Comment worth noting: It might be too late for some American communities

03/25/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Editor: This is a comment from reader ‘Seneca the Elder’ posted 4 days ago in response to this post. I apologize for the late posting, I’ve been distracted by a family health issue (trying to squeeze in reading and posting between playing nurse).
From ‘Seneca the Elder’ “…it is kind of too late”

There have been a lot of missteps by the Trump administration when it comes to “refugees” aka invaders/migrants/barbarians/Third Worlders.

I understand that they have a lot on their plates, but immigration is probably THE most important issue for a lot of people. Especially those of us who live in or near a sanctuary city. Just yesterday I was walking around the one near me. Here I was in affluent Westchester County, walking around a small city that looked like it was in the slums of Ecuador or Guatemala. In violation of the City codes, the signs were in Spanish, not English. Judging by all the dish antennas on the roof and other parts of the houses, there were obviously half a dozen families living in many of the small, single family homes. The building inspectors and city employees are afraid of being called racists so they allow all the violations even though there have been fires where people lost their lives.

There are no more cute boutiques or specialty shops because all the store fronts have been taken by barber shops, dollar stores and hair salons (another zoning violation to have to many on one block) that are fronts for gambling, drug dealing and prostitution. Oh, and the roosters that you hear crowing in the distance are not from any farm- they are the ones the “immigrants” use for cock fighting, which has also made a comeback.

Sure, it’s not a no go zone like they have in Europe, but there are many blocks that I hesitate to walk down because of all the cat calls and nasty remarks made by the able bodied young men who hang around the barber shops which seem to be their main gathering place. It must be a third world cultural thing that these thugs are all getting their hair cut at 10-11 pm at night-there’s a lot of action at the barber shops for sure.

Most of the older families of Italian, Irish, Polish and European descent have left for the neighboring small towns where English is still the main language and the schools are better.

The liberal Dems who still live in the little city proudly send their kids to schools that are now 90% Hispanic and English is of course a second language. Taxes have gone up significantly to pay for all the help that the third world children and their parents need. I love it when I go to the local supermarket during the day and I see the wonderful families lined up to pay for their groceries. There’s young able bodied “dad”, young pregnant “mom” one kid in the carriage and another toddler holding on. Their hundreds of dollars worth of groceries are easily paid for with the latest benefit card that my tax dollars support.

So even if Trump & Co.. do everything right from here on out, for many places, even in our President’s own back yard, it’s kind of too late.

For more ‘comments worth noting’ from readers and guest opinion pieces, click here.

New York Times says refugee resettlement good for NY state, but doesn't tell the whole story

02/21/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

What else can we expect from the NYT! Or, most of the mainstream media for that matter.
A report in the NY Times yesterday (hat tip: Joanne) glosses over the problems with the placement of poverty on top of poverty in upstate cities, misleads us about Obama’s 2017 wish list, and skims over the fact that ‘religious’ charities are sucking down taxpayer dollars like there is no tomorrow.
BTW, refugees are generally not placed in New York city because the contractors can’t find enough cheap housing.

screenshot-332 — Assuming there is only one Jesse McKinley at the NYT: https://bayarea.blogs.nytimes.com/whos-who-on-the-blog/

So Buffalo fits the bill!
Only two things worth mentioning in this overly long and biased news about how refugees are supposedly revitalizing slums.
First this!

Reporter Jesse McKinley seems to think that churches becoming mosques is somehow a positive thing! Really!

BUFFALO — Newcomers have filled up hundreds of empty homes and apartments, and poured money and energy into destitute neighborhoods. Former churches have been reborn as mosques…

And, then this (below) made me laugh—Catholic Charities can’t have it both ways!
The majority of their funding for placing refugees in New York state cities comes from the federal government. Yet, now that refugees have a negative view of the federal government, Catholic Charities of Buffalo wants to pretend they are a non-profit group!

screenshot-334 — Mr. Walczyk, why not try doing your charitable Christian good works with your own privately-raised money!

Dennis C. Walczyk, chief executive of Catholic Charities of Buffalo, said that the president’s order had spread suspicion among new arrivals.

“They’re questioning us,” Mr. Walczyk said, adding: “Even though we’re all independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental agencies, the connection seems to be being made by some of our clientele, that, ‘Well, you’re an arm of the government.’”

Yes, Mr. Walczyk, you are an arm of the government! How about doing your ‘religious’ charitable work with private money and then you can claim independence!
McKinley continues….

Groups like Mr. Walczyk’s do receive an administrative payment for their work in settling new arrivals — $900 per person — and the potential loss of that money is another point of concern, though refugee placements have restarted. Some resettlement groups across the state have already tightened their belts, and reduced staffs, reflecting President Trump’s immigration order and his administration’s plan to accept 50,000 refugees this federal fiscal year, as opposed to the target of 110,000 set by President Barack Obama.

