Tag: Russian refugees

Why do we take any 'refugees' from Russia? Are they even legitimate refugees?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Who are the 47 non-Russians (processed through Russia) that were brought to America in the first 5 months of this fiscal year?

I hope to write more posts on the issue of Processing Country asking why we process refugees in from places where clearly the definition of a refugee is being stretched to something unrecognizable!
(LOL! Since Russia is in the news every day, I’m starting with Russia***).
Legitimate refugees are supposed to have left the country from which they have been persecuted and ask for asylum in the first safe country they arrive in, so what is this business of taking Russian nationals from within Russia? Or, others who got there looking for asylum?
Longtime readers know I have been asking about the Malta scam for years (yes, I will call it a scam) where we take illegal aliens off the hands of the Maltese government for no apparent good reason. (Malta archive here). And, then, not to be overlooked, there is the South Africa ‘refugee’ express to America! And, why are we processing refugees to the US from Israel???
I’ve told you about the Processing Country data at Wrapsnet previously, here.
Each month (of the present fiscal year) the Refugee Processing Center updates the information on those pages for the previous months of the fiscal year.  Therefore, available now is the data from October 1, 2016 to February 28, 2017 (5 months of FY17).  Click here.
 

 
 
Today I was interested in the fact that we processed in to the US 273 ‘refugees’ from Russia in those 5 months.
Of course for years we took tens of thousands from the Communist Soviet Union, but why now?
When one uses other data at Wrapsnet for those same 5 months we see that of the 273, 226 were Russian nationals. 
Who are the other 47 ‘refugees’ we took off Russia’s hands in the last 5 months and why are they our problem?  (Why are any of the 273 our problem for that matter?)
Of the 226 Russian nationals, we clearly had a ‘religious’ test! The top religions of the 226 included 95 Baptists, 68 Pentecostals, and 30 Jews. (We have been perverting the refugee definition for decades with the Lautenberg Amendment).
More troubling to me is: Who are the 47 individuals who got to Russia and are then processed in to the US? Are they from Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq or elsewhere? Were they thoroughly vetted? And, again, why are they our responsibility???
Holy moly!  I just looked up Afghanistan and see that we admitted 988 Afghan refugees in those 5 months! Only 18 were processed in from Afghanistan.  Where in the world were the other 970? Were a few in Russia? Think about it! How thoroughly vetted is an Afghan ‘refugee’ who has wandered to another country!
Russia only takes a tiny number of refugees, see here.  But, I repeat, why is anyone from Russia our problem today?

I sure hope the Trump people in charge of the US Department of State know about all of the perversion of the definition of refugees going on around the world!

***People trying to escape poverty (poor economic conditions) or violence from criminal activity are not legitimate refugees!  A refugee must be able to claim they would be persecuted for their political views, race, religion etc. When you look at the Processing Country map link, here, ask yourselves why on earth are we processing ‘refugees’ from countries with stable governments (in addition to Russia) like Austria, El Salvador, Cuba, Malaysia, South Africa, and ISRAEL (among others!)?

Update on Russian gays seeking asylum in the US

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is Yahoo News filling us in on one of the latest projects of the Open Borders movement—getting Russian gays accepted in the US as refugees.

We have written about this ‘project’ previously here and here.

Aaron Morris, Legal Director Immigration Equality says his legal team has been very successful in getting grants of asylum for their Russian clients. Photo and bio: http://immigrationequality.org/our-staff/aaron-morris/

From Yahoo News (hat tip: Robin):

There are no firm statistics on the number of gay Russian asylum seekers; U.S. government agencies that handle applications do not report such details. However, the Department of Homeland Security’s latest figures show that overall applications for asylum by Russians totaled 969 in the 2014 fiscal year, up 34 percent from 2012.

To get an application approved, an asylum seeker must present a convincing case that he or she has a “well-founded fear of persecution” in their home country. Russia’s anti-gay policies and its record of anti-gay violence are factors that could strengthen an individual’s case.

[….]

Aaron Morris, Immigration Equality’s legal director, said most of the recent asylum inquiries came from gay men in their 20s and 30s who had been targeted by anti-gay attacks, while only a handful have come from gays or lesbians raising children.

We learn that in a small number of cities there are programs in place to help the Russian LGBT visa-holders submit their claims for asylum with lots of lawyers ready to help.  However, since the asylum seekers can’t legally work, obtaining housing and other living expenses is a problem.

The article does mention that lobbying efforts are underway at the US State Department to get Russian gays and lesbians designated as a refugee class which would mean we would go fetch them and bring them to the US rather than the present situation where they must get themselves here and apply for asylum.  If they were refugees chosen abroad, they would get all sorts of social services right off the bat.

