Tag: S.744

US Catholic Bishops begin massive lobbying campaign for amnesty

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a good article at Breitbart, but like most other news outlets they assume that the Catholic Church’s campaign for amnesty is being driven by its desire to add Hispanics to its dwindling flocks (and to show that they are good Christians), but few ever look at the fact that the Bishops are being funded by massive amounts of taxpayer dollars and the so-called Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that passed the Senate will give them gobs of more money!

Right now the Bishops are over 98% funded by tax dollars* and they are being paid to get refugees and asylees hooked up with social services.  S. 744 contains a slush fund for the Bishops and others of the religious Left to do that same work for the newly legalized—help them do their paperwork, find jobs, find welfare, sign them up for Obamacare, and supposedly get them English lessons.

I’m a fallen-away Catholic and the main reason is this:  I want no politics mixed with my religious worship, and the Church will have to really make sure they get the Hispanics because hearing a Leftwing political message (as is planned for September 8th) from the pulpit will only serve to drive more conservative-minded people from the Church.

Kevin Appleby, USCCB lobbyist pushing amnesty for money!

Breitbart (hat tip: Cathy):

If you attend Mass on September 8th, it is likely the priest’s homily will be less about spiritual matters and more about the political imperative of passing an amnesty law for the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants. Last week, the Catholic Church announced a massive, coordinated effort to press Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship. Catholics make up the largest single religious group in Congress.

“We want to try to pull out all the stops,” Kevin Appleby, the director of migration policy at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, told the New York Times. Appleby said the immigration issue was at a now-or-never moment. “They have to hear the message that we want this done, and if you’re not successful during the summer, you’re not going to win by the end of the year.”

The Church is planning advertising, phone calls and marches targeting 60 Catholic House Republicans. Over 130 members of the House are Catholic, including Speaker John Boehner.

The Bishops are working harder on amnesty then on Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate and abortion!

The Church’s effort in support of amnesty seems broader and more coordinated than its actions against an ObamaCare mandate requiring coverage of contraception. In recent years, the Church has been more vocal in its criticism of abortion, but even that seems muted in comparison with current plans on immigration reform.

The Bishop’s lobbyist Appleby (Director of Migration Policy) will be pimping for amnesty and giving out marching orders in Minneapolis on September 4th.  If you live in the area you might want to drop in on this meeting.   After all, you help pay Appleby’s salary.

*The USCCB and YOUR money

Now check out the USCCB’s migration fund 2012 annual report (pdf here) and note on page 11 their income and expenses (I’ve rounded the numbers for easier reading).

Out of a revenue stream of $71 million, federal grants and contracts (that is you the taxpayer!) gave them $66 million.  They also received $3.6 million from refugee travel loans.  Your tax dollars pay for refugees to fly to America and then they are supposed to reimburse the government, but in fact a big chunk of whatever the refugee contractor extracts from the poor refugees, the contractor gets to keep—in the Bishops case, in 2012, that is $3.6 million that does not go back to the US Treasury.

Taking Caesar’s money!  98% of their budget is paid by the US taxpayer!

So, the USCCB only received $1.4 million from private sources of money (parishioners), but they paid salaries of $8 million!

The USCCB would wither on the vine and not be able to lobby if you, the taxpayer, weren’t funding them!

So, come on Breitbart!  Let’s go a little deeper with your reporting!

Update:  Here is an old story, but related.  Catholic Charities in Memphis, TN dropped its refugee program in favor of spending more time and money on Hispanics.   They will be well-placed for the newly amnestied!

Church World Service organizing lobbying event for October

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

They will be pushing for passage of the Comprehensive Amnesty bill (the Gang of Eight’s bill) that is presently stalled in Congress.  If S. 744 is signed into law, or some form of it, there is expected to be a big cash payout (aka slush fund) to the refugee contractors whose job it will be to get the newly legalized aliens signed up for social services (an extension of what they do now for refugees).

Here is what CWS says on its website about the October lobbying push (day 1: they get everyone on the same talking points, and day 2:  they hit the Hill):

Our goal is to gather more than 200 prominent national and local faith leaders from key states together in Washington, D.C. on October 7 and 8.

These pastors, lay leaders and grassroots organizers will join together for a day of learning and community. Strategic workshops will address immigration legislation and provide an opportunity to commit to advocating with policy makers.

