Lutherans: “The children are a gift” and we need a second lobbyist in Washington to make sure the gift keeps giving

Linda Hartke, CEO of one of the largest quasi-government agencies*** resettling refugees and illegal aliens around the country—the Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service—continues to lecture us about how we need to “welcome” the children, here yesterday in the Salt Lake Tribune while receiving at least 97% of their funding from the US taxpayer (Hartke makes over $214,000 in salary and benefits).   See 2012 Form 990, here.

Update:  Be sure to see the responses to the Salt Lake Tribune op-ed, especially from the commenter ‘Bioethike.

Read Hartke’s blog to keep up with all the Washington DC lobbying action by LIRS. http://blog.lirs.org/we-need-your-voice-today-urge-congress-to-protect-unaccompanied-children-and-refugees/

However, 2012 is going to look pathetic compared to 2014 when they received a windfall of over $18 million so far for ‘unaccompanied alien children’ services.

Check out their recent grants here (one subcategory of  grants includes something called ‘fingerprinting and foster care’).  And, please note that they were getting Office of Refugee Resettlement grants in as early as 2009 for the ‘unaccompanied alien children’ (probably before that too, but this database only goes back to 2009).

Since they are booming in business generated by Washington, they are looking for a second advocate (aka lobbyist) to keep the migrants coming and the taxpayer money flowing.   And, they now have to compete with big dogs, like that Baptist gang out of Texas which also has Washington lobbyists.

I sure hope for their sake that when they hire lobbyists they don’t use any federal grants and contract money for that purpose because that is illegal.

Yesterday reader Bob sent me this advertisement for a job in the Lutherans’ lobbying office.  Be sure to read about the “duties.”

How can we, average taxpaying American citizens with no lobbyists, compete with this?

Company: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Location: Washington, DC

Date Posted: July 25, 2014

Source: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

DESCRIPTION

The Assistant Director for Advocacy carries out the advocacy efforts of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) in collaboration with the Director for Advocacy and other LIRS staff to ensure the organization achieves its overall objectives in key priority areas. The Assistant Director helps shape and execute advocacy priorities and policy recommendations and engages LIRS partners and networks in advocacy through direct working relationships, participation in advocacy planning and events, and coordination.

DUTIES

Coordinate, lead, and attend advocacy meetings with congressional and executive branch staff to communicate and advance LIRS policy positions and ascertain obstacles to our recommendations; track legislation; respond to inquiries about migrants and refugees from the media, policymakers, and partners and allies; share and develop advocacy materials related to LIRS priority issues; often act as primary LIRS representative to both internal and external colleagues.Lead and participate in NGO coalition meetings to represent LIRS and engage in dialogue and collaborative thinking about shared advocacy goals (and carry out related tasks); often act as primary LIRS representative to both internal and external colleagues on panels, conferences, webinars, etc.Draft, coordinate, and provide strategic direction for LIRS’ Stand for Welcome e-mail messages, LIRS’ on-line Action Center and national blog posts, liaise between Advocacy and Grassroots Mobilization teams regarding online advocacy efforts, and direct work of staff and interns on implementation. Draft and develop LIRS materials for Congressional and government audiences as well as LIRS staff, faith leaders, affiliate partners and other constituents (statements, letters, invitations, fact sheets, web content, talking points, proposed legislative language, LIRS formal advocacy priorities, advocacy guides), as well as provide direction and train/supervise work of interns on implementation.Lead logistical planning for events and coordinate direct outreach to LIRS partners and constituents (make requests for specific advocacy actions, plan advocacy events including webinars and conference calls, accompany constituents to advocacy meetings as well as provide direction and train/supervise work of interns to assist), track advocacy engagement and respond to inquiries to develop new educational materials and advocacy campaigns; on certain issues act as primary LIRS representative to both internal and external colleagues.Travel outside of Washington, DC to share information with, meet, and learn from LIRS constituents, program partners, and refugees and migrants.Supervision and recruitment of LIRS Advocacy Interns. Meet weekly with staff to discuss ongoing work product, week’s schedule and events on the horizon, provide ongoing supervision of work, and meet periodically one-on-one to assess progress and receive feedback. Often train new staff on the Stand for Welcome campaign and LIRS Action Center. Support Director for Advocacy leadership in Director’s absence

