Tag: North Dakota

Was “man” Who Slaughtered Teen in North Dakota a Refugee?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

That is the question I’ve had more than once in the last couple of days.

If you don’t know what happened see my post yesterday at ‘Frauds and Crooks’ here:

Fargo, North Dakota: “Man” Attacks Skateboarder in Deadly Knife Assault

You will see that I put the word “man” in quotes  and that is because that is what the media does, use the word man, when the alleged killer, rapist or criminal is of a race or nationality that doesn’t fit the corporate media message that diversity is beautiful.

But, I can’t always fault reporters who don’t dig deeper because frankly unless the man accused of a crime mentions his immigration status (often as part of his defense) there is almost no way for citizens to know if someone is here via the US Refugee Admissions Program, Temporary Protected Status, Special Immigrant Visa, the Green Card Lottery, as an Unaccompanied Alien Child, or on a worker visa, and the list goes on.

Or, is the perp a run-of-the mill border jumper or did he overstay a visa and just disappear into America?

The Trump Administration ended our ability to learn more about the refugees coming to your towns and cities.

For years we could at least make an educated guess if a criminal in the news was a refugee. 

We could narrow the field because the US State Department had a data clearinghouse where we could see what nationalities refugees were and where they were being placed right down to the city in which they were resettled.

Limited information is available, but that extensive data is no longer accessible to the public.

By the way, as for the creep in North Dakota, Heavy says there is no information on where he is from (I guessed Liberia in my post):

According to police, Kollie did not have a permanent address and information about his family and other details of his background were not immediately available.

I’m thinking that the average American, not an immigration policy wonk like you and me, doesn’t care which “program” admitted the criminal, most people just want less of them admitted.

However, if we are ever going to improve immigration in America we need to know where the holes are where criminals, terrorists and the mentally ill and others who just want to suck off the US taxpayers are getting through the system and arriving in places like Fargo, North Dakota.

I’m dreaming!

I’ve said this before, but how about a federal law that requires all law enforcement to publish the immigration status of any criminal charged with a felony?  And, not just whether they are legally here or not, but through which route they came to be living in the community where they have committed a serious crime.

Back to my headline question….

The Leftwing media (even law enforcement) expects us to stay silent when they keep quiet about the immigration status of a criminal.

I will bet law enforcement in Fargo knows Kollie’s status and maybe an enterprising local reporter will unearth the information. He could, after all, be a born and bred African-American.

But, as long as no one is confirming if Kollie is a refugee (or not a refugee) from West Africa, then go ahead and call him a refugee!

After all, everyone is a refugee these days! 

I am referring to the Leftwing propagandists and all of the political leaders here and around the world who have used the refugee label to put a positive spin on anyone on the move for any reason anywhere.

If we call all the evil doers refugees, then maybe, just maybe, the need for clarity in the use of the word will dawn on them!

Fargo, North Dakota: Deputy Mayor Surprised to Learn Refugees Still Arriving

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Editor:  I started this post yesterday, but couldn’t finish it as RRW went down for awhile making me very nervous.  I don’t know what that was about, but it seems to be working fine today.  Sure hope you didn’t experience any problems visiting.

 

I told you back in January that Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota had filed for bankruptcy after getting mired in some affordable housing scheme that is too complex to bother with here.

In the process they are losing their fancy and expensive building, a building I saw in my 2016 travels to the state.

North Dakota: Lutheran Refugee Contractor Closes its Doors

So the assumption was that refugee flow into the state was going to be halted at least for awhile.

You might recall that North Dakota’s Republican governor did NOT support President Trump’s effort at reforming the Refugee Admissions Program by allowing local and state governments to have some say in the process of determining the target sites for resettlement.

Here is what I said in December of 2019:

North Dakota Republican Governor is a Definite Yes for More Refugees

That brings us to the latest breaking news as Fargo’s Valley News Live says that refugees are being placed in Fargo:

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn said Tuesday that he sat in on a phone call in which Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services stated that they had resettled approximately 25 refugees in Fargo-Moorhead. Deputy Mayor Piepkorn shared concern that he had not been made aware of the resettlement and he questioned whether the City of Fargo was notified prior to rehoming the refugees.

Too funny! NOT! The woman who ran LSSND as it was financially crashing is now working for the governor!

Questions have been raised as to how the action was coordinated. Prior to filing bankruptcy, Lutheran Social Services (LSS) was tasked with refugee resettlement in the state.

Former LSS Director, Jessica Thomasson, now works as the Executive Policy Director at ND Department of Human Services.

The country of origin of the refugees was not made known. In a recent interview with Chris Berg, Gov. Burgum stated that he was open to resettling refugees in the state but he was unaware of any plan to resettle undocumented immigrants from the southern border.

Be sure to watch Chris Berg’s interview with Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn where Piepkorn says he doubts anyone was notified and mentioned specifically the school system.

In response to Deputy Mayor Piepkorn….

President Trump’s failed reform initiative sought to give local governments an opportunity to review plans for resettlement in their jurisdictions with a yes or no sign-off, governors would also have to approve or disapprove the plan.

