I love their masthead! Learn more about the last great (failed!) effort by the Turks (the Muslims) to capture Europe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna
Update: This post has been corrected from its earlier version—I was too much in a hurry to read carefully! Here is the link to the interview with Dr. Jeffrey.
Dymphna at Gates of Vienna has posted today (oops! it was yesterday) on the Refugee Resettlement Program (‘Refugees come in under the radar’) and wanted readers to listen to a radio interview with Dr. Christina Jeffrey of Spartanburg, SC. Thanks to reader Jim for the alert. Maybe you can contact the Andrea Shea King Show for a podcast.
For background, here is a linkto our original report on the Spartanburg, SC controversy with updates.
By the way, all of you should add Gates of Viennato your daily reading list!
Rep. Trey Gowdy says he has no role in the resettlement process occurring in his district:
“…. our office does not have a role under the law in the implementation of such a [resettlement] plan….”
He, above all other Members of Congress, does have a role when it comes to who is resettled in American towns and from where they hail!
Gowdy has taken a good first step, but he can do much much more as he sits in the ‘catbird seat’ as chairman of the subcommittee responsible for overseeing the entire Refugee Admissions Program
Gowdy is chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security and he could hold oversight hearings tomorrow and help other struggling towns by helping concerned citizens get answers as to how and why the secrecy surrounding resettlement plans for the last 35 years.
And, indeed, he and all members of his Judiciary Committee and those on the Senate Judiciary Committee have the opportunity (requirement!) UNDER THE LAWto review the Presidential Determination Letter and supporting documents that are submitted to Congress every September by the White House/US State Department.
I wonder did Mr. Gowdy ever even lay eyes on these documents?
I asked once if I could attend the submission of the Presidential Determination Letter to Congress, but was denied. And, my best guess is that there isn’t even any formal presentation to attend because Congress has a history of rubber-stamping it!
In fact, we have heard from reliable sources that Congress NEVER makes a change to what the President asks for, and I will bet a buck no one even seriously examines the plan for the country.
Did anyone in Congress ever question the large numbers of refugees coming now from countries where the people hate us or are sympathetic to the Islamic State—from Somalia, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Bosnia, Burma (yes, we are taking Muslims from Burma!) and now Syria? Many of those ethnic groups were mentioned in the Presidential plan over the years.
There are two good articles this morning on the latest from Rep. Trey Gowdy’s office.
Gowdy did hear back from the US State Department with answers to hisoriginal set of questionsand has now responded with a new set.
It is a lot of information, but serious students of the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program should read carefully, first, Richard Falknor’s post at Blue Ridge Forum:
There are two points that interested me that I don’t believe were mentioned in either of those two excellent articles.
Where was Senator Tim Scott? Was he invited?
Although, as we learned from the State Department, Senator Lindsey Graham’s office was asked to participate in meetings over a year ago to discuss the “plan” for Spartanburg, there is no mention of South Carolina’s other US Senator Tim Scott. What? Since Graham was a known quantity on immigration as one of the infamous Gang of Eight promoting amnesty….
…did the US State Department think maybe the more conservative Scott should be kept out of the process?
PRM requires that the local affiliates [their name for subcontractors–ed] convene a community consultation to plan for submission of this proposal.
The Bureau of Population Refugees and Migration in the US State Department is telling us that there is supposed to be community consultationbefore the ABSTRACT we told you about here is sent to Washington. Where is the consultation in theover 190 cities and townswhere federal resettlement subcontractors are working?
Everyone concerned with refugee overload in your town, or the possibility of refugees being resettled in your town anywhere in a hundred miles of one of those subcontractor offices listed here, should call the subcontractor and ask for their most recent ‘abstract’ and ask when they will be holding the next COMMUNITY CONSULTATION so that you can attend!
Call Gowdy and tell him to HOLD HEARINGS! 202-225-6030!
For new readers, we have a growing archive on ‘Spartanburg’ so click here for background.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley: Refugees welcome in South Carolina. Perhaps she doesn’t want to make Senator Lindsey (amnesty) Graham angry.
The multicultural transformation of Idaho will continue with a planned infusion of hundreds of refugees from Muslim countries over the next one to three years.
A local newspaper in Twin Falls reported that city will receive 300 mostly Syrian refugees over the next fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
But WND has learned the numbers will be much larger statewide and include refugees from Syria, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo and possibly Somalia.
Sources tell WND that community leaders learned of the plans for up to 2,000 refugees at a recent conference at Boise State University attended by church groups, social services providers and other “stakeholders.”
