Tag: Office of Refugee Resettlement

Expert asks: Why are refugee resettlement contracting agencies not being audited?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Dan Cadman, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies with 30 years of service at INS/ICE, asks a question I’ve asked and many are asking around the country:  why are the federal resettlement contractors, which gobble-up millions of federal dollars every year, not being financially audited? 
Taxpayers of America have a right to know just exactly how the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, for instance, is spending our money.
Years ago I was told by a senior State Department official that financial audits of contractors just aren’t done.  They are only audited with program audits I was told—you know, like that easy to manipulate accounting about how many refugees in their care got jobs.  Things like that.

bob_carey_large_photo_1
This is Bob Carey the new director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. He came to ORR from the International Rescue Committee, a contractor. Maybe someone should ask Mr. Carey where the fiscal audits are filed especially the ones for his former employer which received over $330 million from taxpayers in one recent year! http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/staff-directory

According to Cadman, it is already the law that the contractors must be fiscally audited.  Any pro-bono lawyers out there?

Here is Cadman today at the Center for Immigration Studies (hat tip: Richard at Blue Ridge Forum):

The Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (DOJ OIG) has issued a report on its audit of two grants funded by DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) to a Georgia entity called Tapestri, Inc., which describes its mission as “end[ing] violence and oppression in refugee and immigrant communities”, according to the report.

Though required by law, audits of immigrant and refugee-related grants are rare.

He goes on to describe that particular audit finding, then this:

OMB Circular A-133, and its accompanying yearly compliance supplements, lay out specific requirements for fiscal audits of grantees and contractors receiving federal funds across the array of cabinet departments and agencies, such as the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services, whose Refugee and Entrant program is governed by CFDA 93.566 for the 2015 compliance supplement.

[….]

This is the third time of late that I’ve spoken to financial issues relating to awards granted to various organizations for sheltering and protection programs of refugees, alien entrants, and sundry migrants (including unaccompanied minors and families who have crossed the border illegally). These programs that receive huge amounts of taxpayer funding (see here and here) — and by huge, I mean billions of dollars.

Yet, with the exception of the DOJ OIG, I find little evidence of audits being undertaken, despite the vast dollar amounts or the clearly articulated OMB requirements. Certainly they are not readily to be found on public websites of the various OIG offices, nor those of the offices of primary responsibility within Homeland Security or Health and Human Services.

How could this be? Why has OMB not chastised the remiss agencies? Why has the Government Accountability Office not singled them out? Is the public not entitled to know who is receiving hundreds of millions in federal dollars, and how they are being spent?

I hope this is useful information for our growing number of ‘Pockets of Resistance.’

US Senator asks: Did ORR endanger Unaccompanied Alien Children?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Whew!  This is some incredible bit of news about Unaccompanied Alien Children who might have been trafficked with the help of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the agency charged with keeping them safe.

Some of the ‘children’ may have been handed over to traffickers once in the US!

From the Columbus Dispatch (hat tip: Julie):

A federal indictment that charged four people with illegally smuggling Guatemalan teenagers into the United States and forcing them to work at Ohio egg farms indicates that some of the teens had gone through an immigration process that might have put them directly into the hands of the traffickers.

Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and co-chairman of the Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking, said that’s alarming.

He sent a letter on Monday demanding answers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the process for unaccompanied minors who come into this country and are then apprehended by immigration officials.

According to the charges against those accused of running the forced-labor ring, at least five of the victims had been through a process involving the Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in which unaccompanied immigrant children are placed under the care and custody of the ORR office.

Federal law requires that that office be responsible for all aspects of their care until a sponsor comes forward and seeks custody. ORR’s website refers to its “strong policies” in place because “these children may have histories of abuse or may be seeking safety from threats of violence. They may have been trafficked or smuggled.”

The government’s website says that sponsors are generally family members, must have passed a background check and must agree that they will adequately care for the children, keep them safe from abuse and cooperate with the immigration process.

In this case, the indictment said the traffickers recruited vulnerable Guatemalan juveniles and brought them to the U.S., then arranged to “have an associate falsely represent himself to immigration officials as the victim’s family friend and submit fraudulent Family Reunification Applications to ORR.”

Over the years we have written often about the Unaccompanied Alien Children which were previously referred to as Unaccompanied Minors. So all of our posts are archived under that second term—Unaccompanied Minors.