Their agenda for the two days is here.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find that others among the major federal refugee contractors were also holding events in Washington around that time.   For new readers who might be wondering, the contractors and the feds (holding on to a myth I suppose) refer to these groups as Volags (short for Voluntary Agencies). However, they are now largely paid to do their ‘good works’ by you—the US taxpayer.

Just a reminder, it is Church World Service, as a member in good standing of the religious Left, which brought the Muslims to Lancaster, PA (see report yesterday).   That is why this post is also filed in our “community destabilization’ category.

Malta: Tanker stalemate ends with Italy taking the illegal aliens

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Liberian-flagged MT Salamis was kept from docking in Malta for nearly three days after picking up illegal aliens off the coast of Libya.

This is a story I’ve had in my queue for the last few days and didn’t get to because news is hopping all over the world on the asylum-seeker/refugee front.  So this morning I see the crisis has been averted by Italy agreeing to take its passengers—another batch of migrants.  American readers, please continue reading—this story involves you!

Malta told the tanker ‘no way’ were they entering Maltese waters with that cargo.

Here is the story from the Times of Malta:

A stand-off of almost three days ended early this morning when a tanker carrying 102 migrants lifted anchor and headed for Syracuse after having been blocked just outside Maltese waters on Sunday night.

The MT Salamis had rescued the migrants from a boat just 24 miles off Libya and had been heading for Malta when it was stopped from entering Maltese territorial waters. The government said the ship’s master had ignored orders by the Italian and Maltese rescue authorities to return the migrants to Libya.

Last night the government said Italy had accepted to take in the migrants, diffusing the situation after diplomatic contacts between Malta, Italy and Greece.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat thanked Italian Premier Entrico Letta and said his decision would continue to reinforce the good relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, a new group of 86 migrants arrived in Malta this morning after being rescued off the coast.

Visit the Times of Malta for more on this story.

Malta is under-going a boat people crisis as thousands of North African illegal aliens attempt to reach its shores.  The situation is growing worse and there is no doubt in my mind (after nearly 6 years following the Malta mess) that the increasing numbers arriving on the island nation are partially due to the US State Department transforming hundreds of them into “refugees” bound for America in what is surely a perversion of international refugee law.   True asylum seekers are expected to ask for asylum in the first safe country in which they land—-not shop for a country as is apparently also going to be encouraged in Papua New Guinea.

Malta in US propaganda!

Just a reminder that the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIARS) has produced a piece of propaganda using Malta.

I hate to give them any space here with their “Myth Buster” campaign being used in the US at the moment to shame Congress and the public into accepting more refugees and illegal aliens as the Gang of Eight bill progresses in Congress. See my earlier post on their campaign here.

Check out LIARS (formally LIRS, but a reader recently suggested a more appropriate acronym!) hand out implying that Malta is more generous than the US because it “resettles” more refugees per 1,000 sq. km. than any other country.  THESE ARE NOT REFUGEES, THEY ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS and poor Malta is trying to figure out how to stop them from coming and to keep them from staying!

I guess at some point I should go over the whole handout above and show you how LIARS (96% funded by US taxpayers) is twisting the facts on refugees with the help of the hard Left at the Center for American Progress.

Lutheran Leftists release propaganda to influence amnesty bill in Congress

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Just in time for the August recess, and time for Members of Congress and Senators to go home to their states and districts, a major federal refugee contractor and advocate for amnesty, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), has come out with “mythbuster” handouts so that Lutherans can be sure to hit-up their members with literature in hand.

When I saw the list of those LIRS is thanking I want to ask all Lutheran readers—-is your church so far to the Left that you rely on the Center for American Progress (Soros!) for your talking points?

Linda Hartke, LIRS CEO. Big smooch to Soros and the boys at Center for American Progress.

Here is the news about the Mythbusters at the Sacramento Bee (which was too lazy to write its own story and just posts the press release from LIRS verbatim):

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2013 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)  today releases its Comprehensive Immigration Reform Mythbuster, a unique infographic resource that arms advocates with the truth about reform’s social and economic benefits, while debunking the most widely propagated misinformation.

“The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Mythbuster comes at an absolutely critical time,” said LIRS President and CEO Linda Hartke. “We can’t let the immigration reform debate be hijacked by propaganda or myths. At this moment in our nation’s history, perhaps more than at any other time, it’s clear that our nation’s future and economic well-being hinges on our welcoming of New Americans.”