QUALIFICATIONS

Bachelor’s degree required, relevant graduate work or degree preferred.Three to five years of immigration or refugee work experience.Knowledge of immigration and refugee laws and policies.Knowledge of federal legislative and regulatory processes, including ability to track and interpret legislation.Familiarity with non-profit advocacy work.Experience working with coalition partners.Experience in training and supervising interns or volunteers.Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications required.Deep commitment to LIRS’s core values and ability to model those values in relationships with colleagues and partners.Experience with and commitment to working in a diverse workforce.Appreciation and respect for Lutheran beliefs and values, church member motivations and sensitivities.Strong ability to master substantive subject matter, implement advocacy strategies, produce high-quality written materials, and work independently and under pressure.Skills in synthesizing and communicating complex policy issues for different audiences.Excellent communication skills, especially writing and public speaking.Ability to maintain and nurture collegial relationships with Members of Congress, congressional staff, executive branch officials, coalition partners, Lutheran partners, and refugees and migrants.Ability to work well with others in small teams.Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.Effective meeting facilitation skills. Willingness and ability to travel occasionally.Familiarity with Luminate or other online relationship management software.Experience working with refugees, immigrants or limited English speakers.Proficiency in Spanish.Flexibility and sense of humor.

***The federal refugee resettlement contractors (we may have to start adding grant recipient big dogs Baptist Child and Family Services and Southwest Key Programs to our list):

Our complete archive on ‘unaccompanied minors’ goes back several years, click here for all of those posts.

There is moaning in Minnesota over possible loss of $$$ for refugee contractors

What took them so long, many other resettlement contractors around the country have already set up their chorus of howls over the threatened loss of federal money should Congress not give Obama the BILLIONS he wants for the “chiiildruun.”

As we have said repeatedly:  not enough money, then don’t bring so many new refugees into America!

(Or, LOL! give up some of your big salaries to the poor refugees, 63% of Minnesota’s Somalis live below poverty line!).

Editors note: Before you proceed to read the latest (below), including from the Lutherans, see our post of last September when we reported that the CEO of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota was pulling down an astounding $441,767 in salary and benefits before his retirement.

Here from the Minneapolis Star Tribune (aka Red Star), thanks to reader Jay, is the Minnesota caterwauling (emphasis is mine):

Rep. Keith Ellison: “…favors funneling resources toward the minors coming up from Central America, but said there is enough money to go around.”

Minnesota refugee resettlement organizations are increasingly panicked that the surge of unaccompanied kids from Central America streaming across the border will siphon federal dollars away from the 4,000 refugees and asylum-seekers that arrive on the state’s doorstep every year.

Federal officials are warning that unless Congress approves President Obama’s $3.7 billion funding request before the August congressional recess, $94 million that had been devoted mostly to refugees instead will be diverted to the escalating crisis on the border.

[….]

Because Minnesota is one of the top resettlement states for refugees from Somalia, Bhutan, Burma, Iraq and other troubled countries, organizations across the state that help new arrivals assimilate, get jobs and learn English say a shortage of funds could jeopardize their work.

“Of course this is scary to us. We’re not in the business of pitting refugees against minors because it’s a terrifying situation for both groups,” said Kim Dettmer, director of refugees services at Lutheran Social Service. “Obviously these minors need help and obviously the refugees need help, as well. In my ideal world, we would have enough money to serve refugees and the children crossing the border would be safe and receive humane treatment.”

Did you know that one of the driving forces for resettlement in your state is the RELIGIOUS resettlement contractors, like these Lutherans, acting as head-hunters for big businesses looking for cheap labor?  Is this an appropriate role for them and their bosses at the US State Department?  I wonder does Jennie-O send them a little spare change?  And, of course, this is why Grover Norquist and his Republican pals are on the same side as Keith Ellison.

Her organization also helps refugees find work — an aspect of the program that is booming in Minnesota, given the state’s low unemployment rate. Lutheran Social Service has an office in St. Cloud that places refugees at Hormel’s Jennie-O plant and other factories and hotels for service work.

Public-private partnership—what a joke!