Concerned about refugees coming to your state? Get your state plan!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

According to regulations promulgated under the Refugee Act of 1980, every state resettling refugees must submit a plan to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (at HHS) and keep it current.  That means every state, but Wyoming (so far).

 

This ORR map gives you some idea of the number of cities with refugee resettlement offices. They got ahead of themselves and put a Casper, WY office in when that program seems to be stalled. Map is here if you want to try to get a clearer look at it: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/fy2014-reception-and-placement-rp-network-affiliates-map

 

I would like everyone concerned about the Refugee Resettlement Program to contact your state coordinator today and ask for your state’s plan. 

The coordinators are listed here.  Tell them that according to the 45 CFR Section 400.4 and 400.5 they should have a current plan on file.

If you get a runaround, get their address and send them a formal letter.

Here are the regulations from 45 CFR Section 400.4:

(b) A State must certify no later than 30 days after the beginning of each Federal fiscal year that the approved State plan is current and continues in effect. If a State wishes to change its plan, a State must submit a proposed amendment to the plan. The proposed amendment will be reviewed and approved or disapproved in accordance with §400.8.

 

From Section 400.5,  this is what the plan must include:

The plan must:

(a) Provide for the designation of, and describe the organization and functions of, a State agency (or agencies) responsible for developing the plan and administering, or supervising the administration of, the plan;

(b) Describe how the State will coordinate cash and medical assistance with support services to ensure their successful use to encourage effective refugee resettlement and to promote employment and economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.

(c) Describe how the State will ensure that language training and employment services are made available to refugees receiving cash assistance, and to other refugees, including State efforts to actively encourage refugee registration for employment services;

(d) Identify an individual designated by the Governor or the appropriate legislative authority of the State, with the title of State Coordinator, who is employed by the State and will have the responsibility and authority to ensure coordination of public and private resources in refugee resettlement in the State;

(e) Provide for, and describe the procedures established for, the care and supervision of, and legal responsibility (including legal custody and/or guardianship under State law, as appropriate) for, unaccompanied refugee children in the State;

(f) Provide for and describe (1) the procedures established to identify refugees who, at the time of resettlement in the State, are determined to have medical conditions requiring, or medical histories indicating a need for, treatment or observation, and (2) the procedures established to monitor any necessary treatment or observation;

(g) Provide that assistance and services funded under the plan will be provided to refugees without regard to race, religion, nationality, sex, or political opinion; and

(h) Provide that the State will, unless exempted from this requirement by the Director, assure that meetings are convened, not less often than quarterly, whereby representatives of local resettlement agencies, local community service agencies, and other agencies that serve refugees meet with representatives of State and local governments to plan and coordinate the appropriate placement of refugees in advance of the refugees’ arrival. All existing exemptions to this requirement will expire 90 days after the effective date of this rule. Any State that wishes to be exempted from the provisions regarding the holding and frequency of meetings may apply by submitting a written request to the Director. The request must set forth the reasons why the State considers these meetings unnecessary because of the absence of problems associated with the planning and coordination of refugee placement. An approved exemption will remain in effect for three years, at which time a State may reapply.

(i) Provide that the State will:

(1) Comply with the provisions of title IV, Chapter 2, of the Act and official issuances of the Director;

(2) Meet the requirements in this part;

(3) Comply with all other applicable Federal statutes and regulations in effect during the time that it is receiving grant funding; and

(4) Amend the plan as needed to comply with standards, goals, and priorities established by the Director.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0960–0418)

[51 FR 3912, Jan. 30, 1986, as amended at 60 FR 33602, June 28, 1995; 65 FR 15443, Mar. 22, 2000]

Let us know what you find!

Nine major federal resettlement contractors are choosing which towns get refugees; citizens kept in the dark

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

People ask me all the time, who is targeting our towns? 

