnote:  If you check out that link above about David Lubell, note that the media protection of immigrant crooks is on display in Tennessee as The Tennessean has taken down the link to the article about the crooks (it is a good thing we captured some of the story!).

 

 

Maine: Asylum seekers being lured to Lewiston, Mayor says STOP!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

More problems for Lewiston, Maine which became the Somali capital of New England more than ten years ago now (see Somali Migration to Maine: It’s the welfare magnet!)

Now we see that the asylum racket has Maine by the short hairs as one of the few states that gives welfare benefits to “asylum seekers.”   Most asylum seekers are illegal aliens or people who came to the US on a visa of some sort (tourist visa, student visa etc.) and claim that if they go home to their country they will be persecuted.  The federal government only provides welfare to those who successfully are granted asylum (they become ‘refugees’ with all of the taxpayer supported benefits).   We learned just a few days ago that 70% or more of successful asylum seekers may be frauds.

Mayor Robert MacDonald: “All these people are is they’re tourists.” We can’t afford them all!

Maine’s governor is attempting to take away the carrots, here, but immigrants are protesting.

In the meantime, Africans headed to Maine!

From WGME.com  (hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’) Emphasis below is mine:

LEWISTON (WGME) — They’re called asylum seekers; people who entered the country on a visa, then declared they can’t go home. In Maine, asylum seekers are eligible for General Assistance funds. But Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald says they are gobbling up too much of his city’s budget. And he wants a local pastor to stop helping asylum seekers relocate to Lewiston.

Mayor Macdonald says “We can’t support them like that.  We don’t have that kind of money.” Mayor Macdonald says asylum seekers are costing the city too much money. He’s asked Rev. Jean-Pierre Tshamala, a former refugee of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to stop encouraging asylum seekers to move here. He says it’s “really putting a financial strain on this community.”

Maine is one of the few states that help asylum seekers, by making them eligible for General Assistance. In the past six months alone, The City of Lewiston has helped more than 100 asylum seekers with expenses like food, rent, utilities and prescription medicines. The state does partly reimburse Maine cities and towns for the General Assistance funds they provide.

The federal government provides financial assistance to refugees who got approval in advance to enter the U.S. Asylum seekers are people who enter the U.S. with a visa, then say they’re unable to go home. So the feds give them nothing. Macdonald says “All these people are is they’re tourists. They’re tourists that have overstayed their welcome, I mean, overstayed their visa.”

Mayor Macdonald says Rev. Tshamala talked about bringing 60 asylum seeking families, now living in Portland hotels, to Lewiston. The mayor says if that happens, he’ll be forced to either cut services or raise property taxes. Mayor Macdonald says “We can’t do this to people. And I’ve told him, I’ve told the reverend this.”

Interesting that it’s a Congolese ‘refugee’ in Wyoming attempting to open that state to refugee resettlement.  And, just a reminder, last spring the State Department announced it will admit 50,000 Congolese to the US during the next couple of years.

We have an extensive archive on poor Lewiston, here.

Maine Muslims looking for charter school in Lewiston, lie on application

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Community organizer and prospective board member of the charter school, Fatuma Hussein, said in January 2013, “We’re here and the sooner people realize that, the better.” Photo: Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

So what is the next step for “welcoming” communities like Lewiston, Maine that has seen its Somali Muslim population skyrocket in recent years—-yes, they want their own school!

This must have been a pretty exciting hearing before the Maine State Charter School Commission on Friday.

Lewiston Sun Journal (hat tip: Michael).  Emphasis below is mine:

AUBURN — Lewiston School Superintendent Bill Webster is not opposed to a taxpayer-funded charter school opening in Lewiston or Auburn.

But such a school must have a foundation of trust, Webster said Friday as he delivered damaging testimony to the state commission that will decide whether the Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School can open.

The Maine State Charter School Commission held a public hearing Friday at Central Maine Community College on the proposed school, which wants to open with 180 students in September.

Webster named three people*** that the application lists as supporters but whom Webster said are not. “It raises some concern about the truthfulness in this application,” he said.

Read about how Webster tracked down those who supposedly sent letters of support but never did.  Then this—is the Gulen school movement involved?

Webster also questioned the proposed school’s ties to Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, who, according to Wikipedia, lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. Webster said charter school applicant Tarlan Ahmadov is courting Lewiston Muslim students for the school.

The so-called Gulen movement includes schools around the country. A New York Times report about Gulen charter schools in Texas raised questions about whether the schools are using taxpayer money to benefit Gulen teachings.

Webster:  If the school is non-religious, why is it targeting Muslims?

