As you have figured out by now, I am a one issue voter. What we do about immigration/refugees is all that matters for the future of this country, so I’m judging Donald Trump’s choices for high office based on that issue alone.
Needless to say I was shocked and disappointed to see that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was headed to New York today for consideration for the job of Secretary of State. See Townhall here.
First, correct me if I’m wrong, but does she have any foreign policy experience? I sure hope Trump isn’t looking to ethnicity and gender to balance his cabinet. If so, put her at the head of the Labor Department or something like that.
A couple of years ago when the refugee resettlement industry turned its eyes to South Carolina, a state which has not received very many refugees over the years, Haley didn’t do anything to slow its arrival.
See our huge archive on Spartanburg by clicking here. And, go here for everything we have said about Haley.
See here for my discussion of why NC is a purple state and SC is still (for now) a conservative red state.
Warmonger Senator Lindsey Graham would have his ally in a very high place. (See Graham on bringing in Syrians, here).
Readers will remember that Haley and SC Rep. Trey Gowdy*** were early supporters of Senator Marco (Gang of Eight) Rubio and that Graham (Gang of Eight) endorsed Jeb Bush. If Gov. Haley runs the US State Department she will be in charge of immigrant visa programs and refugee admissions to the US, and in the case of refugees, choosing where they go. It will be her budget that pays refugee resettlement contractors for the initial resettlement. Senator Lindsey Graham will never let her restrict the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program.
I urge my South Carolina readers to weigh-in and tell me if I am wrong about Haley. Has she done anything to indicate concern about massive numbers of refugees especially from countries that hate us entering the US?
***By the way, Gowdy is chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program and has done nothing to begin to examine the RAP with an eye to reforming it. He didn’t even hold the legally required hearing, as Senator Sessions did in his Senate subcommittee, on Obama’s determination to bring 110,000 refugees to the US in FY2017. So for all of my friends who think that Gowdy is God’s gift to America, think again!
Rumor has it that Lindsey Graham plays a large role in keeping Gowdy quiet on immigration issues.
Tag: Sen. Lindsey Graham
SC Senator Lindsey Graham advances bill to bring in MORE Syrian refugees, more quickly
Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, is also a contender for the Republican nomination for President. He joins Far Left Senator Patrick Leahy in his efforts to get the Syrians in here faster.
Every time I see Graham, a proud member of the Gang of Eight on amnesty two years ago, I wonder whether Graham influences Rep. Trey Gowdy. Does Gowdy share Graham’s position on immigration?
How closely does Graham monitor the activities of South Carolina Rep. Gowdy who has been dragging his feet on holding any hearing on the Refugee Admissions Program in the subcommittee (which he chairs!) responsible for Refugee Program oversight?
(A hearing was scheduled and postponed in the full House Judiciary Committee last week, but Gowdy, as subcommittee chairman, has been silent, and as such a disappointment, on the Syrian refugee question. If anyone has seen Gowdy raise concerns about bringing Syrians to America and his state, please send a news report my way and I will stand corrected.)
And, Mr. Gowdy, how about a hearing on the Babin bill that has 22 co-sponsors as of this writing? Gowdy is not one of them!
I digress, here is the news about Lindsey Graham and his pal Leahy.
From The Hill (hat tip: Joanne). Emphasis is mine:
A bipartisan pair of senators — including one presidential candidate — is pushing forward with an emergency spending bill to help strengthen the administration’s ability to combat the Syrian refugee crisis.
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have rolled out legislation that would provide an extra $1 billion in emergency funding, mandating that the White House tell Congress within 45 days how it will use the money.
[….]
Dozens of Senate Democrats backed a letter from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) [Hey, does Chris Murphy do the bidding of CAIR-CT too?—ed] earlier this week calling for an emergency spending bill. That letter was sent to Leahy and Graham, as well as Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), the top two members on the Appropriations Committee. [Mikulski here—ed]
But FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that there are “gaps” in the screening process for bringing Syrians into the United States.
“There is risk associated of bringing anybody in from the outside, but specifically from a conflict zone like that,” he told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Graham, who is running for president, quickly came out in support of accepting more Syrian refugees after a photo of a drowned Syrian child went viral and sparked international outrage earlier this year. [He fell for the propaganda photo!—ed]
His position pits him against not only many of his Republican colleagues, but also other 2016 presidential contenders. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is also running for president, said earlier this week that President Obama’s plan to accept additional Syrian refugees was “nothing short of crazy.”
The Graham-Leahy bill also requires that Secretary of State John Kerry describe what security vetting refugees would have to undergo before being accepted into the country. [We already know they can’t screen the Syrians!—ed]
How many times have you heard Lindsey Graham say on TV that “if we don’t do something over there, the terrorists will be here!” So how can he so blithely, in the face of testimony by the FBI director, still advocate getting more Syrians here faster?