Frankly, it is the nine major federal contractors (not accountable to the US taxpayer!)*** contracted by the US State Department as you can see from this page at the US State Department website. (Emphasis is mine)

Have a look at Key Indicators for Resettlement “Stakeholders.” This one has FY2014 on the cover but they say it is for FY2015 (I haven’t seen the newest one yet). When the federal govt. and its contractors began to run into ‘pockets of resistance’ they instituted this planning process to try to figure out which states had the best goodies for refugees, so you might find it useful. For example if your state expanded Medicaid under Obamacare, you are a more likely target than a state that didn’t! http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/news/key-indicators-for-refugee-placement-fy2015-report-released

US State Department:

Planning for Refugees’ Arrival in the United States

The Department of State works with nine domestic resettlement agencies that have proven knowledge and resources to resettle refugees. Every week, representatives of each of these nine agencies meet to review the biographic information and other case records sent by the overseas Resettlement Support Centers (RSC) to determine where a refugee will be resettled in the United States. During this meeting, the resettlement agencies match the particular needs of each incoming refugee with the specific resources available in a local community. If a refugee has relatives in the United States, he or she is likely to be resettled near or with them. Otherwise, the resettlement agency that agrees to sponsor the case decides on the best match between a community’s resources and the refugee’s needs.

Information about the sponsoring agency is communicated back to the originating RSC, which then works with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to transport the refugee to his or her new home. The cost of refugee transportation is provided as a loan, which refugees are required to begin repaying after they are established in the United States.

Once in the United States

The Department of State has cooperative agreements with nine domestic resettlement agencies to resettle refugees. While some of the agencies have religious affiliations, they are not allowed to proselytize. The standard cooperative agreement between the Department of State and each of the domestic resettlement agencies specifies the services that the agency must provide to each refugee. All together, the nine domestic resettlement agencies place refugees in about 190 communities throughout the United States. Each agency headquarters maintains contact with its local affiliated agencies to monitor the resources (e.g., interpreters who speak various languages, the size and special features of available housing, the availability of schools with special services, medical care, English classes, employment services, etc.) that each affiliate’s community can offer.

Key points of this brief description:

1) The NON-Governmental resettlement contractors meet every week to talk about who is going where in the US depending on what resources your town has to offer.

2) Refugees must repay travel loans, however what they don’t tell you is that the contractor gives refugees dunning notices and then gets to keep 25% of the money (your tax dollars) they collect.  So we often see as much as $2-3 million additional income the contractor pockets from collecting these loans.

3) The sub-contractors (aka affiliates) in 190 towns and cities are monitoring the resources your town has and filtering that information back to the nine major contractors.  So why can’t they share that information with you—the citizens of the town?   Wouldn’t you like to know the availability of places in the school system for children who don’t speak English, availability of housing, what health care opportunities exist in YOUR town? Etc.  How about an impact statement prepared by the contractor and feds and available for public review in your town?

About the Key Indicators:  The feds and the contractors hold quarterly “placement consultation meetings.”  I have written and asked to be informed of the location of upcoming ones, but have never had my request answered.   Also, check the section on “secondary migration” which is when refugees settled in one state pick up and move to another, mostly to be with their own kind of people.  Top state for secondary migration is Minnesota.

This post is filed in our category ‘where to find information,’ here.

***Nine major federal contractors which like to call themselves VOLAGs (Voluntary agencies) which is such a joke considering how much federal money they receive:

How many refugees did your state “welcome” in FY2014? Where were they from?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Sorry readers, after being away from the computer these last three days, I am woefully behind—lots of stories have passed me by.  Going to try to catch up!

If this looks familiar it is! But, we have so many new readers it bears repeating.

Just before I left, reader P.K. sent me this link for data at the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement that I hadn’t seen in such a handy fashion.  We did previously give a year-end wrap-up last October here where the numbers were slightly different, but close.

We are repeating this news for the many new readers who have joined us since then.

By the way, although we resettled 69,986 refugees in FY2014, that is not the complete story.  The Office of Refugee Resettlement was responsible for over 30,000 asylees and another 58,000 ‘unaccompanied alien children’ being treated as refugees as well  (and, cared for with your tax dollars!)

Top resettlement states for FY 2014 are as follows:

Texas (7,214) Turning red states blue? Someone needs to tell Ted!

California (6,108)

New York (4,082)

Michigan (4,006)

Florida (3,519)

Arizona (2,964)

Ohio (2,815)

Pennsylvania (2,739)

Georgia (2,694)

Illinois (2,578)

Also three other states topped 2,000:  Washington (2,483), North Carolina (2,443) and Minnesota (2,232).

Be sure to visit the Office of Refugee Resettlement here to see where in the world your refugees came from.

What is a fiscal year?  For the purposes of refugee resettlement, a fiscal year runs from October 1 of the previous year to September 30th of the present year.  So, that means we have now completed 5 months of fiscal year 2015.

This post is archived in our ‘Where to find information’ category as well as in ‘Refugee statistics.‘