Tag: Syrian refugees

Fate of Syrian resettlement in US this year rests in the hands of Ryan and McConnell

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’m happy to report that our readers are more up on the news than I have been these last few days.  Thanks to all of you who are sending me hot-off-the-press news on the roiling controversy about Syrian refugee resettlement AP (After Paris).  I just don’t have the time to post it all!

Ryan and Mcconnell
Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority leader McConnell will be the ones who determine the fate of resettlement of Syrian refugees in the US this year (not the governors!). Kentucky is gradually becoming an important resettlement target and it’s been a mystery to me why McConnell has let it happen. I can only assume McConnell gets campaign contributions from industries, including the chicken processing industry, which needs cheap reliable laborers. For ambitious readers, we have a very large archive on Kentucky extending back many years (with many problems) here: https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/?s=Kentucky

LOL! I did take a break today as Rush Limbaugh held forth for what I assume was much of his show and every time I turned on the TV I heard the “R” word (refugee).  Heck, everyone is covering it, I reminded myself.
Here, at Politico, is a story from yesterday I’ve been meaning to get to.
Don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful that governors across the country are speaking up, but even if you wish them to have the power to stop the resettlement (unless there was a Constitutional challenge which does need to get underway, but will take years!) there is really only one place it can be done quickly with any finality (for this year) and that is in Congress where the FUNDING MUST BE CUT OFF.
See our post on Saturday where I said just that—CONGRESS MUST USE ITS POWER OF THE PURSE!
The refugee resettlement contractors know that very well or they wouldn’t have had an emergency press conference call today!
Here is Politico telling us what the stakes are and informing us that what happens next will be the first crisis for new House Speaker Paul Ryan.

A cascade of Republicans on Monday implored the Obama administration to scrap plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States next year, saying they pose an unacceptable security risk in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

And, in a dramatic twist, the sudden standoff is raising the possibility of a government shutdown next month.

Throughout the day a host of Republican governors around the country, wary that refugees could end up in their home states, blasted President Barack Obama’s plans. But those governors lack real sway over the process, and some are asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to insert a provision in the Dec. 11 spending bill that would bar more Syrian settlers.

Did you see this?  Lindsey Graham has backed off his earlier proposal to ADD funding for Syrian resettlement!

The politics are moving fast: The Democratic governor of New Hampshire, a Senate candidate, is siding with conservatives, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is reversing his support for a $1 billion spending bill intended to allow in more Syrian refugees after touting the measure just weeks ago. GOP leaders are keeping their options open as they mull whether to try to block new Syrian refugees by adding language to the must-pass spending bill.

[….]

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), one of the leading immigration hard-liners in the Capitol, sent a letter to colleagues calling for provisions in the omnibus spending bill that would give Congress more oversight over Syrian refugees.

[….]

Ryan and McConnell will have to decide quickly on a course of action as they confront the first potential legislative crisis since Ryan became speaker.

More here.
Please everyone, starting tomorrow call your Washington elected representatives and call the leadership—Ryan and McConnell—and let them know how you feel.  And, keep calling through the Thanksgiving recess.
By the way, the resettlement contractors*** are ginning up their grassroots and the most maddening part of that is that they get to use your tax dollars to do it!
***Nine major federal contractors which like to call themselves VOLAGs (Voluntary agencies) which is such a joke considering how much federal money they receive:

Refugee contractors go into defense mode with conference call today

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Thanks to Jim for sending this….
I think they see that someone might break their rice bowls (the contractors are paid by the head to resettle refugees).  Three bigwigs in conference call!
 

**** PRESS ADVISORY****
TOMORROW: Tuesday, November 17th at 11 am ET
To Join: Dial 888-632-3384; Passcode “REFUGEE”

In Wake of Paris Tragedy, Refugee Resettlement Leaders Respond to Latest Calls to Stop the Admission of Syrian Refugees
Explain Why U.S. Can and Should Be a Leader in Refugee Protection and Resettlement

Washington, DC – On a press call today, November 17th at 11 AM Eastern, a coalition of humanitarian and refugee resettlement leaders will respond to the latest calls to stop the admission of Syrian refugees and explain why the U.S. must show leadership in the face of this global crisis.

In the wake of last week’s tragic attacks in Paris, France, many have been quick to point fingers and place blame on refugee families fleeing horrific violence and terrorism in Syria.  In the United States, multiple governors have announced their opposition to the resettlement of Syrian refugees in their state. A number of Presidential candidates have also called for a halt to all refugee settlement of Syrians.

On today’s call, speakers will describe the extraordinary nature of the crisis, the unprecedented screening mechanisms already in place, and call for continued US leadership on one of the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII.

WHAT:            In Wake of Paris Tragedy, Refugee Resettlement Leaders Respond to Latest Calls to Stop the Admission of Syrian Refugees

WHEN:            Tuesday, November 17th, 2015 at 11 AM Eastern

WHO:              Kevin Appleby, Director of Migration Policy, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Linda Hartke, President, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Lavinia Limon, President & CEO, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Naomi Steinberg, Director, Refugee Council USA (Moderator)

TO JOIN:          Dial 888-632-3384; Passcode “REFUGEE”   

 

Syrians entering US in first six weeks of 2016 fiscal year; 98% Sunni Muslim

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is where the 291 Syrians who have entered the US in FY2016 have been placed.  California, Texas, Kentucky, Arizona and Ohio make the top five.  (I selected for my search October 1, 2015 to November 15, 2015 and assume the data base is up to date to the 15th, but can’t know that for sure).
The flood gates have been opened and they will arrive hot and heavy now (will the governors have any power?).
map Syrians first six weeks of 2016
 
