Tag: S.744

Refugees lobby Congress for more refugees/a more “welcoming” America

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (which selects refugees for the US) and the US State Department partnered to bring refugees to Washington, DC earlier this month to lobby Congress (you probably paid their expenses!).  To tell you the truth it’s not exactly clear what they told Members of Congress as they traveled around the Hill on “Advocacy Day.”   I’m guessing they want more stuff from taxpayers and more of their people to be admitted to the US.

Amnesty lobbyist Frank Sharry, pal of Grover Norquist, told the gathering to “hurry up and take over.”

From Reuters (a submitted opinion piece?) thanks to reader Joanne:

WASHINGTON, DC, United States, December 13 (UNHCR) – Refugees and asylum-seekers from Syria, Sudan and 20 other nations took steps this week in Washington, DC, to ensure their voices become an integral part of United States policy discussion on how best to protect people fleeing violence and persecution around the world.

At the end of the 2013 Refugee Congress, organized by UNHCR on Monday and Tuesday, the 48 delegates each signed a letter calling on the US authorities to “invite refugees and other affected persons to participate meaningfully in discussions” on refugee and asylum policy issues.   [I sure hope that Congress also invites the other “stakeholders”—the US taxpayer!—ed]

The letter was handed by the delegates to their representatives in the US Congress during meetings on the “Advocacy Day” that followed the gathering, an action that participants said underscored the drive to push refugee advocacy forward from the conceptual to the practical.

“UNHCR supports the Refugee Congress as a way for refugees and asylum-seekers in the United States to help themselves and to develop a credible voice for advocacy,” said Shelly Pitterman, UNHCR’s regional representative. “I think that this year’s Refugee Congress took an important step in the right direction,” he added.

“You belong here!”

Assistant Secretary of State Richard, in an address to the gathering, said the refugee story of courage and resilience was quintessentially American. “You are not strangers. You belong here!” she stressed.

The congress participants agreed that fortifying that fact of belonging must be central to their future work. This meant not just feeling confident of their status as full-fledged members of American society but of exercising that status in practical ways to advocate for an issue they know better than anyone.  [In other words just living and blending in isn’t enough, they must become political activists.—ed]

Then long-time amnesty activist Frank Sharry told the gathering it was time for them to “hurry up and take over.”  Now what the heck does that mean?  The charming Mr. Sharry made news recently when he teamed up with Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform to say they where cooking up a scheme for REVENGE against Speaker Boehner and any Republicans who did not want to go to conference with the Senate-passed S.744.

In a rousing address on the first day of the congress, Frank Sharry, executive director of the America’s Voice immigration reform advocacy organization, stressed the need for all people in the United States to understand that refugees and asylum-seekers are as much a part of the fabric of American society as any other group in the country.

“My vision of an America that I love and that I will fight for is an America that is welcoming to refugees,” Sharry said, before calling on refugees and asylum-seekers to take the lead in that cause: “Hurry up and take over!” he said.

I continue to be amazed that the federal refugee contractors and the refugee “activists” themselves don’t get it that if the so-called Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill should become law, there will be FEWER jobs for legal refugees because the millions of newly legalized Hispanics, who are increasingly conversant in English, will be first in line for the jobs at places like Marriott hotels (one of the financial backers of the amnesty lobbying push).

Frankly, for Sharry (America’s Voice) and Norquist and even the federal contractors it’s all about the $$$$ (while changing America!).

An appeal!  As of this writing we are only 4 short of 1000 subscribers/followers of RRW.  Help us find 4 more before the end of the year so we can reach a new milestone!  It may not seem like a large number compared to the big blogs, but because our subject is a narrow one, we are thrilled with the growing number of readers!

Pew: Hispanics/Asians more interested in deportation relief than US citizenship

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Editor’s note:  This is re-posted from Potomac Tea Party Report because I thought it would be of interest to readers here as well.

Tell us again, Marco, why you support amnesty?

That is the headline from the latest Pew Research Center Survey of Hispanics and Asians living in the US.

A lot of the other information they came up with is pretty interesting too which should make some Republicans, those who are endorsing amnesty and kissing up to the Hispanic “voter,” re-think their position in support of so-called “comprehensive immigration reform.”

55% of Hispanics surveyed say they aren’t hankering to become voting citizens of the US.

Here are some of the results of the survey that interested me.   From Pew Hispanic Trends Project, thanks to reader Paul (emphasis and re-arrangement mine):

While lopsided majorities of Hispanics and Asian Americans support creating a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, two new surveys from the Pew Research Center also show that these groups believe it is more important for unauthorized immigrants to get relief from the threat of deportation.