Shockingly, most Republican governors, including North Dakota’s Doug Burgum, did not back the President’s efforts to shore-up their Tenth Amendment states’ rights.

Here is one of many, many posts on the feckless Republican governors:

White House Supposedly Blindsided as Republican Governors Cave on Refugee Resettlement

 

At present local governments are supposed to be consulted, but I will bet that the resettlement agency only talked to friendly “stakeholders” in the process of preparing an “abstract” that must be submitted to the US State Department in advance of placements in a given location.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-dakota/articles/2021-01-25/burgum-state-to-take-over-refugee-resettlement-after-lss

Any elected official should be able to request permission to attend a stakeholder meeting and be permitted to see a recent R & P Abstract  prepared by  a local resettlement contractor.

See one of my many posts on the topic here in January 2020.

Of course, in the case of ND (with no agency operating at the moment), one would most likely go to the state’s Department of Human Services for the most recent Abstract and a schedule of stakeholder meetings.

LOL! that would be the agency now headed by former LSS CEO Thomasson.

 

One final note:  For years we were able to see which refugees went to which towns and cities on an almost daily basis and all the way back to 2002. That database is no longer available. It was shuttered during Trump’s tenure.  The feds claimed the website is being overhauled.

Except for the most recent arrivals in the present fiscal year, we are left completely in the dark about the numbers, nationalities and resettlement locations of thousands and thousands of refugee arrivals.

That tiny bit of information is available here.

North Dakota: Lutheran Refugee Contractor Closes its Doors

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota, which only a few years ago built its fancy ($$$) new office building, is in financial ruin.

 

Well that is one less resettlement subcontractor of the hundreds operating around the US that are eagerly awaiting the new flood of refugees Biden and Harris are promising.

Here is the news (welcomed by those North Dakotans who have been strenuously objecting to the placement of more impoverished third worlders into their state).

From the Grand Forks Herald  (hat tip: John):

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota to close its doors; 283 jobs will be affected

FARGO — Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota CEO and President Bob Otterson told employees in a company-wide video meeting Friday, Jan. 15, that the 102-year-old agency will be closing its doors.

In an emotional exchange, Otterson — who has been in the position for only 45 days — told employees that, due to the heavy drain on resources caused by LSSND’s housing department, the agency could no longer survive. Otterson said the ongoing financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic also compounded the agency’s financial difficulties.

Otterson said several LSSND programs will continue, including the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program and Abound Counseling, but they will no longer be known as part of the agency.

Otterson said that as part of the agency’s controlled liquidation plan, many employees will receive notification that their jobs have ended today, but some staff will continue working for several more weeks to help transition clients to other agencies.

Keep reading, apparently they got out on a financial limb in the housing industry (I’ve never understood the housing industry involvement refugee contractors have gotten into.).

LSSND located in Fargo was the only resettlement contractor in the state. See if you have a contractor working near you: https://www.wrapsnet.org/documents/2290-PRM-FY20-Affiliate-Sites-Large.pdf

 

The scope of social services LSS offers is broad, including counseling, aid for youth and families, and affordable housing. However, in recent years, the organization is perhaps most often associated with refugee resettlement.

It’s taken criticism over the number of refugees who have come to North Dakota, in recent years in particular.

To learn more about the huge controversy over refugees in North Dakota see my archive on the state.

See LSSND’s most recent IRS Form 990 by clicking here.  Note that in an income stream in that most recent year of $18 million, over $8 million came from government grants (that of course is you, the taxpayers!).  

Here is a screenshot of their income page. Be sure to scroll through to see salaries and other expenses.

 

I never thought of it before, but I wonder if taxpayers in ND can ask for an audit of where all the grant money came from and where it went.

By the way, LSSND was a subcontractor of one of the big nine federal contractors, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.  The US State Department funnels refugees through one of the big nine which in turn funnels federal dollars and refugees to its so-called affiliates (aka subcontractors).

That map above locates the subcontractors and identifies who their motherships are.

For new readers here are the top nine supposed charities that put refugees before American citizens.

North Dakota COVID Hotspot Growing at Plant Employing Refugees

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 1 Comment

I am not saying the large number of African refugees working at a wind turbine plant brought any virus to North Dakota, but I think you can see the problem brewing in large plants that employ immigrants many of whom do not speak English and live in close-knit immigrant enclaves.

 

A picture worth a thousand words taken at a public meeting last December as a debate raged in North Dakota about whether the state would ‘welcome’ more refugees. https://bismarcktribune.com/opinion/editorial/tribune-editorial-resettlement-meeting-could-have-gone-better/article_62c88028-e6b9-512c-875f-6a0d0194f2b2.html

 

From an AP story posted at the Stamford Advocate:

Testing held near North Dakota plant while virus cases climb

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Health officials and National Guard members spent Thursday afternoon screening people for the coronavirus after eight positive tests were confirmed among workers at a North Dakota wind turbine plant that employs a large number of immigrants from African countries.