Reporter wants readers to believe 110,000 is normal!

Darn lazy liberal reporters never tell you that this “target” set by Obama (for a year he would no longer be in the WH) is first only a ceiling not a target!

And besides, if Obama was so set on that huge number (110,000!) why wasn’t he anywhere close to that number for the previous 8 years! (Ceilings were set at 70,000-80,000 but he only occasionally came close to hitting the ceiling).
Numbers resettled in Obama years (from data here):

FY09: 74,654

FY10: 73,311

FY11: 56,424

FY12: 58,238

FY13: 69,926

FY14: 69,987

FY15: 69,993

FY16: 84,894

screenshot-337
On a whim, I decided to see just how much of your tax dollars Catholic Charities of Buffalo, NY is burning through.

Yikes! At USASpending.gov we see that since 2008 they received $43,153,870 in grants and subgrants—43 Million!!!

So why aren’t reporters like Mr. McKinley doing this kind of research and questioning what is driving the refugee industry? (We know the answer!)
There should be a law, if you are receiving federal grants you shouldn’t be allowed to whine to reporters and otherwise work against the President.
Readers, look up your local Catholic Charities and prepare to be shocked!
We have posted many many times about New York over the years, but here is one post that will help you get started with your education on the subject!

NY: As refugee contractors begin to run out of federal money, they turn to state legislatures looking for millions

02/17/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We told you earlier this morning that refugee contracting agencies (see list below) are closing some of their satellite offices.
The UN/US Refugee Admissions Program is numbers-driven since refugees arrive in the US with federal funding attached to each one—administration of that money (your money) is left to the ‘non-profit’ resettlement agencies. As the Trump Administration cuts the numbers, there is commensurate reduction in funding for non-profit groups!
Here we learn in New York that the federal contractors who operate in the state are looking to state taxpayers to make up their loss of federal funding.

Why aren’t they out raising private money from all of the ‘humanitarians’ they claim want this program?

If you live in New York state you better let your state legislators know what you think!
From the Poughkeepsie Journal (hat tip:Jim):

ALBANY – Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday called for a $12 million boost in state funding for upstate’s refugee resettlement agencies.

harry-bronson — Assemblyman Harry Bronson: Wants $12 million for refugees in New York state. And, we are told this program doesn’t cost anything to state and local taxpayers!

The request for additional funding came in response to President Trump’s 120-day ban on refugee travel to the U.S., though the order has been placed on hold by a federal court.

The vast majority of refugees who resettled in New York last year migrated upstate, with about 94 percent settling outside of New York City, according to U.S. State Department data. [They didn’t “migrate” upstate they were placed there by federal refugee contractors mostly operating in secrecy!—ed]

The Mid-Hudson Refugee Solidarity Alliance has been working with the nonprofit group Church World Services to open a resettlement office in the City of Poughkeepsie since April. Church World Service has plans to place 80 refugees from Syria, Iraq and the Congo in Poughkeepsie.

[….]

The funding push was backed Wednesday by a handful of Assembly Democrats. It comes as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers are negotiating a state budget that will top $150 billion.

“This funding will allow us to provide services and programs that will help refugee families successfully become contributing members of communities across New York state,” Assemblyman Harry Bronson, D-Rochester, said in a statement.

sean-ryan — Assemblyman Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, and other lawmakers call for state help to fund refugee resettlement centers Wednesday at the Capitol’s Million Dollar Staircase in Albany. http://wxxinews.org/post/refugee-centers-ny-face-funding-crisis

Under the proposed plan, $2 million would go toward allowing refugee resettlement agencies to continue working at capacity and make up for any revenue that was lost during the 120-day ban, if re-enacted.

The Assembly members also requested $5 million to be included in the state budget to fund legal services to refugees.

The remaining $5 million would go toward allowing resettlement agencies to provide an additional 90 days of services to refugees, up from the current 90.

Certainly one thing that the present situation has highlighted is the FACT that refugee contractors are paid by the head!

“If resettlement agencies are no longer able to accept refugees for a 120-day period, they are no longer receiving funding,” Assemblyman Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, said in a statement. “This will lead to staff cuts, and resettlement agencies will no longer be able to provide services to refugees who have already come to New York.”

Read on here.
See our huge archive on New York, consistently one of the top states in America to ‘welcome’ refugees.
And, see our recent posts on Poughkeepsie, here.
Be sure to keep an eye out in your state for the legislature or state assembly to try to slip funding in for non-profit groups that should have been raising private money (for their ‘religious charitable’ work) for decades!
Here are the nine major federal contracting agencies now desperate for more of your money:

Administrative tweeks may help school systems cope with refugee kids, but….

02/02/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

….if members of Congress do not grow spines and begin to revamp/rewrite the Refugee Act of 1980, anything President Trump does now will be lost in 4 or 8 years.

