Tag: Minnesota

Minnesota refugee resettlement contractor: 77,000 Somalis in the state right now!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Big question is:  Do these Christian resettlement contractors ever demand to resettle the persecuted Christians/religious minorities being persecuted around the world?

Arrive Ministries (formerly World Relief of Minnesota) one of three agencies responsible for the large population of Somalis in the State (see 10,000 resettled there in last 10 years, here) reports that the State has approximately 77,000 now.

Robert Oehrig, Executive Director of Arrive Ministries.

See one of our top posts of all time—Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis?  They were resettled there because of the generous welfare Minnesota offered!

Arrive Ministries (“a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to the cause of the refugee and immigrant”) also tells us that Somalis believe their troubles in Somalia began because they weren’t following Allah correctly, now they are having a “revival of religious observance” in Minnesota (scary thought!).

From Arrive Ministries (hat tip: Deb):

From that time [the time of clan violence and civil war in Somalia—ed] to the present, Somalis have fled the country and many have lived in refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Many Somalis were resettled in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. Currently, Minnesota has the largest number of Somali’s in the U.S, estimated to be around 77,000 or more. Why here? Somalis originally came to Minnesota because of the good economy and low unemployment. More recently they have come because there is a recognized community here — Somali shops, businesses and restaurants.

No discussion of the Somali people would be complete without discussing their religion, which is Islam. To be a Somali, is to be Muslim. With the war and displacement, many Somali’s have seen their difficulties as a judgment of God (Allah), for not correctly practicing their religion. In response to this, there has been a revival of religious observance.

According to a recent Form 990 for Arrive Ministries, the organization received $1.5 million (rounded number) with $1.1 million coming from government grants (from taxpayers) as a subcontractor to one of the top nine federal resettlement contractors, World Relief (Evangelicals).

Why can’t they see what they are doing?

About the photo, and a question for Bob:   The photo is from his facebook page (unless there is another Bob connected to Arrive Ministries!) where just a few weeks ago he said this:

I stand with my Christian brothers and sisters and all Shias, Yazidis and all peace loving people who find ISIL and militant Islam abhorant.

And this:

The truth of the matters is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Extremely Islamic with the aim to usher in the apocalypse. As is pointed out in this well written article, ISIS has revived traditions and practices that have been dormant for centuries including crucifixions and beheadings which are viewed as sacred requirements and a prelude to the culmination of the last battle and the coming of Messiah. [followed by this article—What ISIS really wants.]

Why can’t Bob see what he and others are doing to Minnesota with the resettlement of tens of thousands of Somalis who are “reviving” their Islamic religion with some returning to Africa and the Middle East to join ISIS and Al-Shabaab.

Talk is cheap!  It is easy to talk about the evils of ISIS, but do these ‘Christian’ organizations ever stand up and say to the UN/US State Department, please bring us only persecuted Christians, Jews and other minorities?  Or is it all about $$$?  (They won’t get any refugees/tax payer money if they don’t take Muslims.)

Minnesota Somalis say they are being targeted for extra scrutiny by TSA

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It surely isn’t a new complaint, here is how the story begins.  But, my interest was in one line half way through the article at OnIslam:

We told you about community organizer Mohamed Farah last June when he told reporters that terror recruiting was going on 24/7 in Minnesota. So, is it any surprise Somalis at airports are in for extra scrutiny? https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2014/06/18/minneapolis-somali-leader-al-shabaab-recruitment-efforts-present-247/

CAIRO – Following recent decision to prevent US banks from handling transfers to Somalia, Muslims from the horn of Africa country have been complaining of increasing racial profiling and harassment at airports, accusing agents of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of targeting them.

“You are treated as a second-class citizen, when you’re trying to change the narrative about being Somali,” Mohamed Farah, a Minneapolis Somali youth leader, told Star Tribune On Sunday, March 1.

Being a Somali-American, Farah has been facing an ongoing pattern of racial profiling and harassment at US airports, despite having security clearances from the FBI and the US Secret Service.

In light of Farah’s comments last June, is it any wonder that TSA gives Somalis at airports in Minnesota and elsewhere a little extra scrutiny?

O.K. So that is somewhat interesting, but nothing new.  What really caught my eye was this line:

Although there are no official figures, the United States is believed to be home to between 6-8 million Muslims.

Do you realize we really don’t know what the US Muslim population is!  

Doing some research on that recently, I found that in 2010 Pew Research put the number at 2.75 million while CAIR in the same year put it at 7 million.  Pew also said they are coming in to the US at a rate of 100,000 a year, but we don’t know how many of those will be legal permanent residents on the way to citizenship.

It is very important that we find the exact number because, as we learned from Europe, when the Muslim population reaches a level at about 3% of the population (yes, some people are saying 2%), then, feeling empowered, the pressure is on for shariah compliance.