None of that means the local charter school would be tied to Gulen or would be a religious school, Webster said. But if the school is non-religious, “why is it targeting Muslims?” he asked.

The application includes 300 surveys from people who support the school, including 201 from Lewiston, of which 180 have names typical of Lewiston immigrants who practice Islam, Webster said.

He said he spoke with a member of the local mosque and was told Ahmadov, the applicant, spoke there and distributed surveys. Webster said he checked with Catholic churches and the East Auburn Baptist Church — the largest churches in the area — and learned Ahmadov did not appear at those churches.

“The bottom line is that, right or wrong, Gulen or not, the parents of this potential school likely view the school as matching well with their Muslim faith and quite possibly that is the only reason they would support the school,” Webster said.

A decision will be made March 4th.

***It’s too much to get into here, but former Mayor Gilbert, mentioned in this article as one of those who supposedly supported the school in a letter, but didn’t, was feted in Washington DC by Soros’ Center for American Progress, here in 2010, for his welcoming attitude toward the Somali demographic and cultural change coming to his town.

We have a lengthy archive on Lewiston, here.  One of our top posts of all time is this one—Somali migration to Maine—it’s the welfare magnet stupid!

Quote in photo caption is here.

Somali fraudsters exposed in Lewiston, ME and Columbus, Ohio

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The Lewiston fraud is your run-of-the-mill welfare fraud (with a little alleged forgery and some lying thrown in!) which we are becoming familiar with in the cities, like Columbus and Lewiston, that have “welcomed” diversity.  The Columbus story adds an interesting and new piece of information about the creative ways refugees are defrauding Uncle Sam.

From the Lewiston Sun Journal  (by the way, when I type ‘Lewiston fraud’ into our search bar this is what I get—lots of previous posts):

AUBURN — A Lewiston couple denied in court Thursday charges that they schemed to defraud the government out of welfare benefits over the past nine years.

Amina H. Ege, 42, of 105 Shawmut St., was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury on two counts of theft by deception, four counts of aggravated forgery and 12 counts of unsworn falsification. Six of the charges are felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The remaining charges are misdemeanors.

Abdi A. Hassan, 43, of the same address, was indicted on two counts of theft by deception, seven counts of aggravated forgery, one count of negotiating a worthless instrument and five counts of unsworn falsification. Nine of the charges are felonies, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and one of the counts is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The rest of the charges are misdemeanors.

According to court documents, the two are accused of lying about the fact that they were living together while Hassan was providing Ege with financial support. She was accused of failing to disclose that she had received a workers’ compensation settlement.

Because of those omissions, according to the indictment, Ege received more than $10,000 worth of benefits from programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Section 8 housing, among others.

Read it all.

Who knew that the federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ program was paying Somalis to educate kids!

Mussa Farah is a spokesman for the central Ohio Somali community and on Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s Community Relations Commission.

From the Columbus Dispatch (hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’):

Columbus City Schools are stepping up oversight of independent tutors paid for by the federal No Child Left Behind program, terminating eight contracts this school year.

The problems have ranged from students’ signatures being falsified to employees who weren’t paid, according to district documents.

Last week, the district sent a letter to Horn of Africa, a tutoring program in Linden, stating that it was rescinding its contract based on evidence that employees “falsified dates, times of attendance and student signatures on attendance forms.”

The district conducted an inspection in January of Horn of Africa and said it had found students on computers not receiving instruction, including some playing online games, according to a district report.

“No instruction taking place,” the district representative commented on the form.

Mussa Farah, who owns the service that was paid almost $83,000 in federal money during the 2009-10 school year, said an illness in his family distracted him from running the center, which he voluntarily closed after being notified recently of the problems.

Farah said that the claim that a student’s signature had been falsified came because a student who had signed in left tutoring early because of an illness.

“I never did anything wrong,” said Farah, who is a spokesman for the central Ohio Somali community and on Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s Community Relations Commission. “The decision to stop came from me. I had to fire the teachers and everyone who was there.”

Farah still operates a tutoring center for South-Western City Schools that runs on federal money.

[….]

Under federal law, parents of students whose schools are low-performing can choose to get tutoring from any provider who signs up with the state. Columbus schools paid more than $3.7 million last school year to 53 providers, Braverman said.

There is much more, read it all!

I’ll bet they had been laughing all the way to the bank about us dumb infidels!

If you are on facebook, don’t forget to ‘like’ Diversity’s Dark Side a new page to highlight stories like this one about legal and illegal immigrants bringing crime and cultural tensions to “welcoming” America.