As we have demonstrated repeatedly, the contractors are receiving over 90% of their funding from the feds.  And, get this!  Ms. King of the politically hard Left MN Council of Churches talks about volunteer time.  Well the contractors log volunteer hours and are then paid CASH from the federal treasury for those hours on top of all the other largesse they receive!

“This program is a public-private partnership and I think Minnesota is very good at the private part of it, leveraging volunteer time and the other work,” said Rachele King, director of refugee services at the Minnesota Council of Churches. “It’s the public part, they’re not holding up their end of the bargain.”

Minnesota Council of Churches is also a refugee resettlement contractor/community organizer.  Out of time, research on their $$$ (your tax dollars) will have to wait for another day.

This post is archived in ‘unaccompanied minors’ here.

 

Lutherans again with their Christian charity claptrap!

I can’t take it!  We are paying for their public relations campaign! 97% of their funding comes from taxpayers while they pretend that what they do is out of the goodness of their Christian hearts!

The nerve of these people sending out press releases with all this garbage about how much they love the migrants without mentioning that they are BEING PAID FOR THEIR POLITICAL ACTIVISM ON BEHALF OF ILLEGAL ALIENS AND REFUGEES, and how they are working with the government.  THEY ARE WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND THAT MEANS YOU AS TAXPAYERS!

I would love just once for them to admit that they are federal contractors*** in one of these deceptive PR pieces that are gobbled up by gullible (or worse, complicit) media outlets.  And, by the way, where the hell is the ACLU?

From Digital Journal:

LIRS CEO Hartke: “God is calling” (and God pays well!).

BALTIMORE, July 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As the humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied migrant children and families fleeing Central America and crossing the border into the U.S. continues, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is working closely with government leaders, faith-based organizations and community partners to scale up its support and response efforts. “These children and families are leaving perilous circumstances in their home countries. They deserve safety, due process, and compassion,” says Linda Hartke, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

While the groundswell of love and support has largely been omitted from the continuing immigration debate, it has been deeply felt and noticed by faith-based and immigrant rights organizations across America in the form of people offering housing, wanting to deliver material goods, praying and advocating on behalf of children and families.

“The outpouring of support from Americans for the children and families at the center of the refugee crisis on our southern border continues to increase,” says Hartke. “In the past several months as the crisis has worsened, we have seen a surge in the number of calls from people who are volunteering to become foster parents to children in need. Many have told us that they ‘feel like God is calling’ them to take care of these children.”

 Network of “heroic service partners” are all PAID subcontractors!

“We feel a special responsibility towards children,” adds Hartke. “They should be kept safe and be with a loving family. Our network of heroic service partners all across the country support children and new foster families with excellence and compassion, but more foster families are urgently needed.”

They are bragging about how many (hundreds!) of calls they receive from loving people, called by God, wishing to sponsor the ‘unaccompanied alien teens,’ so then why send out this new appeal?

See their “heroic service partners” (aka federal subcontractors) here.  And, take a look at their posh headquarters building at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor while you are there!

LIRS and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops had been the largest contractors taking care of the illegal alien children, but have since been eclipsed by this Baptist gang out of Texas.   It is dog-eat-dog out there in the world of  “Christian” federal contractor competition!  And the new Baptist big dogs seem to be getting more than their fair share of the chow.

If you want to let LIRS (really LIARS) know how you feel, especially if you are of the Lutheran faith, about the “refugee” crisis at the border, this is their lobbyist/PR persons contact info:

Press contact: Miji Bell
410-230-2841 mbell@lirs.org

Stop pretending to be a “humanitarian” “religious” charity! How about some honesty for a change!

See their 2012 Form 990 here (the most recent one available).

They had a total revenue of $41,757,518 and $40,417,752 came from government grants (you!).

97% of their funds comes from government.   

Let’ talk about salaries for these quasi-government agencies (aka religious charities)!

They have 5 employees in the 6-figure salary range including CEO Hartke who made $214,237 in salary and benefits that year for her Godly good works.  And, for the record, Hartke is not the highest paid of the head-honchos of the federal contractors.***

Hartke makes more per year than a Member of Congress and about the same as a Supreme Court Justice, but no one can scrutinize their budget because they are supposed to be a private non-profit!

I guess these Lutherans missed the message about Caesar’s money!

I apologize to long-time readers who know all this, but we are getting so many new readers every day who have never heard this before that it bears repeating.