Senators McCain and Graham want new special refugee admissions program for the “children”
The leading military hawks in the US Senate—McCain and Graham—lecturing us about how we must control borders in the Middle East with bombs and guns, are virtually welcoming an invading army to America!
And, they are on the same page with the open borders refugee lobbyists in DC.
Here is a story (making my head explode!) that you have probably seen already over the weekend. From Reuters (hat tip: Robin):
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Some leading members of the U.S. Congress are calling on the Obama administration to consider launching an emergency refugee program for Central American children as one way to address a rapidly escalating humanitarian crisis at the southern border with Mexico.
The US refugee program was never intended to give permanent shelter to people fearful of crime in their home country just because that country wasn’t capable of protecting its citizens from domestic abuse and gang violence.
For years (we have been writing about it), the open borders lobbyists and the contractors have been attempting to expand the definition of “refugee” to include just about anyone who wants to get to America. Legitimate do-gooders who care about legitimate refugees should be incensed!
Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona, told Reuters on Thursday that establishing refugee application programs in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, where domestic abuse, gang violence and poverty are rampant, is the “key” to defusing the growing U.S. border crisis.
[….]
McCain and other members of Congress – both Republicans and Democrats – say that a refugee program could help discourage minors from making the perilous journey north alone. At the same time, it would give some of them a legal way to flee the three nations, which rank among the top five countries with the highest murder rates in the world.
Lobbyists for the refugee contractors approve of the McCain/Graham proposal!
The lobbying arm for the humanitarian industrial complex and the refugee resettlement contractors*** thinks McCain and Graham are on the right track! Be sure to see our report on the Refugee Council USA which was primarily set up to lobby and help protect the 501(c)3 status (and government grants) of the resettlement contractors.
“Some sort of in-country or regional processing (of refugee children) is one of the suggestions we have been making,” said Kristen Aster, associate director of the Refugee Council USA.
She said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees could get involved in the coordination, given that children from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras might have to flee their native countries quickly and travel to a neighboring one once they apply for refugee status. The United States or other Central American countries could be their final destinations.
See also the Daily Caller, which reports that Graham (generally joined at the hip with McCain) is in on the concept:
South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham – who, like McCain, backs immigration reform – is considering the idea of an emergency program as well.
There is only one sure-fire way to stop the invasion—airlift them (3/4th are teenaged boys!) back immediately to their respective capitals and tell the governments to find their families while threatening to cut off all foreign aid (not dump more of our taxpayer dollars into dysfunctional hell-holes where it will be squandered by corrupt politicians!).
So what about the Chinese kids???
Do McCain and Graham want a special program for the Chinese “children” also invading our border through Central America, Cuba and Mexico?
See our entire archive (spanning several years) on the ‘unaccompanied minors’ nightmare for our nation. And, see Diana West last week—‘Saving the border when the cavalry isn’t coming’ here.
***The contractors (remember some are being paid by you to take care of the illegal alien “children!”)
- Church World Service (CWS)
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC)
- Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)
- Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
- International Rescue Committee (IRC)
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
- World Relief Corporation (WR)
2,000 Syrian “refugees” already in the pipeline on the way to US
According to Northern Voices Online (a publication from Northern India), 2,000 Syrians have already been approved to come to the US in 2013, along with 30,000-40,000 additional Iraqis! I guess this is another bit of new information for the Republican immigration wizards, those boys in a bubble—Rubio and Graham.
WASHINGTON, Up to 2,000 Syrian refugees pre-approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would start new lives in America in 2013, US officials said late on Wednesday Kelly Gauger, a senior official with the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration responded to reporters at a briefing, marking World Refugee Day on June 20 (today), where she explained that DHS has not been able to gain access to Syria since March 2011, when demonstrations leading to the current conflict began.
The 2,000 Syrians coming to the US were interviewed in person and adjudicated more than two years ago, but would be subject to further US government screening.
As for Iraq refugees, Gauger noted there were also between 30,000-40,000 Iraqi refugees with pending applications. Since 2007, 86,000 Iraqis have been admitted into the US. [Someone tell Senator Rand Paul!—ed]
According to Simon Henshaw, also a senior official with the bureau, 70,000 refugees from around the world will be admitted to the US this year.
Refugees considered for resettlement by the US must have already fled their home country, and were referred by UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency.
The US typically accepts half of all UNHCR referrals. [I bet its a lot higher percentage than that!—ed]
Also, the Obama Administration has just extended Temporary Protected Status for Syrians already in the US, but I’ll post separately on that.