And, whether Trump’s EO does even half of what it promises will depend on who becomes the Asst. Sec. of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, and who becomes the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS).

Here is Betsy McCaughey writing at the New York Post about beleaguered school districts coping with large numbers (and costs) of refugee children the school system wasn’t expecting (due to the secrecy surrounding their placement).
I don’t have time to link all of the places we have identified in the past having such problems, but search RRW for Lancaster, PA, Amarillo, TX, Manchester, NH and Utica, NY.
New York Post (hat tip: Judy and others):

Public schools beleaguered by waves of refugees will get a breather thanks to President Trump’s executive order suspending refugee entry for 120 days. And under Trump’s new policy, when the US reopens its doors to refugees, local communities will be consulted. That beats the Obama administration’s dictatorial approach, which has overwhelmed many school districts. [Bush and all the Presidents before him did nothing to allow communities any say either—-ed]

Until now, refugee children have been placed in districts with little or no advance notice. Arriving from countries like Congo, Burma, Somalia and Syria, they speak no English and bear the signs of trauma from their ordeals. They need interpreters, counselors and attention. But often they’re placed in the poorest school districts — which can least afford them.

aclu-lancaster-lawsuit-2e16d0ba-fill-735x490 — Refugee students with their stable of ACLU lawyers sue ‘welcoming’ Lancaster, PA for not giving refugee students a better education. http://www.phillyvoice.com/refugees-suing-pennsylvania-school-district/

School authorities try to be welcoming, but no good deed goes unpunished. The American Civil Liberties Union is targeting these communities, claiming they’re not doing enough for refugees. On top of the costs of educating the refugees, towns are getting slapped with lawsuits and legal fees.

The State Department decides where refugees are settled. The feds pay nonprofits such as Catholic Charities to rent and furnish apartments for refugees, enroll them in English class and put their children in public school.

In New York, upstate cities like Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica are magnets for resettlement because the $900-a-month housing stipend goes a lot farther than in New York City or on Long Island.

Buffalo has absorbed 10,000 refugees in the last decade. At Lafayette High School there, 45 languages are spoken, 70 percent of students are just learning English and nearly 40 percent missed years of schooling before arriving.

More here.
BTW, George Soros is one of the ACLU’s biggest sugar-daddies!
See tag ‘Where is Congress’ on this and other refugee-related issues (hint: most are hiding!).

Poughkeepsie: Church World Service has signed lease, refugees coming

01/18/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The opposition that had begun to grow seems to have waned according to Poughkeepsie mayor Rob Rolison and Church World Service is expecting refugees shortly apparently confident that Donald Trump will not stop the flow anytime soon.
Although, opening the office and then having to close it, if Trump does pause the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program, will serve them well as a public relations hammer to use on the Trump administration meanies. So, it isn’t a crazy gamble on their part.

poughkeepsie-map — Refugees to be placed within 50 mile radius of Poughkeepsie.

Remember, refugee resettlement is a business dependent on your tax dollars and the federal contractors are skilled political fighters and will use those abilities to keep their federal money flowing. (See CWS could not exist without your money!)

Here is the latest from Poughkeepsie. (See our previous posts here)

A refugee resettlement program in the Hudson Valley is on schedule to welcome its first families this month. Church World Service has found office space in Poughkeepsie and volunteers in the region are ready to lend a hand.

Church World Service has signed a lease for office space in the Family Partnership Center in Poughkeepsie and the welcome mat is out, with staff and volunteers at the ready. Church World Service is one of nine resettlement agencies that contracts with the federal government to resettle refugees across the country. Church World Service, as announced in November, expects 80 individuals to relocate within a 50-mile radius of Poughkeepsie through September.

Reverend Chris Antal is president of the Greater Newburgh Interfaith Council, which represents about a dozen faith communities in Orange County. The Council is a partner of the Mid-Hudson Refugee Solidarity Alliance and has established a welcome team. And Antal says the Council recently received an anonymous donation. [Someone gave them $10,000 for the effort to bring mostly Muslim third worlders to Poughkeepsie.—ed]

[….]

At a Church World Service meeting in Poughkeepsie in November, senior director for the organization’s Immigration and Refugee Program Sarah Krause said a priority is being placed on Congolese and Syrian refugees as well as Iraqis with special immigrant visas for the Poughkeepsie region.

[….]

Meanwhile, Democratic Assemblyman Frank Skartados says he hopes to work with the community to help refugees.

As is usual, the plan to resettle refugees was sprung on the community. Secrecy is its watchword (unless of course you are an insider in the interfaith community network!).

His district includes both the cities of Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. Some area residents at the November meeting expressed concern about the resettlement effort. And some say resources should be spent on Hudson Valley residents. Others are concerned the initial number of refugees could skyrocket, plus took issue with being informed of the program late in the process without many answers to their questions.

[….]

City of Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison says any talk of formal opposition seems to have waned.

More details here.