See all of our coverage of ‘unaccompanied minors’ invading America here.  And be sure to see one major publication that has the guts to report on the massive amount of taxpayer dollars flowing to phony non-profits.

***The contractors (we may have to start adding Baptist Children and Family Services to our list):

 

 

WND: Religious charities profit from open borders

Every time I think I’m done with this topic for a few minutes, in comes a new article that you must see on the border invasion.

Right now there are so many other issues involving refugees and migrants in the US and around the world that we are missing with our non-stop coverage of the invasion of America that I’m fearful that our international readers will drop off (we have readers in over 150 countries!).

Bishop Elizondo leading a pack of priests on the border: they are all refugees now! https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2014/06/26/us-catholic-bishops-chairman-kids-coming-across-border-should-be-viewed-as-refugees/

However, since this is one of our major concerns—the complete lack of understanding by the average citizen (and Glen Beck!) that charitable “religious” groups (pretending to be driven to help the migrants purely out of Christian or Jewish charity) could never exist without almost their entire budget being funded by US taxpayers—we are relieved to finally see a far-reaching national level report on the issue.

Leo Hohmann writing at WND (emphasis is mine):

Thousands of Central American children crossing the border illegally could soon turn into asylum seekers armed with immigration lawyers provided by church groups and paid for by federal tax dollars.

Catholic Charities is running a fundraising campaign to help finance the resettlement of the illegal aliens, WND reported. But the religious charities get the bulk of their funding not from private donors or church members putting checks into a basket. They get it from the federal government.

Alexandria, Va.-based Catholic Charities USA reported receiving $1.7 million in government grants in 2012, according to its IRS Form 990.

But one of the largest recipients of government funds to resettle immigrant children is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The USCCB helps resettle not only unaccompanied alien children, or UACs, who enter the country illegally but also refugees fleeing persecution overseas who enter through legal channels.

The USCCB is one of nine primary agencies that receive hundreds of millions in U.S. tax dollars to perform their charity work. Under contract with the federal government, the nonprofit groups work to resettle child refugees and asylum seekers. Six of the nine contractors are religious groups, WND has learned, including the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Church World Service and World Relief Corp., which includes a plethora of evangelical groups.

The Catholic Bishops alone received $65.9 million in federal grants to care for unaccompanied alien children and refugees, according to its 2012 annual report.

By contrast, the group raised $1.4 million from its own church members while federal loans and private-sector grants made up the remainder of the $71 million spent on the resettlements that year. That means 93 percent of the USCCB’s spending on charity work with UACs and refugees was covered by the American taxpayer.

Kevin Appleby, director of USCC’s Migration and Refugee Services Office, did not return calls from WND seeking comment.

Similar funding ratios have been found to be the norm with the Lutheran effort.

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service reported total income of $41.7 million in 2012, and government grants accounted for $40.4 million, or 96.8 percent of that amount, according to the nonprofit’s most recently reported Form 990, a disclosure that nonprofits must file with the Internal Revenue Service. The group raised only $1.3 million from private donors.

Miji Bell, press spokeswoman for Lutheran Immigration, also did not return calls Tuesday.

If they would tell the public the truth about their funding (and their fat salaries) I might have some respect for the whole bunch!

Dan Cadman at CIS:  They all have their hands in the pie!  And, they are working to get the illegals qualified as refugees.  WND continues….

Dan Cadman, with the Center for Immigration Studies, says it’s a conflict of interest for a group that benefits financially from immigration – both legal and illegal – to try to influence immigration policy.

“It bothers me that any private organization is using a government funding stream for that purpose, not only Catholic Charities but Lutheran World Service, the Episcopal Church, they’ve all got their hands in the pie,” Cadman said. “The thing is that everyone understands that, with a wink and a nod, this so-called emergency money (from Obama) is not going to result in any substantial number of individuals being deported. It’s just not. How ironic to see an emergency budget supplemental request and then when you look at the details you see it’s all going to be chewed up for things like brick and mortar buildings for resettlement and not used in any useful way to stop this tidal wave of human beings.”

