Tag: Maine

Maine: Tsarnaev’s gun came from Eritrean gang member in Portland

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

However, the Portland Chief of Police maintains that Maine is still a safe state with only a few loosely affiliated immigrant gangs!

Boston bomber Tsarnaev was a political “refugee” in America

It’s all over the news, but as usual the UK press (Daily Mail!) is covering the story in its famously direct fashion, no beating around the bush about the nationalities of the gang bangers like the defensive-sounding Maine papers.

Longtime readers of RRW know that Maine has become a magnet for African refugees—as refugees resettled directly there by the US State Department, as secondary migrants, and as asylum seekers.  See our lengthy archive on Maine, here.   See especially our 2009 post about the Somali migration to Maine for its generous welfare.

By the way, when you check out the Portland paper (the Sun Journal), note that one of the gangs they are watching is the Somali True Bloods.

Here is the UK Daily Mail (Hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’):

The 9mm pistol that Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev used to murder one police officer and gravely wound another came from a brutal street gang in Maine that is allegedly led by an Eritrean immigrant.

Tracking the path of the Ruger P95 semiautomatic pistol has led investigators to believe he may have dealt drugs to finance the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings that killed three spectators and injured more than 260 others.

Drug money is also believed to have funded the 26-year-old’s 2012 trip to Chechnya and Dagestan in Russia, where he became involved in radical Islam.

[….]

They found that it was legally purchased at a Cabella’s sporting goods store outside Portland, Maine, in November 2011 by Danny Sun Jr – a Los Angeles native. The gun typically sells for about $375.

Sun told investigators that he gave the pistol to Biniam Tsegai, a 27-year-old Eritrean immigrant who goes by the street name ‘Icy.’

The Times reports that Tsegai is a reputed leader of a Portland, Maine, street gang with a lengthy arrest record – including robbery, criminal trespass and reckless driving.

In May 2013 – a month after the marathon bombings – Tsegai was arrested and indicted on federal drug trafficking charges. Prosecutors noted that the drugs he is accused of trafficking were brought from Boston to Maine.

Tsegai has refused to talk to authorities about the Ruger pistol – or anything else.

However, Tsarnaev’s possession of the weapon have strengthened their suspicions that he was involved in drug trafficking.

This last bit in the story is a terrible black mark on investigators.  That these murders linked to Tsarnaev were not solved (and still aren’t solved as far as I know) in a timely fashion is a travesty.

They have not been able to prove his involvement, but suspect he had something to do with the September 11, 2011 murder of three men in an apartment outside Boston who were found with the throats slit. Marijuana and $1,000 in cash was found sprinkled around the crime scene.

Besides Maine, where are the Eritreans?

RRW geography lesson!

They are in Washington DC in very large numbers.  The State Department and its contractors don’t normally resettle new refugees to DC (the well-off and well-connected might be troubled by that), but Eritreans are going to DC as secondary migrants having been resettled elsewhere in the US.

Here is a lengthy story, also thanks to ‘pungentpeppers,’ about how their kinfolk in Africa are being kidnapped and ransomed and the DC Eritreans are stressed about it.

According to wikipedia about 50% of the population of Eritrea is Christian and 48% Muslim.

From the Washington City Paper:

Eritreans began migrating to the U.S. in small numbers in the 1960s, when the country was still part of Ethiopia, according to Hepner. Subsequent waves in the 1980s and over the past five years brought thousands more, mainly as part of refugee resettlement programs, and the D.C. area has long been home to one of the largest communities in the country, Hepner says.

Read it all.

This is our 30th post in our Boston bomber category, click here, for more on the case and that grateful refugee family.

Maine: The go-to state for immigrant marriage fraud, etc. etc. etc.

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What happened to Maine?  First we learned it is attracting hordes of Somali welfare moochers, then phony asylum-seeker schemers and now marriage fraudsters.

The word must be all over Africa—get to Maine!

Rashid Kakande hatched the marriage fraud scheme

Busted!  The Bangor Daily News reports that it is (was) one of the most sophisticated marriage fraud rings in the country.  And, on top of the marriage fraud, the cheats have gone one step further and claimed fake spousal abuse to assure they get to stay in the good ol’ USA (land of suckers!).