 
At the Refugee Processing Center (click on reports and select interactive reports, you will be able to figure it out!) you can also check the religions of arriving refugees.  Here is the breakdown for the 291 so far this fiscal year (assuming data base is up to date as of November 15th, two days ago):

3 Catholics

1 Christian

1 Orthodox

286 Sunni Muslims

As we have reported many times, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees picks most of our refugees and in the case of the Syrians they come from UN camps populated by mostly Muslims.   He has 20,000 chosen for us already.  At a recent immigration conclave in Washington, DC, we were there to hear him say that the Syrian Christians are not persecuted because the “regime” (Assad) was protecting them.
As long as the UNHCR is choosing most of our refugees, I don’t expect the percentage of Muslims in the stream to change much.
One other bit of confusion flying around in the mainstream media is that somehow we will be getting Syrians who have flooded into Europe, we won’t be (at least not in any great number for now).

Do governors have any power when it comes to resettlement of third-worlders to their states?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We are going to find out as the latest news is that 27 governors have in one way or another said—count me out when it comes to Syrian resettlement.

CNN map
From CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/16/world/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees-backlash/

 
[I hope to get time today to post some other considerations—one that I want everyone to understand is that we have been admitting tens of thousands of Muslim refugees for years from Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma and Uzbekistan, just to name a few, and I am not confident they had any thorough screening either, especially the Somalis.
And, please remember that the problems we (and France) are having with terrorists in the immigrant population is that most have been raised in the protective bosom of our generous social welfare systems.  So the parents might have come in as (vetted) decent people, but their children became radicalized right here among us.  
All the vetting in the world isn’t going to save us from the toddlers coming in with Mom and Dad from Africa and the Middle East who thumb their noses at the ‘good life’ and become radicalized 20 years down the road.  The only true solution is a complete moratorium on Muslim immigration.  (See White House Petition). Will these governors have the will for that?  I doubt it!]
 

Back to the news…..

CNN filed this story about the governors’ power (or lack of it).  We know that ol’ Ted Kennedy and ol’ Joe Biden were very clever indeed when they crafted what became the Refugee Act of 1980 which is run almost completely by the US State Department, the Dept. of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement and the ‘non-profit’ contractors who play a huge role in changing the demographics of your states.  There is very little role for Congress in the law either (short of the power of the purse which they are increasingly scared to use!).

(CNN)A wave of governors — mostly Republicans — issued a cascade of press releases Monday voicing objections to Syrian refugees landing their states, following the Paris attacks.

Kevin appleby cspan
Appleby is the chief lobbyist for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the federal contractor that resettles the largest number of Muslim refugees in the US. Last time I looked the Bishops were getting around $70 million annually from US taxpayers to do this work. We have many posts on him here: https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/?s=Kevin+Appleby

Experts say that while the states may not have the legal authority to block their borders, state agencies have authority to make the process of accepting refugees much more difficult.

“When push comes to shove, the federal government has both the plenary power and the power of the 1980 Refugee Act to place refugees anywhere in the country,” said Kevin Appleby, the director of migration policy at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the largest refugee resettlement organization in the country.

Appleby said one thing the states could do was to cut their own funding in the area.

This is the power the governors have—cut funding for welfare and other social services (most don’t even have a clue how much state and local taxpayers are shelling out for a program that was supposed to be fully-funded from Washington 35 years ago and with the additional financial help from the non-profit contractors).

American University law professor Stephen I. Vladeck put it this way: “Legally, states have no authority to do anything because the question of who should be allowed in this country is one that the Constitution commits to the federal government.”

But Vladeck notes that without a state’s participation the federal government would have a much more difficult time. “So a state can’t say it is legally objecting, but it can refuse to cooperate, which makes thing much more difficult.”

Indeed that is going to be the real test!  It is easy to spout-off with a letter now (after Paris), much harder to really put action behind those words. Be assured we will be watching!

The Hill is reporting that 16 governors want Syrian resettlement suspended due to security concerns

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

***Update November 17*** CNN says 27 now.
***Update*** More states here (scroll for updates).
Update of previous post!  (Guess the NYT will have to update its map)

Maggie-Hassan-1
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan becomes the first Democrat to want an opt-out on Syrian refugee resettlement. Of course, we wonder if the US State Dept. will be honoring their requests, but you can be sure we will be watching with great interest! The govs may be soon get an unwelcome message on states rights.

From The Hill:

Fifteen Republican governors and one Democrat have announced plans to block Syrian refugees from resettling in their states in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley issued statements Sunday saying that they wanted to prioritize the safety of the residents in their states.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a GOP presidential candidate; Arkansas Gov. Gov. Asa Hutchinson; Indiana Gov. Mike Pence; Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant; Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner; Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker; Florida Gov. Rick Scott; North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory; Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican presidential candidate; Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; and Maine Gov. Paul LePage joined them on Monday.

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, who is challenging Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) for her Senate seat, became the first Democratic governor to call for halting the acceptance of refugees until the vetting process is reviewed.

More here.
I don’t want to diminish this major breakthrough in garnering attention for this here-to-fore secretive refugee program, but tomorrow, when I get a minute I am going to have to remind readers about the thousands and thousands of Iraqi, Afghan, Burmese and Somali Muslims pouring into the US through the RAP (Refugee Admissions Program) every year as we fixate on the small number of Syrians so far.
I’m telling you they can’t screen most of those any better (especially those Somalis who have left Africa and traveled illegally to places like Malta in Europe where we scoop up their illegal aliens, call them refugees, and fly them to America—including to South Carolina as we learned earlier this year).