Cadman said there is “no doubt in my mind” that the religious NGOs or “non-governmental organizations” are working with the United Nations to get the children qualified as refugees or asylum seekers.  (See our post on Bishops call alien children “refugees.”—ed)

By the way, the Bishops have their own immigration legal branch (most likely funded with federal grants too) known as CLINIC (a story for another day!).  One could call Obama’s plea for more money for the border crisis, The Immigration Lawyers Employment Act of 2014!

Read the whole World Net Daily article it is full of information on the groups comprising the Religious Left, I’ve only snipped a small amount of it!

For new readers, we have dozens and dozens of posts in our ‘unaccompanied minors’ archive (extending back several years), click here to learn more.

MD Governor O’Malley pleaded with White House: Don’t send them to WESTERN Maryland

They used to be good pals! Hmmmm! http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/07/o-malley-obama-administration-spar-over-immigration-policies-105157.html

I’m posting this for a couple of reasons, first, because you are going to hear the name Martin O’Malley a lot in the coming months and years—he wants to be the next Progressive occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, and second because we need a good laugh sometimes.

Last week we reported that a site in western MD —Westminster in Carroll County—had been identified as a potential new home for a couple of hundred illegal alien “minors.”  Locals caught wind of the plan and knowing conservative activists here there would have been a demonstration on par with anything Murietta, CA could produce.

In fact, a clip of Carroll County Commissioner Richard Rothschild (highly critical of the plan) was featured on the O’Reilly Factor last evening.  Rothschild said about his call to HHS:

“I want to point out that HHS, I asked HHS what are you going to do if these children can’t find their parents? Are you going to keep them imprisoned in this compound? No answers.”

Surely O’Malley, with his Presidential aspirations, didn’t relish the optics of a Murietta-style uprising on his home turf.  He did tell the White House that other locations in the state would be o.k. 

Maryland has a well-established refugee resettlement program and one of the big nine*** federal contractors—Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service—is located in the upscale area known as the Inner Harbor.   Not to mention the fact that the notorious Casa de Maryland (The illegals ACORN) is undoubtedly itching to get its paws into some federal “refugee” loot—-for the “children.”   See one of our many posts on Casa de Maryland (Sandinistas, El Salvador and the Sanctuary Movement).

The ‘unaccompanied alien minors’ are surely already being brought to “welcoming” Maryland.

From CNN (Hat tip: Jeff).  Emphasis is mine:

(CNN) – After his strong criticism of the Obama administration’s plans to return thousands of young undocumented migrants back to Central America, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley asked a top White House official that the children not be sent to a site that was under consideration in his home state, sources familiar with the conversation said.

“He privately said ‘please don’t send these kids to Western Maryland,'” a Democratic source told CNN. The heated discussion between O’Malley and White House domestic policy adviser Cecilia Munoz occurred during a phone call late Friday evening, sources familiar with the conversation added.

Earlier O’Malley criticized the White House for using the ‘deportation’ word!

A potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, O’Malley surprised some in his party when he sharply criticized a White House proposal to give new legal authorities to the Department of Homeland Security to expedite the deportation of the unaccompanied minors and their families.

“We are not a country that should turn children away and send them back to certain death,” O’Malley said last week at a National Governors Association meeting in Nashville.

Instead, the governor urged the administration to show compassion toward the children, describing some of the facilities where the young detainees are being kept as “kennels.”

LOL! Then the Obama Administration picked a potential location in RED Western Maryland to house a number of the illegal aliens and O’Malley had to beg for relief.

Hours after making those remarks, O’Malley expressed concerns to Munoz about a proposal under consideration by the Department of Health and Human Services to convert a former Army Reserve Center in Westminster, Maryland to house the children.

A senior O’Malley administration official confirmed the conversation took place. But the official stressed O’Malley did not reject the idea of temporarily housing some of the children in other parts of the state.

Now, I bet you are wondering how this embarrassing  story about a private phone call between O’Malley and Munoz leaked to CNN.  I’m placing my bets on Valerie Jarrett slapping O’Malley down a peg or two.  Why?  Is she already working on some other Presidential candidate’s campaign?

Just as I finished this, I see there is another good story about the rift and the leak, here at WJLA.

All of our coverage of the ‘unaccompanied minors’ storming the US border may be found by clicking here.

***The contractors (we may have to start adding Baptist Children and Family Services to our list):