Editor’s plea to readers:  We would love to approve your comments, but you must keep them free of foul language.  We have had a couple lately (one from Maine) that are so filled with certain unnecessary words that we can’t post them.  I know you are frustrated, but you can say it without cursing and threatening.

Bangor Daily News (Hat tip:  crime sleuth ‘pungentpeppers’):

BANGOR, Maine — One of the country’s most sophisticated marriage fraud schemes officially ended Tuesday when a federal judge sentenced the last defendant to a year in prison.

Margaret Kimani, 30, of Worcester, Mass., was one of 28 defendants convicted in Maine of being part of a scam that paid American citizens living in Maine to wed African immigrants so they could more easily obtain permanent residency status, known as a green card, and achieve citizenship more easily, Maine’s U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II said at a press conference after the sentencing.

“America’s legal immigration system is not for sale and we will move aggressively against those who willfully compromise the integrity of that system simply to enrich themselves,” said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, whose office headed the investigation that led to the prosecutions.

“HSI’s message is very simple,” he said at the press conference. “U.S. citizenship is not for sale and there are consequences for those who commit marriage fraud. If you commit marriage fraud, there isn’t going to be a honeymoon.”

The investigation was launched in 2005 and identified more than 40 sham marriages in the Lewiston/Auburn and Newport areas between U.S. citizens in Maine and nationals from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Cameroon. Prosecutions began in 2010.

There is more.  Read the rest of the tortured tale.

Our extensive Maine archive is here.   Lewiston, Maine has produced many stories all by itself, click here for more on Lewiston.

Maine brain drain! Reverse it with asylum seekers says developer turned spiritualist

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Richard Berman stands in front of Hope House. Berman wants to welcome asylum seekers to brain-drained Maine!

He says the City of Portland “gets it,” but the rest of Maine needs to “wake up!”

We’ve learned recently that as many as 70% of asylum claims are fraudulent, then there is the big NYT story about the Chinese frauds, and just this morning we learned of a large asylum fraud bust in Maryland, but if Mainers, like Richard Berman, want to lure them to Portland with free housing (welfare) until their claims are processed, Maine can have them if they promise to keep them!

Here is the story from the Bangor Daily News. Hat tip: Joanne.  Head honchos from the US State Department were in Maine last week for a PR tour.

PORTLAND, Maine — From home to school to work, the lives of refugees and asylum seekers received closer looks from federal and city officials this week.

On Friday, Feb. 21, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard visited Portland Adult Education and several local businesses to see how refugees and resettlement agencies are faring. Richard was accompanied by Lawrence Bartlett, state department director of refugee admissions.

Asylum seekers are not eligible for welfare nationally until their claims are approved, but in Maine, as we mentioned here recently, they do get welfare support and now they get housing thanks to developer/philanthropist/spiritualist Richard Berman.

On Tuesday, Mayor Michael Brennan cut the ribbon at ceremonies marking the opening of Hope House at 14 Sherman St. The apartment house has been home to 13 Africans seeking political asylum for almost six months.

Hope House, which was bought by developer Richard Berman and operated by the nonprofit Hope Acts, solves the most basic question asylum seekers such as Hugues Ingabire, 21, face when they arrive in Portland.

Berman says that Maine doesn’t have enough brains so they need asylum seekers and refugees to make up the shortfall.

Berman said welcoming and getting asylum seekers settled is a benefit to Maine’s future.

“This is the reverse of the brain drain,” he said.

Berman:  Wake up Maine!

Publicist Jen Dimond said she wants Brennan and other Hope House visitors to see the success of the collaboration between Berman and Hope Acts because it is understood the city does not have the resources to provide the full measure of help to refugees and asylum seekers.

Berman said city officials are doing what they can, even though there are limits.

“It seems like the city gets it,” he said. ‘It is the state that needs to wake up.”

So who is Richard Berman—the brain behind the plan for Portland?

Here is an article from last September that tells you all you need to know!

PORTLAND – Richard Berman is not your typical developer

Over the last 40 years, Berman has gained a reputation as a philanthropist, as well as a developer who values community engagement, “smart growth,” historic preservation and affordable housing.

Berman is drawn to mysticism and meditation. He was born and raised Jewish, before turning to Eastern religions. He now attends St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Cape Elizabeth and serves on the Maine Council of Churches.