Read it all.

Villanova law students help one of the first gay Russians receive asylum, more on the way

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This story published last week in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette gives us some insight into the asylum process in the US especially as it relates to illegal aliens coming across our Mexican border and declaring themselves gay and persecuted.    We see how legal clinics, NGOs and refugee contractors work to get as many granted asylum as they can.

Villanova law professor Michele Pistone has helped 125 aliens receive asylum since 2000.

Also, the article answers one of my questions—-where are all these detainees being housed?  Turns out that some police departments rent bed space to the feds.

I still have one big question plaguing me—how do we know someone isn’t pretending to be gay just to get into the US?

Pittsburgh-Post Gazette (emphasis mine):

A gay man last month became one of the first Russian citizens granted asylum in the United States since their home country adopted a ban against gay “propaganda.”

The man was granted asylum Nov. 20 by a U.S. Immigration Court judge in York, Pa., thanks to the efforts of a team of students working with Villanova University School of Law’s Clinic for Asylum, Refugee and Emigrant Services, or CARES.

He took a “vacation” to Cuba then made his way to the Mexican border! If he was so persecuted, why didn’t he ask for asylum in Cuba.  It looks like the Cuban government is in on the scheme though because they clearly let him leave for Mexico (and did not send him back to Russia).

The Russian, whose name was redacted from court documents, took advantage of the visa reciprocity between Russia and Cuba, taking a “vacation” to Cuba. From there he made it to Mexico and then used the compass on his phone to cross the Rio Grande into the United States, where he was picked up by border patrol in June. He immediately sought asylum.

The man ended up in the York County detention facility and the case was referred to CARES, which is directed by law professor Michele Pistone.

Since the mid-1990s, the York County jail has rented out space to the United States to house immigrant detainees. Early on, it became clear the detainees were too far from legal assistance, Ms. Pistone said. So the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center was set up right down the road. PIRC offers detainees seminars on their rights and the Russian refugee attended one such seminar and was connected with CARES, Ms. Pistone said.

Being in “jail” can actually speed up the asylum process:

While it may have been a traumatic experience for the Russian refugee, Ms. Pistone said being in jail may have sped up the asylum process. Ms. Pistone said the backlog for a hearing in immigration courts for those not in jail can be two years.

Ms. Pistone’s client, meanwhile, had his hearing less than six months from when he entered the country.

50 more such cases!  All gay Russian cases pending in courts?

Ms. Majkut (a law student) worked with Immigration Equality and the Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center for research on this case. She said those organizations have seen an influx of gay Russians calling with questions about asylum as well as the number of Russians defensively seeking asylum, meaning they are already detained and are facing adversarial proceedings.

Ms. Majkut said those organizations have upwards of 50 cases similar to her client’s that are pending in immigration court.

Now that the Russian gay man has received asylum, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (a federal refugee contractor) has stepped in to get him his “benefits” (welfare goodies)!  Coincidentally, when I went to the refugee pow-wow in Lancaster, PA last June I sat in on one session involving HIAS’s leading work with gay “refugees.”

The client has been working with the immigration-focused public interest firm HIAS Pennsylvania to get benefits the government pays to refugees. He has since found an apartment and is looking for work, Ms. Pistone said.

Photo is here along with Ms Pistone’s bio.  Oh geez, I see she went to Malta in 2006.  I wonder if she was ‘helpful’ in making Malta a gateway for African refugees to the US because it began about that time?  See our entire ‘Malta’ archive by clicking here.

Are Boston terrorists refugees? (updated!) (update! Politico says yes)

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update April 20th:  It is time for a moratorium on Muslim immigration.  Media twisting the truth, here.

Update #12:  Radio talk show host Howie Carr was on O’Reilly tonight and pretty clearly described the benefits refugees receive from the US taxpayer.

He wondered why the citizens of Massachusetts didn’t get a say about whether they wanted Chechens resettled there—good question!  O’Reilly lamented and repeated again at the end of the show that the “US was very generous to this family” and this is the repayment we got.

Update #11:  Two good posts at VDARE discuss the issue of asylum for the terror family. Asylum and refugee status are two sides of the same coin.

In the case of asylum, they get in with a visa or come illegally across our borders and ask for asylum.  With the refugee program we pick them up abroad and fly them here.   Both programs are part of the Refugee Resettlement Act of 1980. Federale (at VDARE) notes that the supposed persecution refugees and asylum seekers claim is often a lie because so often we see supposedly fearful “refugees” going “home” sometimes just to visit.  Here is Sailer with a report that conflicts with our Update #10, where he quotes an official saying they were asylees.   The important point is that we gave these Jihadists an opportunity for a good life, but the Islamic imperative trumps our goodies.