By 55% to 35%, Hispanics say that they think being able to live and work in the United States legally without the threat of deportation is more important for unauthorized immigrants than a pathway to citizenship. Asian Americans hold a similar view, albeit by a smaller margin—49% to 44%.

[….]

Immigrant Hispanics are especially supportive of deportation relief; by 61% to 27%, they say it is more important to unauthorized immigrants than having a pathway to citizenship.  [I’m not seeing why this statistic is different from the 55% mentioned earlier in the article.—ed]

And, get this!  Only 36% of LEGAL Mexicans in the US have bothered to become citizens.  Of course, it makes me wonder if many are voting anyway.

Not all legal immigrants necessarily choose to become U.S. citizens. In a report published earlier this year (Gonzalez-Barrera, Lopez, Passel and Taylor, 2013), the Pew Research Center found that among all Hispanic immigrants who are in the U.S. legally, just 44% have become citizens; the remainder are legal permanent residents. Among legal immigrants from Mexico, which is by far the largest country of origin for Hispanic immigrants, just 36% have gone through the naturalization process and become U.S. citizens.

Most illegal immigrants don’t know what is in the bill (S.744), but they will mostly blame Republicans if it fails.  Obama and the Dems are not, however, off the hook!

The surveys find that while large majorities of both groups say they have heard or seen at least a little about the legislation pending in Congress, roughly seven-in-ten Hispanics (67%) and Asian Americans (72%) also acknowledge they don’t know enough about the details of the bill to say if they support it or not.

[…..]

If the immigration bill dies, a plurality of Hispanics (43%) and Asian Americans (48%) say they would mostly blame Republicans in Congress. But sizable minorities of each group—34% of Hispanics and 29% of Asian Americans—say they would hold Democrats in Congress and/or President Obama mainly responsible.

Even the illegal aliens get it!  Granting legal status will REWARD ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR!

…..majorities or pluralities of both groups say that granting legal status to unauthorized immigrants would reward illegal behavior (53% among Hispanics and 48% among Asian Americans) and lead to more immigrants coming the U.S. illegally in the future (51% among Hispanics and 61% among Asian Americans).

Nearly 3/4th of those already with a foot in the door want BORDER ENFORCEMENT increased.

About seven-in-ten (68%) Hispanics and 73% of Asian Americans support a proposal to increase enforcement of immigration laws at U.S. borders.

So, is immigration reform a top issue for immigrant Hispanics and Asians—NOPE!

For both Hispanics and Asian Americans, the surveys find that among five domestic issues tested—jobs and the economy, education, health care, the federal budget deficit and immigration—immigration ranked last.

There is a lot more—-read it all!

It is, however a top issue for the Left looking to increase its voter base.  And, for the likes of Grover Norquist and his big business cronies looking to keep wages low.

From PolicyMic:

For big business owners, what is not to like about an increased supply of labor, driving competition in the job market up and wages down?

Progressives: Tyson Foods exploits immigrant labor, destroys small towns

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It is not often I agree with anything from “Progressives,” but when a reader sent me this piece from Progressives for Immigration Reform I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It is more on the report we posted the other day on Noel, Missouri and the poverty the town is experiencing as it is flooded with mostly REFUGEE laborers for Tyson Foods.

How on earth our federal CHURCH contractors can be aiding and abetting this travesty continues to be beyond my understanding.

From Progressives for Immigration Reform (emphasis mine):

In her NPR news story, In A Small Missouri Town, Immigrants Turn To Schools For Help, writer Abbie Fentress Swanson chronicles the plight of newly arrived immigrants to the small, rural town of Noel, Missouri. It seems that longtime residents there are not dealing well with sudden demographic changes. Consequently, immigrants from Mexico, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and the Pinglap region of Micronesia are among those feeling unwelcome and isolated in this formerly white community, which saw its population double to 2,000 in just two decades.

Many of these immigrants are so poor they cannot afford housing or healthcare. Their children often lack shoes and clothes. As Swanson notes, about 90% of the community’s children would go hungry most of the school day, if they didn’t qualify for free or low-cost meals. With such an influx of people, Noel has not been able to keep up with providing social services. There is a long wait list for units from the local housing authority, and building more housing would strain the town’s sewer system, already at 80% capacity.

Immigrants are attracted to Noel by jobs at the chicken processing plant of Tyson Foods, which employs 1,600 people. The starting wage is a paltry $9.05 per hour, which comes to $362 a week before taxes for an eight-hour, five-day week. Despite health and injury risks to workers in this industry, Swanson calls this a “decent” wage and declines to hold Tyson culpable for perpetuating widespread misery in the cash-strapped town.