“Just because you’re a real estate developer doesn’t mean you’re not spiritual,” Berman quipped.

Next month, the Cape Elizabeth resident will turn 68 years old and steer a new course in his career. Berman says will “semi-retire” so he can turn more of his full-time attention to philanthropic endeavors, without having to worry about profit margins.

“I want to turn my talent and treasures to good use,” Berman said. “I’m turning my attention to more spiritual matters like immigration and homelessness.”

Do-gooder-itis?  Or something else?

For new readers, we have an extensive archive on Maine, here. Be sure to check out one of our top posts for the last few years (from 2009)—-Maine the welfare magnet—about how the US State Department and Catholic Charities helped start the migrant stampede to Maine.

Maine: Gee, no jobs for educated refugees, what a surprise!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Nor are there jobs for your college graduate kids!

Just now as I turned off the TV, President Obama was being interviewed about how to create more jobs and yesterday the Republicans were announcing their plan to flood the job market with both uneducated and educated immigrants for their big business donor friends, yet here is a story from Maine boo-hooing about no jobs for educated refugees!

University of Southern Maine audience listens to plight of refugees who can’t find work!

From Maine Public Broadcasting Network.  (Hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’)  An Iraqi with a college degree from Iraq took part in panel discussion on jobs hosted by Catholic Charities of Maine among others.  I guess there are no more struggling job-seekers among the Americans in Maine!

Portland resident Sarah Mahdi came to the U.S. with a college degree, but, like many immigrants, has had trouble getting it recognized in the U.S. It’s not an unusual problem. Maine educators and other service providers are now looking for ways to make it easier for educated immigrants to find suitable jobs or further their educational opportunities.

[…..]

“When I first came to the States I just wanted to study,” said Mahdi, who was among a handful of immigrant students sharing their experiences Wednesday night at a panel discussion in Portland. The panel was organized by the University of Southern Maine’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, and Catholic Charities Maine.

New Mainers Resource Center uses tax dollars to help immigrants prove they actually have a legitimate college degree.

One place immigrants can turn to is the newly-established New Mainers Resource Center, one of the several service providers on hand at Wednesday night’s event to offer advice. The center’s program co-ordinator, Sally Sutton, is talking to George Dakonsa, who arrived here from the Democratic Republic of Congo seeking asylum four months ago.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance,” he says. “I’d like it if they can help me to evaluate.”

The center was recently opened by Portland Adult Education with the aim of specifically helping college-educated immigrants in their search for suitable employment or further education. Co-ordinator Sutton says with immigrants like Dakonsa come an opportunity to breathe new economic life into the state.  [Would someone please explain exactly how they are breathing new economic life into the state!—ed]

That bad ‘ol Maine governor is at it again—-how dare he try to balance the state budget!

The New Mainers Resource Center, however, may end up being a short-lived venture. It’s meant to be a two-year pilot project funded at $75,000 a year.

But the program could be eliminated after its first year – just one small part of the nearly $34 million in spending cuts being recommended in a report commissioned by the LePage administration, looking for ways to balance the two-year budget.

Governor LePage needs to continue working on something else!  Maine has become a go-to state for asylum seekers.

Check out this article from The Free Press from earlier this month:

Maine has become known to many central African asylum seekers as a place where they can find community support as well as temporary financial assistance while they have their visas and work permits approved. Often they arrive on tourist or business visas, sometimes with forged documents. While many asylum seekers are well educated and come from financial means, the money doesn’t last long and many end up in homeless shelters while their applications are being processed.

Maine happens to be one of a handful of states that does not require proof of citizenship. All asylum seekers must show is that they are applying for asylum. Unlike official refugees, such as many in the Somali and Sudanese populations who are resettled in Maine by the U.S. State Department [and Catholic Charities—ed], asylum seekers do not qualify for any other state or federal benefits while they are applying for asylum. The whole asylum approval process can take from one to two years and it typically takes at least 150 days for asylum seekers to be eligible to legally work once approved for asylum.

See also, Maine the welfare magnet one of our top posts of all time.

One more thing….so much for the importance of educated refugees!

Reader ‘tomasrose’ sent us this comment to our earlier post about Bhutanese low-skilled laborers and the US State Department (as headhunters) bringing them in for businesses:

I spoke with a refugee from the middle east just last week and he confirmed, of course, refugees are coached in what to say to improve their chances at coming to the U.S.. One of the things he said is they hide any education they might have. If the U.S. thinks you are educated your chances of moving to the U.S. are lower. He cited an M.D. from Baghdad who told refugee officials he was a menial laborer and, presumably, would be happy to work the same jobs in the U.S.. Had he advertised his credentials as a doctor, he would have a better chance at going to one of the Scandinavian countries, but to get the U.S. he had to really dumb his resume down.

Maine: Somalis/others protest welfare rule change proposal

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update January 13th:  More here by Daniel Greenfield at Frontpage mag.

Leftist community organizers bused them in to the state capital from Portland and Lewiston, the twin hubs of the Somali/immigrant centers in Maine.

Somali community organizer Fatuma Hussein: “We are the future of Maine. We are the face of Maine.”
Photo Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The Portland Press Herald story begins with an immigrant success story, a man who made it in Maine having come from a non-Muslim country.  Of course to persuade you how much refugees contribute they aren’t going to tell you about the asylum-seeking/welfare mooching Tsarnaev family nor Esar Met in Utah (the horror I will get back to shortly).

Here is the Portland Press Herald where the words ‘asylum seekers’ feature prominently in the title to gain your sympathy (hat tip: pungentpeppers).  Emphasis is mine:

On Friday, he [the star of their story] was among more than 100 people who turned out to oppose a proposed rule change that would prohibit hundreds of asylum seekers and some other immigrants from receiving General Assistance while waiting for their work permits.

“This is what the program was designed for – to help people with similar situations become self-sufficient,” he said.

Immigrants, attorneys, faith leaders and advocates for the poor urged the Department of Health and Human Services to withdraw the proposal, saying it is illegal, mean-spirited and morally wrong. They argued that it would cut off a life line for many people who arrive in Maine and apply for asylum – a process that can take years.

The rule change is being proposed by Gov. Paul LePage’s administration. The governor has made welfare reform a priority in his three years in office, and a major theme of his re-election campaign.  [Gee, maybe Gov. Christie could try something bold like this!—ed]

Asylum-seekers do not get on federal welfare until they have been granted asylum.  Remember that!  It was mentioned in our gay Russian post recently.  Refugees resettled by the US State Department and their federal contractors get taxpayer goodies immediately (see our fact sheet).

The change would align Maine’s program with federal aid programs, which don’t provide benefits to immigrants until they have been in the country for five years, said DHHS spokesman John Martins. General Assistance is funded entirely by the state and local governments, and is based now only on financial need, not citizenship status. Cities or towns that want to provide the aid could continue to do so, without state money, Martins said.

Advocates estimate that as many as 1,000 immigrants who are seeking asylum in Maine would lose access to General Assistance.  [Maine has that many in the court system seeking asylum?  I don’t believe it.—ed]

Opponents of the rule change were bused from Portland and Lewiston, cities with significant immigrant populations, for a hearing Friday before DHHS officials in Augusta.

[…..]

The change would affect primarily new immigrants who are not yet citizens and are not refugees resettled here by the federal government.  [Catholic Charities is the primary federal resettlement contractor in Maine—ed]

The taxpayers of Maine are paying a lot of money to support all these immigrants on welfare:

In fiscal year 2012, Maine communities provided a total of $17.5 million in General Assistance, $13.2 million of which came from the state budget, according to the DHHS. Portland provided $9.6 million in General Assistance to 4,376 individuals and families in the last fiscal year, with 90 percent of that money spent on food and shelter, according to the city.

Of the total spent, $2.4 million came from property taxpayers and $7.2 million came from the state [taxpayers!–ed].

Now get this! Somali community leader says they are the future of Maine [and you better take care of us!—ed].

“This proposed rule will result in increased homelessness and hunger for immigrant women and their children,” said Fatuma Hussein, the director of Somali Women of Maine. “We are the future of Maine. We are the face of Maine. The face of Maine is changing.”

Here is our previous post on Governor LePage’s initiative. Go here for all of our extensive coverage on Lewiston, and here on our coverage of Maine (lots of crimes and welfare fraud stories).  One of our top posts of all time at RRW is this one:  Somali migration to Maine: it’s the welfare magnet, stupid!