Update #10:  A commenter tells us that it’s a chain migration refugee case (sometimes called family reunification) usually done through resettlement contractors like Catholic Charities.  Will look for a link:

Not a rumor, sister of father on Canadian TV said she did refugee paperwork for mom and dad in 2002, they got it. Then under refugee family reconcilement, got 2 sons, the jihadists, and two daughters into US.

Update #9:  You can tell the US State Department how you feel about certain refugee admissions for FY2014, click here for instructions.

Update #8:  Daniel Greenfield at Frontpage: we have a few lessons to learn!

There are numerous lessons to take away from the Marathon Massacre, but one of these is that it’s time to rethink our immigration policy, especially when it comes to refugees.

By the way, it has a name (learn about it)—al Hijra, the Islamic Doctrine of Immigration.

Update #7: Is this why Mom and Dad went back to Russia?  Mom arrested for shoplifting here at Vlad Tepes.

Update #6:  Senator Grassley at today’s immigration hearing in US Senate says when we find out how these killers got into the US it will expose the weakness in our immigration system—yes indeed!

Grassley:

Given the events of this week, it’s important for us to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system,” Mr. Grassley said in his opening statement. “While we don’t yet know the immigration status of people who have terrorized the communities in Massachusetts, when we find out it will help shed light on the weaknesses of our system.”

And don’t forget these are not the first terrorists to get into the US through the refugee program, remember the Iraqi refugee terrorists in Kentucky.

Update #5:  Charming Dad in Russia says, ‘kill my kid and all hell will break loose!’ (Jihad Watch).  So why did we take his kids as refugees ten years ago, why was Dad left behind?

(Update:  I am now hearing that the whole family did come as refugees but the Dad and maybe the mother went back home—this after we paid some resettlement agency a lot of money to get them settled in Massachusetts!)

Update #4:  So how do twenty-something “refugees” get Mercedes? (Russian mob?) From the Daily Caller:

“Tamerlan stops to answer a phone call while walking from his Mercedes to the Wai Kru Mixed Martial Arts center, where he practices boxing.”

Update #3: World Net Daily has more details on refugee terrorist brothers.

Update #2:  Yes, it appears the brothers came to the US under the auspices of the US State Department’s Refugee Resettlement Program.  Here is Politico quoting an uncle:

Tsarni (Uncle) said he did not know that Tamerlan Tsarnaev had been killed. When he was informed by a reporter, he said the older Tsarnaev “absolutely deserved” it and that he’s “not sympathizing.” But he added that the two suspects got their start in America “as refugees.”

For new readers:  Each year the Refugee Resettlement Program admits on average lately around 70,000 refugees a year, many from Muslim countries and territories.  Our Russian resettlement has been huge.

Some reports indicate that at least the older brother may have come to the US in 2000.  So I checked the annual reports and we admitted 555,916 from the Soviet Union (or former Soviet Union) from 1975-2000.  In the year 2000 we brought in 14,576 from the former Soviet Union in that year alone.  In 2001, it was 14,869.  And in 2002, 9,978  Russians or those from former Soviet Union countries were given permanent residency status.  How many Chechens—only the US State Department can say for sure.

*Also for new readers and researchers, here are the major federal refugee resettlement contractors.  One of these agencies knows who these guys are.   For Boston resettlement, I would put my money on the International Rescue Committee or the International Institute of New England (a subcontractor of USCRI).  Update:  Also check with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services.

Update!  Blogger Timothy Burke at Deadspin is reporting that the older (now dead) brother is a refugee:

Authorities are now confirming the two suspects sought in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing are two Russian-born Chechen brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev. Tamerlan, the older brother, is dead. Here’s what we know about him.

It’s not much, and most of it’s derived from a photo gallery. We know Tamerlan Tsarnaev was 26 and a competitive boxer for a club named Team Lowell, who won the Rocky Marciano Trophy for being New England Golden Gloves heavyweight champion in 2010. He did this while taking time off from school at Bunker Hill Community College, where he studied in hopes of being an engineer. He’s been boxing in the U.S. since at least 2004, and his uncle told WBZ in Boston that he arrived in the United States in 2000 under refugee status.

This is a rumor!  Please don’t run off saying they are!   

From the editor:  It is not a rumor any more!  I’ve confused some readers. This was the first post I wrote this a.m. but minutes later I began the updates above.  Most recent updates are at the top of this post (so read from bottom up for the  correct order!)

However, we have been admitting “persecuted” Russians for years and according to reports these two are legal permanent residents (not student visa holders).

If you see any reference to the Chechens as asylees or refugees PLEASE let me know!   Ann@vigilantfreedom.com

Again, this is a rumor!!!!   NOT a rumor!