The US population is 321 million, so when the Muslim population reaches 6.4 million (2%) or 9.6 million (3%) there will be no going back for us.  If you are thinking this doesn’t affect you, please at least consider your grandchildren!

Time to talk about a MORATORIUM on Muslim immigration to America?

Be sure to check out a recent popular post about how the US State Department and its contractors facilitated the Hijra by ‘seeding’ over 10,000 Somalis in Minnesota in the last ten years.

US State Department and resettlement contractors salted Minnesota with over 10,000 Somali refugees since 2005

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

In the wake of the terror scare over the past weekend, the Washington Times has published a pretty thorough piece on how the Refugee Admissions Program of the US State Department has changed/stressed Minnesota with the resettlement by three refugee contractors—Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services of MN, and World Relief MN (now Arrive Ministries)—of thousands of Somali refugees.   (For anyone interested in finding the resettlement contractors in your state and city, click here for a handy directory).

Someone should prepare a map showing all of the towns in Minnesota that have ‘welcomed’ refugees of all stripes. Some of the towns we mention are here especially the hottest sites: Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud and Rochester.

We told you here, that Minnesota is the go-to state for the resettlement of Somalis. Generous welfare was the original draw.

You can read the whole Washington Times article by reporter Kelly Riddell, here.  As of this writing there are 626 comments!

If you are living in small town/suburban Minnesota (or small town America) and are thinking this isn’t happening where you live, it is a big city issue, think again.

I went through the State Department data base again yesterday to see just where in Minnesota Somalis had been resettled over the last ten years (I started my search in February 2005).

I was shocked!

Remember as you look at this list below that the Somalis may not have stayed where they were originally placed, they may have moved to bigger cities in the state or others may have joined the ‘seed community’ in these other towns.

In refugee industry lingo, those who move are called “secondary migrants” and Minnesota is getting the lion’s share of those from across the US.

Do you think all of these towns (over 60 in number!) were consulted before they were expected to take on the financial burden of housing, healthcare and education for the kids?

The total number of Somalis placed in Minnesota, since February 2005 to date, is 10,804. 

(Many more were resettled in Minnesota before 2005, but we only looked at the last ten to eleven years.)

Anoka (2)

Apple Valley (13)

Barnesville (5)

Blaine (5)

Bloomington (124)

Brooklyn (2)

Brooklyn Center (38)

Brooklyn Park (50)

Burnsville (282)

Chanhassen (6)

Chaska (2)

Colombia Heights (112)

Coon Rapids (16)

Crystal (16)

Eagen (38)

Eden Prairie (400)

Edina (27)

Fairbault (10)

Falcon Heights (7)

Faribault (211)  (is this the same town as Fairbault, or is this a typo?)

Fridley (14)

Golden Valley (9)

Hill Top (1)

Hopkins (143)

Hutchinson (5)

Inver Grove Height (7)

Inver Grove Heights (11)  (typo again?)

Lakeville (4)

Mankato (34)

Maple Grove (6)

Maplewood (4)

Marshall (35)

Mendota Heights (1)

Minneapolis (4,868)

Minnetonka (40)

Moorhead (8)

New Brighton (18)

New Hope (80)

Norcross (1)

North Mankato (14)

Norths St. Paul (2)

Oakdale (1)

Owatonna (140)

Pelican Rapids (113)

Pine Island (3)

Plymouth (58)

Richfield (193)

Richville (7)

Robbinsville (4)

Rochester (595)

Rosemount (9)

Roseville (52)

St. Anthony (7)

St. Cloud (1,123)

St. Louis Park (100)

Saint Paul (1,491)

Saint Peter (11)

Savage (30)

Shakopee (18)

South St. Paul (11)

Waite Park (23)

Waseca (6)

West St. Paul (13)

White Bear Lake (1)

Willmor (122)

Woodbury (2)

By the way, Minnesota also ‘welcomed’ many other refugees of many nationalities, but we only looked at Somali numbers because they are dominating the news.

 

Where have all the Somalis been resettled in the US? Minnesota takes the prize!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

My plan (ha! ha! if I don’t get distracted!) is to try to do a series of posts to answer the many questions I’m getting from the media in recent days.  The US State Department has an extensive data base called the Refugee Processing Center.  Sometimes you can access the data and sometimes you can’t!

First a few basic points:  The UN High Commissioner for Refugees chooses most of our refugees.  The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for screening them.  The US State Department sends them out via contractors they euphemistically call Voluntary Agencies (VOLAGs).  They are not voluntary—you pay them through your tax dollars to place the refugees through their offices in 180 cities across America.  The nine major VOLAGs have 350 subcontractors to form an extensive network.   The contractors spread the refugees out to surrounding towns if the main resettlement city gets overloaded (especially if ‘pockets of resistance’ form).

Reporters!  Find the resettlement contractor contact information in your city by clicking here.

The Department of Health and Human Services (Office of Refugee Resettlement) makes sure the nine contractors are well paid for myriad activities.