“That’s the number they put out that they’re planning for, a total of about 2,000 over the next one to three years, with 70 percent going to Boise and 30 percent in the Twin Falls area,” said Shahram Hadian, a former Muslim turned Christian pastor in eastern Washington who said he spoke with a conference attendee.
WND reported two weeks ago that Spartanburg, South Carolina, has also been selected for the seeding of a Syrian refugee community.
Unlike Boise, residents in Spartanburg have mustered an organized opposition to the infusion of 65 Syrian refugees over the next year, saying the town already has high crime and poverty and isn’t prepared to absorb hundreds of poor Syrians.
Governor Nikki Haley has come out in support of bringing refugees to South Carolina to compete with local low-skilled workers!
Jeffrey [Christina Jeffrey] said Gov. Nikki Haley has come out in favor of the resettlement plans, which hasn’t helped Gowdy’s effort to see it scaled back. A promised resolution by the area’s legislative delegation opposing the resettlement plans also fizzled after Haley issued a letter of support.
But here is the part of Hohmann’s narrative that I found the most interesting in light of recent discussions I had in Minnesota with knowledgeable grassroots researchers.
The juggernaut facing the average middle class American!
Progressive mayors, major corporations, and the Chambers of Commerce are teaming up to “welcome” migrants to your cities and towns (transforming your communities to satisfy a voracious appetite for cheap labor?) and all for the almighty dollar. We will add wealthy foundations, ‘religious non-profits’ and Republican elites to the list!
Boise’s mayor, along with mayors in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Dayton and Cleveland, Ohio, San Antonio, New Orleans, San Fransisco, Nashville, Atlanta, Wichita, Houston, Boston and dozens of other cities, work with an organization called the Partnership for a New American Economy. This group includes a mix of progressive mayors, executives from some of America’s largest corporations and Chambers of Commerce all working to influence Congress to allow more immigrants into the country, both skilled and unskilled, claiming that more immigration leads to more economic prosperity for Americans, a claim that is rejected by think tanks such as the Center for Immigration Studies and the Economic Policy Institute.
Boise, a self-described “Welcoming Community,” has seen waves of Muslims sent its way by the United Nations in recent years from Afghanistan, Somalia, Turkey, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Congo, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bosnia….
The greater Boise area already has several mosques, the largest of which is the Islamic Center of Boise, with plans unveiled recently for a large mega-mosque on the outskirts of town in Kuna, Idaho.
Do not miss Hohmann’s detailed analysis of Obama’s New Americans campaign to seed your towns and cities with diversity and shove “welcoming” down your throats,here.
Here is the latest from proposed new refugee resettlement site—Spartanburg, SC (see our original story with updates here).
Elected officials at the state and local level are doing exactly what they should do—gather the facts, present them to the public and then get a consensus of the community if the community wants to encourage the resettlement of third worlders to their town.
[Be sure to see Obama’s Task Force on New Americans release on Friday, here, before proceeding]
Although the number planned for Spartanburg for this year is only 65 refugees to begin with, remember that more and more will come every year as the resettlement contractor must pay their overhead (office space, salaries etc.) and is compensated by the head by the US State Department to resettle refugees and ultimately their family members (and they begin getting grants from the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Dept. of Health and Human Services).
Once the flow of refugees and money has begun it is virtually impossible to stop. (Ask the mayors of Manchester, NH, Springfield and Lynn, MA, and Amarillo, TX).
Here is the news yesterday from GoUpstate.com and reporter Kim Kimzey (emphasis is mine):
SC Rep. Donna Hicks wants the public to have an opportunity to see the plan for proposed refugee resettlement to Spartanburg. Not an unreasonable request!
Local officials are joining Congressman Trey Gowdy in demanding answers about a Spartanburg refugee resettlement plan.
Spartanburg County Legislative Delegation members met with Josh Baker, Gov. Nikki Haley’s director of budget and policy, on Wednesday to ask about the resettlement process, Rep. Donna Hicks said in a phone interview Thursday.
Hicks said Baker fielded questions and concerns from the legislators, including the state Department of Social Services’ (DSS) involvement with World Relief, the nonprofit working with churches to resettle refugees in the area. Hicks said they received information on how the government funds refugee resettlement.
She said they are awaiting answers to other questions. Hicks plans to hold a town hall meeting to share information with constituents.
Hicks said news of the resettlement effort caught Spartanburg Legislative delegation members “totally by surprise.”