The drive-thru screenings outside the LM Wind Power in Grand Forks took place on a day when state officials reported a record number of new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day. A total of 52 cases were confirmed in the last two days, including 28 on Thursday.

Cars were lined up in four lanes outside the LM plant, where officials administered 424 tests in five hours to people who may have come in close contact with the infected workers, said John Bernstrom, spokesman for the city of Grand Forks.

Shirley Dykshoorn

Shirley Dykshoorn, vice president at Lutheran Social Services in Fargo, the state’s refugee resettlement agency, said many of the employees are immigrants or former refugees who have worked at the plant for some time.

“Most of them have good English skills,” Dykshoorn said. “Maybe not as many in their family understand everything so we’ve tried to support them and help them with what they need going forward.”

Dr. Paul Carson, a public health and infectious disease specialist at North Dakota State University and adviser to the governor’s COVID-19 team, said he’s not surprised to see several cases pop up in a large plant. He said it’s important to aggressively pursue people who came in close contact with those who are infected.

“We’re going to find these little flare-ups and I think we should accept them. What we need to able to do is jump on them and try to prevent them from going any further,” Carson said. “We want to avoid what happened with the meat packing plant down in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.”

I had planned to post Neil Munro’s piece at Breitbart from a few days ago about problems in the meatpacking industry with the spread of the virus.  See it here.

Over half of the more than 1,300 cases in South Dakota have been tied to an outbreak at a Smithfield pork processing plant in Sioux Falls.

The plant is one of the largest known clusters of COVID-19 cases in the country. A total of 598 employees have confirmed infections, plus 135 of their close contacts.

More here.

Sigh! Giant global corporations with a voracious appetite for immigrant labor changing the heartland one town at a time.

I’ve been writing about North Dakota for years and it was one of the states I visited during my 2016 road trip through the Midwest and West to see the impact of refugee labor on communities throughout middle America.  See my North Dakota archive.

North Dakota: County Commissioner Takes Lutheran Resettlement Agency to Task

~ Ann Corcoran ~ 2 Comments

I reported here in December that Burleigh County commissioners held a couple of contentious meetings on the question of whether the county would continue receiving refugees under the President’s new reform plan.

Although their decision was not exactly overwhelming, the fact that this county commission actually held a hearing to take the pulse of the community is very significant. All across the country governors and local elected officials are deciding behind closed doors. Demand public hearings!

 

Lutheran Social Services recently reported to the commissioners that all was quiet and few refugees were arriving.

The headline from the Bismarck Tribune focuses on that.

However, read on.

Commissioner Brian Bitner does something rarely seen when the subject of the financial impact refugees have on the community comes up—he called out Lutheran Social Services for providing deceptive information.

See who produced that information….

From the Bismarck Tribune:

New refugee family won’t count toward cap; Bitner criticizes provided information

 

http://research.newamericaneconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/nae-nd-report.pdf

Commissioner Brian Bitner, who voted against refugee resettlement, on Wednesday criticized Lutheran Social Services for including information that he said wasn’t appropriate in its proposal to continue resettling refugees.

In its application to the county, Lutheran Social Services included a 2017-18 study from the state Legislature’s Human Services Committee that cited a report provided by New American Economy, a New York-based immigration research nonprofit, in a section on the “Benefits of Refugee Resettlement.” Despite the title, the section cited data on “New Americans” — a term that doesn’t mean just refugees.

Bloomberg’s big bucks buy glossy studies and the media falls for it!

This is Michael Bloomberg’s baby! He wants cheap labor for fat cats!

For readers who do not follow my other blog, ‘Frauds and Crooks’ you need to know that the New American Economy is Michael Bloomberg‘s plan for American immigration.

He and his cohorts have been spreading their Open Borders propaganda for ten years, so you can’t trust his numbers to begin with!

This is what the Left (and rich RINO Rs) do, they publish glossy studies and everyone, including the gullible media, never questions it.

It sure looks like one county commissioner isn’t fooled!

The Bismarck Tribune continues….

“Except where otherwise noted, we define an immigrant as anyone born outside the country to non-U.S. citizen parents who is a resident in the United States,” Nan Wu, New American Economy Deputy Director of Qualitative Research, said in an email about her group’s report. “This includes naturalized citizens, green card holders, temporary visa holders, refugees, asylees, and undocumented immigrants, among others. So refugees are included when we refer to “New Americans” or immigrants in the report.”

The section said “New Americans” in North Dakota paid $36.4 million in state and local taxes, $66.9 million in Social Security taxes and $16.2 million in Medicare taxes, and earned $559.6 million of income.

“The information regarding benefits of that was not information that was relative to refugees, it was information that was pertinent to foreign-born individuals,” Bitner said. “And so I (studied) the source of the information to find out it was census data that they used.”

He added: “And in the census data they were clear that it wasn’t possible to separate out any of the categories of immigration from that information. So the refugee information that was provided to us was not refugee information.”

More here.

County Commissioner recall.

I never did get a chance to post on it, but this is interesting news about a recall effort going on in Burleigh County.