Back to the data…

Minnesota ‘welcomed’ 17% of all Somalis resettled in the US since 2005. Three resettlement agencies were responsible: Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services of MN, and World Relief MN (aka Arrive Ministries).

I searched this morning for Somali refugees resettled to which states from February 1, 2005 to February 1, 2015 and here is what I learned:  The US State Department distributed Somalis to 45 states and the District of Columbia basically establishing “seed communities” or colonies.

Remember though that this is America and people can move without permission so some originally resettled in one place may have long-since moved.  The professionals in the refugee industry call those who move “secondary migrants.”   The state receiving the most secondary migrants is Minnesota-–why? because Somalis want to live with their kind of people.

Here is the link for the data base I used for the following information.  You will need to put your own search parameters in.

From February 1, 2005 to February 1, 2015 we brought a total of 64,332 Somalis to the US from all over the world!

By the way, our Somali refugees don’t come directly from Somalia, but we pick them up all over the world including from Kenya, South Africa, Malaysia, Malta and even it appears Saudi Arabia (more on that later).

The states not (yet!) getting Somali refugees resettled directly are:  Delaware (LOL! Joe Biden was one of the original sponsors of the Refugee Act of 1980), Arkansas, Montana, Wyoming, and West Virginia.  We know that ‘secondary migrant’ Somalis are going to Wyoming.

(Any state over 1,000 is in red)

Alabama:  207

Alaska:  224

Arizona: 3,727

California:  2,375

Colorado:  1,803

Connecticut:  696

District of Columbia:  1

Florida:  274

Georgia:  2,720

Idaho:  733

Illinois:  1,284

Indiana:  374

Iowa:  395

Kansas:  254

Kentucky: 1,631

Louisiana:  118

Maine:  1,181

Maryland:  371

Massachusetts:  1,936

Michigan:  1,316

Minnesota:  10,804

Mississippi:  3

Missouri:  2,132

Nebraska:   322

Nevada:  331

New Hampshire:  270

New Jersey:  41

New Mexico:  161

New York:  3,721

North Carolina:  1,212

North Dakota:  690

Ohio:  5,439

Oklahoma:  76

Oregon:  1,492

Pennsylvania:  1,053

Rhode Island:  136

South Carolina:  94

South Dakota:  635

Tennessee: 2,091

Texas:  4,716

Utah:  1,990

Vermont:  368

Virginia:  939

Washington:  3,182

Wisconsin:  813

That should total:  64,332

If you are visiting RRW for the first time, you might want to visit this 2008 post where we did an original accounting of the Somalis resettled in the US going back to the early 1990’s.

North American Somali Bar Association launched in Minnesota last week

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Of course one wonders why they need a special bar association for their community, never-the-less if they are teaching Somalis that they must not use their clan system for meting out justice in America and must follow the US Constitution maybe that is a good thing.  However, there is no mention in this article at MinnPost about sharia law—maybe the next public meeting will tell Somalis they can’t use that in America either!

How many special ethnic-oriented bar associations do we have in America?  I would like to know!

From MinnPost:

Attendees at the launch of the North American Somali Bar Association. Photo: Ibrahim Hirsi

On a recent cold winter night, Maya Sheikh-Salah, assistant Hennepin County attorney, stood tall before nearly 100 Somali-Americans at Safari Restaurant and Event Center in Minneapolis, passionately addressing the community about a little known topic: The U.S. criminal justice system.

[….]

The assembly last Thursday marked the launch of The North American Somali Bar Association (NASBA), birthed by Minnesota Somali legal professionals as a way to address their community’s legal needs, to inspire young African immigrants, and to provide mentoring services to current law students.

Even though the gathering was the association’s first meet-and-greet event, it presented some important lessons for many in attendance: Sheikh-Salah, a founding member of NASBA, explained what it means to have a justice system, a constitution and the many parallel branches of the justice system, among other things.

Criminal justice system is a system that’s key to the law, it’s key to the peaceful society and it’s key to a government to function well,” she said.

There is a lengthy discussion about how the clan-system of justice works and an example of why not to practice it here.  Then this:

The audience even received a brief introduction to the U.S. Constitution: “This document is the oldest and shortest constitution in the world,” Sheikh-Salah said as she held the constitution high.

She continued: “And as a matter of fact, I’m going to add, the most contemporary document. It has 7 articles, 27 amendments, 4,400 words. The United States constitution gives rights to individuals. And the presumption of innocence preserves the dignity of the individual. You’re not guilty, until proven guilty.”

For new readers who are wondering how we got so many Somalis in Minnesota, visit our 2011 post.  Minneapolis was targeted as a “welcoming” site by the US State Department and its contractors Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services of MN, and World Relief MN which has recently changed its name to Arrive Ministries resettled them there where the welfare was generous.

9,000 new Somali refugees arrived in the US in FY2014.