The nation’s largest U.S. meat processor by sales can easily afford to pay its employees in Noel a living wage, but prefers to have the community subsidize the resulting human wreckage. After all, profit is the overriding goal, even if it must be achieved by driving wages so low that most American citizens no longer can afford to work at its processing plants. No matter – the continuous stream of cheap, compliant foreign labor will do just fine. The results are compelling….

Read about the profits Tyson Foods is making.  Then this:

Assimilation is not the real problem facing Noel, Missouri nor is it street-level bickering about matters of race, religion and values. The larger issue is what to do about rogue corporations that run roughshod over small communities in pursuit of profit, little of which is invested locally. Of greater concern is that our government wants to overload the job market even more through mass immigration policies, which will lay waste to many more small communities throughout America.

And, what do you do about federal contractors for the US State Department wearing the white hat of do-gooderism while helping Tyson Foods make the profit!

Just a reminder, Senator Jeff Sessions called out the meatpackers as being one of the driving forces behind so-called “comprehensive immigration reform” when S.744 passed the Senate in June.

House Judiciary Chairman makes it clear he has no interest in reviewing refugee program

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

As we reported here yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing this past week on asylum fraud, but in his opening remarks, Chairman Bob Goodlatte signals that he is pretty happy with the Refugee program we have now.

Rep Bob Goodlatte (R-VA): “robust” refugee program to continue!

Earlier this year I made some trips to Capitol Hill to discuss with staffers the problems (as well as cost) with the program and to emphasize the need for oversight hearings and was met with a wall of resistance.  Bottomline is that even if asylum fraud is open to investigation, no one on the Hill wants to get near the Refugee program with a ten foot pole.

Clearly fearing that they will be called mean “racists” and “xenophobes” for even suggesting there could be problems with the structure of the 1980 law that basically turned refugee resettlement over to unaccountable contractors, no oversight is planned (even though there were staffers who were very aware of the failings).

In fact, S.744, the Senate’s “comprehensive immigration reform” bill will expand the program and the funding for the contractors.

Here are the opening remarks by Chairman Goodlatte (I’m told he was a former immigration lawyer):

Chairman Goodlatte:  The United States of America is extremely hospitable to immigrants, asylees, and refugees.  Our nation’s record of generosity and compassion to people in need of protection from war, anarchy, natural disaster, and persecution is exemplary and easily the best in the world.

We have maintained a robust refugee resettlement system, taking in more United Nations designated refugees* than all other countries combined. We grant asylum to tens of thousands of asylum seekers each year. We expect to continue this track record in protecting those who arrive here in order to escape persecution.

As far as I know, the Refugee Act of 1980 has never been reviewed by any oversight committee of Congress.  Such a review is long overdue!

*See my previous post about the UN picking which refugees we take.

Jews and Muslims push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We hope so-called Comprehensive Immigration Reform is dead for now (forever!)—at least dead before the 2014 elections.  Obama’s Presidency has been so weakened in the last few months we don’t see where he has the ‘mojo’ to push a greatly expanded open borders agenda.

Former SEIU organizer, Alan van Capelle, of Bend the Arc

However, that hasn’t stopped those who want to see, not just illegals made legal, but if S.744 should become law there will be a greatly expanded asylum and refugee program (with less security screening) as well.  (See our posts on S.744 here).

Two groups joining hands to push for Open Borders are Bend the Arc (a Jewish “justice” group) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).

From Heritage Florida Jewish News:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—American Jews and American Muslims called on Congress in a joint statement to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a meaningful path to citizenship. In joining together as unlikely allies, Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) renewed their united push to refocus Congress’ attention on the nation’s most pressing domestic policy crisis.

The following is a joint statement from Alan van Capelle, CEO of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice and Haris Tarin, director of the Washington, D.C., office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council:

“In combining our voices, we hope Congress hears that immigration reform is a priority issue across America’s many diverse communities, bringing together even those that many believe have little in common. In fact, America’s Jewish and Muslim communities share the collective experience of facing xenophobia and prejudice for their culture and faith, and being treated as outsiders in our home country.

Comprehensive immigration reform has long been a priority issue for both our communities, as many of our families share stories of immigrating to the U.S. Both of our communities have deep roots here. But both of our communities also know firsthand the struggle to find acceptance in our adopted homeland.

Blah, blah, blah…

We urge you to come together, as we have, to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship, and keep America strong.”

Both Bend the Arc and the Muslim Public Affairs Council have been active in advocating for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship, citing shared values of treating others with dignity and respect, and the importance of keeping families together.

Read about community organizer Alan van Capelle, here.

Read about MPAC community organizers, here.

Another group pushing for more immigration (Muslims too) is the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society one of the top nine federal refugee resettlement contractors.   Here HIAS apparently had some blow-back from funders, but they are by no means out of the lobbying arena.  S.744 would reward the contractors with even more taxpayer cash!