“The facts are clear: Our immigration system is not working, and it’s time we enact fair and humane immigration reform that keeps families united and protects refugees and other vulnerable migrants,” said LIRS Director for Advocacy Brittney Nystrom. “The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Mythbuster makes the clear case that immigration reform with a roadmap to citizenship is the right thing to do for migrants and refugees and the right choice for our nation’s lawmakers.”

“Congress’s August recess is a pivotal time for immigration reform,” said Nystrom. “Armed with this new Comprehensive Immigration Reform Mythbuster, we all need to make our Members of Congress understand why immigration reform is critical for our nation’s families, communities, and economy.”

A reminder to readers, your tax dollars pay for the work of LIRS (96% of their funds come from you)!

LIRS is grateful to the Center for American Progress and the American Immigration Council for helping to ensure the accuracy of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Mythbuster.

Let’s talk about the accuracy!!!   OMG! They use Malta as an example of a country that takes more refugees than the US per 1000 square kilometers. 

MALTA OF ALL PLACES! (click here then click on the refugee propaganda)

Suffering Malta doesn’t want to take them permanently (as we do), they are illegal migrants that Malta is trying desperately to return to where they came from or move on to other countries.  But, some dumb American (even a dumb Member of Congress) is going to assume from this “mythbuster” that Malta is somehow more generous than America.  I can hear it now:  ‘Isn’t that so welcoming of tiny Malta to be so generous to the downtrodden while we are so stingy!’

For the real truth about Malta, see our nearly 6-year-old Malta (Mess!) archive here.

Some of those other comparisons are nuts too.  Sure Jordan has more refugees at the moment, but we all know what that is from.  One can’t honestly compare their situation with America, but then honesty is not Soros’ and Podesta’s way (nor the Lutherans either I guess!).

Grrrrr!

Why the Catholic Bishops are wrong on immigration

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

That is the title of a piece by writer Brad Miner at The Catholic Thing.   Miner asserts that the primary thrust of their interest in the so-called “comprehensive immigration reform” effort now being debated in Congress is driven by a desire to increase the number of Catholics in their dioceses.    He may be be correct, but only partially, since he leaves out any mention of the payola the Bishops receive from the US taxpayer to ‘service’ immigrants in need of social services and jobs.

He says the Bishops are “apolitical when it suits them.”  And, he does say they are farther to the political Left then some Democrats on immigration.  And, they love Obama on immigration (that is me saying that, not Miner).  But, Miner never mentions Caesar’s $$$$ that the Bishop need to survive!

I’m grateful though for one more voice saying that the Bishops are wrong (they are wrong too because they are doing a terrible injustice to the American working class in need of jobs and impoverished Americans of all races and faiths who could use their help!).

Here is how Miner’s piece begins (Hat tip: Judy).  Emphasis below is mine.

BEFORE his role in the “Gang!”

My purpose here is neither bishop-bashing nor politician-baiting, and I have no reluctance in supporting an immigration measure that respects the rule of law and actually accomplishes the goals set down by the U.S. Senate’s most recent “Gang of Eight” in its Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 [S.744]: progress towards citizenship and secure borders.

However, my guess is that this law – which can’t even be rendered as a proper acronym! – will be about as effective as that monument to futility, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Marco Rubio’s career – he’s one of the Eight – may get a boost from . . . BSEOIMA, but as long as the border’s a sieve and Latin American governments are either socialist or plutocratic, nothing will change the pace of illegal immigration except a depressed economy in el Norte.

Anyway, I suspect Sen. Rubio, who is Cuban-American and speaks Spanish, believes he is the answer to the Republican Party’s recent electoral woes, and the GOP is just desperate enough to believe him. We’ll see how that works out in 2016.

And I suspect Christian compassion plays a role in animating both the politicians’ and the Catholic bishops’ concerns about the plight of Central American immigrants.

That said, immigration reform as it now stands is a baldly political business, and that’s as true of the bishops as it is of the politicians: votes for the latter; devotees for the former.

Read it all.

As for Rubio and the other Republicans pushing amnesty, for all of their efforts to get dead parrots to speak, it won’t even get them votes.  It will get him money from big business for his campaign war chest, but Rubio has already been abandoned by a large segment of the conservative base.

For new readers, we have an extensive archive on the USCCB here.