It is always by surprise!
Consultation with local officials is required under refugee law. The federal contractor will say they “consulted” with local officials, but if they do, it is only with those who have been previously identified as friendly. And ‘consulting’ with local church leaders does not count!
Spartanburg citizens are just lucky that they found out now, and not a year from now, when the program would be entrenched.
Eight House members — including seven from the Spartanburg County delegation — on Thursday introduced a resolution asking DSS to provide information on the resettlement to “ensure accountability and transparency” in the use of public funds and “other costs of providing government services.”
[….]
She [Hicks] said concerns from constituents include possible terrorists among the refugees since their native countries are unknown; that Spartanburg would be “overrun” with too many refugees who could burden agencies, such as schools that would need to provide translators; or that a large Muslim population would arrive and choose not to assimilate, saying that has happened in other communities.
[Islamic terrorists have been uncovered in the refugee stream to America, see Iraqishere and Somalis here. The FBI is worried about the proposed Syrians—ed]
Hicks said one question is whether state officials have the right of refusal. [That is the 64 thousand dollar question!—ed]
[….]
A town hall meeting is planned sometime in the coming weeks, but no date has been set. Hicks has invited Haley and Gowdy. She said delegation members also would attend. [You must invite the US State Department to send a representative! Contact the Asst. Sec. of State for Population, Refugees and Migration.—ed]
“We want to separate conspiracy theories and rumors from the actual facts,” Hicks said, adding that they want to present constituents accurate information about who’s involved, what’s going on and what they can expect.
They want to review the “plan!”
His [Spartanburg County Councilman Justin Bradley] concern stems from “lack of information and opportunity to review the plan provided to the local community and elected officials.”
Demand the “plan.” There is one!
In order for the US State Department to grant funding, the contractor—World Relief, in this case—has submitted documentation to the US State Department, most likely prepared by the new prospective resettlement agency headed by Jason Lee which lays out for the feds what amenities (schools, health care, subsidized housing, jobs, etc.) your town has to offer the new refugees and what the capacity is for your town for the number that could be accommodated. For some contractors it is called an “abstract.”
Ask for the abstract or whatever World Relief might be calling the PLANNING document.
You might find it ‘fun’ (not!) to see what amenities your town is offering (without you knowing it!).
Bottomline: Get all the facts and make a decision based on the facts—all of the facts!
Update April 20th: Here is more on how to get the plan!
There are two good news stories out since yesterday about what is happening in Spartanburg, SC where the citizens there are demanding to know how it came to be that their small city was secretly targeted as a new refugee resettlement site.
By the way, it is so important to note that Spartanburg is not alone. In December, the US State Department referenced the fact that their resettlement contractors*** had offices in 180 cities, and just about three months later the State Department is saying they have offices in 190 cities. So they have found more new sites—is your town one of them?
Call Rep. Trey Gowdy and ask him to investigate the Refugee Admissions Program!
Secretive!
If you think we are being too casual in using the word ‘secretive,‘ some of you may remember the incredible admission by the board of Lutheran Family Service Rocky Mountains in March 2014 (revealed in a letter to the editor), that the reason there was a public controversy over opening a resettlement office in Wyoming (the only state in the nation without a program) was because word of what they were planning leaked to the public before they were ready to spin it.
We can’t stress to you enough that federal contractors, like Lutheran Family Services, cannot sell a refugee resettlement plan to a community by telling citizens the whole truth up front!
In fact, the driving force behind this blog from day one has been our fury over this very point—if it’s a good program, then dammit tell the public the whole plan. If you can’t sell it with the truth, then it shouldn’t be done with secrecy (or emotional appeals using refugees as poster boys and girls). In fact, this is exactly why citizens everywhere are sick of government at all levels, government-funded non-profits like this Lutheran bunch, and our so-called leaders.
Maybe we have finally gotten a leader in Washington!
Here are the two stories making the rounds today about Rep.Trey Gowdy’s excellent letter to Secretary of State John Kerry. If you see more stories let us know.
The Daily Caller: ‘Gowdy demands halt to refugee resettlement in his district’
Today you can call Gowdy’s office (202-225-6030), thank him and tell him to hold hearings (he is chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for the Refugee Program as it is now being administered). It is secretive, complicated, expensive and unfair and must be either scrapped or completely overhauled.
***These nine major contractors (who receive the majority of their funding from you, the taxpayer) oversee 350 subcontractors in 190 US cities and towns:
