White House wants to speed up Syrian resettlement, wants more than 10,000 asap!

11/07/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Obama doesn’t have much time left—he has to get as many refugees resettled (seeded!) in your towns and cities as he possibly can before January 2017.
Here is Reuters yesterday on news that the US State Department is gearing up to open more processing centers in the Middle East so as to speed up the relocation of more Syrians to your towns.

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – The Obama administration is moving to increase and accelerate the number of Syrian refugees who might be admitted into the United States by opening new screening outposts in Iraq and Lebanon, administration officials told Reuters on Friday.

ABD Dışişleri Bakanlığı Nüfus, Göçmenler ve Göçten Sorumlu Müsteşar Yardımcısı Anne Richard, ABD Büyükelçiği'nde Suriyeli sığınmacılarla ilgili Kuveyt, Lübnan ve Türkiye'deki temasları hakkında bilgi verdi. (Binnur Ege Gürün - Anadolu Ajansı) — Asst. Secretary of State for PRM, Anne Richard, is the likely official who “spoke on the condition of anonymity.” Why not just speak on the record?

The move comes after President Barack Obama pledged in September to admit an additional 10,000 refugees in 2016 from Syria, torn by four years of civil war and disorder.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the plans to open a refugee settlement processing center in Erbil, Iraq, before the end of 2015, and to resume refugee processing in Lebanon in early 2016, said spokeswoman Danna Van Brandt.

The White House would not say how many additional refugees it may take in beyond the 10,000, but two senior administration officials said they are seeking ways to increase the number.

“We want to be in a place where we can push out really ambitious goals,” said one of the officials, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

The State Department runs nine screening centers worldwide that serve as meeting points for refugees and U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees who have to decide who is suitable for resettlement in the United States.

And get this, we will re-open the processing center in Lebanon (guess those security concerns have disappeared)!

Homeland Security workers stopped traveling to Lebanon to meet with refugees when the facility there closed over a year ago due to security concerns.

Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall as the US Department of Homeland Security (FBI) says Syrians can’t be properly screened yet Homeland Security is speeding up the process of getting those not properly screened in here faster to satisfy the White House and UN/US State Department and the contractors.

Catholic Charities begins resettling Syrian Muslims in Louisiana

11/06/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Remember we learned that 97% of the Syrians entering the US so far are Sunni Muslims. Heretofore, Louisiana has not been a top resettlement target (but the feds and Catholic Charities are always out scouting for new territory!).
From WWL.com News:

Refugees migrating from Syria and Afghanistan have begun to arrive in the New Orleans area.

lafayette_la — Lafayette (green star) rated as one of the best places to live in Louisiana.

Catholic Charities, which is part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans has taken in two Syrian refugee families and is expecting many more.

There are approximately 180 cities in the country that are eligible to accept some 10,000 Syrian refugees. In Louisiana, those cities include Metairie, Baton Rouge and Lafayette.

The Syrian refugees are first flown to the United States, with the State Department paying the International Organization for Migration for the airfare.

Once the refugees arrive in the country, they receive assistance in settling and finding employment in the area.

It’s believed the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force will run the incoming refugees through a Terrorist Screening Center.

Catholic Charities has targeted services for helping refugees, and has received a federal grant from the U.S. Department of State/Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to assist the newcomers.

There is more, click here.
Go here and scroll down to Louisiana for refugee resettlement offices in the state.

Study: Middle Eastern refugees cost US $257,481 for family of four in first five years!

11/05/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

As we have always suspected but have had little proof until now, it is more cost-effective to care for refugees in regions close to their homes rather than to bring them to the US.
Steven Camarata, Director of Research at the Center for Immigration Studies released a new analysis today.

As Americans continue to debate what to do about the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, this analysis attempts to estimate the costs of resettling refugees from that region in the United States. Although we do not consider all costs, our best estimate is that in their first five years in the United States each refugee from the Middle East costs taxpayers $64,370 — 12 times what the UN estimates it costs to care for one refugee in neighboring Middle Eastern countries.

The cost of resettlement includes heavy welfare use by Middle Eastern refugees; 91 percent receive food stamps and 68 percent receive cash assistance. Costs also include processing refugees, assistance given to new refugees, and aid to refugee-receiving communities. Given the high costs of resettling refugees in the United States, providing for them in neighboring countries in the Middle East may be a more cost-effective way to help them.

Continue reading here.
I suspect that these new numbers for the US are very conservative since we recently heard it will cost the UK, roughly $36,000 per refugee per year to bring Syrians into the UK.

In Atlantic City, NJ, owner of shuttered casino says he would house Syrian refugees

11/04/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

There is money in ‘them thar’ refugees! Throughout Europe there are stories of developers and others in the real estate business who see dollar signs (well Euros, where they live) as the migrants pour in, but this is the first time we are seeing a developer here in America look to overtly cash in on federally-funded ‘humanitarianism.’
See our post last year from Germany—luxury hotel converted to housing for refugees.

FILE - This Oct. 17, 2012 file photo shows the Revel, Atlantic City, N.J.'s newest casino. Revel, the casino many people had hoped would turn around Atlantic City's sagging fortunes, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 said that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, less than a year after it opened. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File) — FILE – This Oct. 17, 2012 file photo shows the Revel, Atlantic City, N.J.’s newest casino. Revel, the casino many people had hoped would turn around Atlantic City’s sagging fortunes, on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013 said that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, less than a year after it opened. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File) http://www.vosizneias.com/124618/2013/02/19/atlantic-city-nj-njs-newest-casino-revel-to-file-for-bankruptcy/

Although readers, you will find many local cases of rental property owners working hand-in-glove with local resettlement agencies, or developers looking for HUD money to diversify housing in your town, it is all kept pretty under the table.
The owner of the Revel, a shuttered casino, is apparently cash-strapped and right out in the open in his appeal.
From NBC10:

So far, the owner of Atlantic City’s former Revel casino has proposed using it as an indoor water park, a medical tourism resort, an equestrian facility and a so-called “genius academy” where the world’s top minds would tackle society’s problems.

Now add this to Glenn Straub’s thoughts for the property: housing Syrian refugees.

Straub told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he’s willing to let people displaced by the civil war in Syria stay at the 47-story Revel resort as he fights in court over its future. Straub has been trying to reopen Revel since buying it in April for $82 million but has been beset by litigation from utility companies and former tenants that has so far kept it shuttered.

“We treat our dogs better than we treat the Syrians right now,” he said. “If the government wanted to house Syrian refugees, I’d give them use of the building and let them put those people there.”

[…..]

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that it had not been contacted by Straub but would be willing to put him in contact with a local refugee resettlement agency*** should he so desire.

Straub said his only request would be reimbursement for the cost of operating the building while refugees were staying there.

***The closest resettlement agency is in Camden, NJ (go here to see the entire list of resettlement contractors, find one near where you live).
By the way, I don’t see Atlantic City on the list of cities whose mayors are hankering for more immigrants to boost their sagging economies. And, there are two NJ cities looking for Syrian refugees, but I don’t see A.C. on the list yet.

Sacramento to welcome large number of Syrians says resettlement contractor

11/02/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

There is nothing unexpected in this news article about the new CEO of ‘Opening Doors’ another resettlement agency contracted through Church World Service (one of nine major resettlement contractors working for the UN/US State Department), but I bring it to you because it makes some points we have been making lately.

Deborah Ortiz to be the new CEO of Opening Doors. Photo: http://sacramentopress.com/2011/03/22/latino-leaders-honored-in-cesar-chavez-resolution/

Yes! They are contractors!
I had to laugh when I saw this line on their website. South Carolina readers will recall that when Asst. Sec. of State for PRM, Anne Richard, came to Spartanburg she said that they were not “CONTRACTORS,” but had signed “agreements.” Someone needs to tell ‘Opening Doors:’

Refugees come to us through our affiliate, Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program that is under contract to the United States Department of State.

First and foremost I was interested in the fact that Opening Doors (largely funded with taxpayer dollars)*** doesn’t just resettle refugees, but works with and for illegal aliens as well. That is a point I have been making lately. Many who want to see illegal immigration brought under control say “legal immigration is good,” but these groups we fund—like Opening Doors—are perfectly fine with promoting the rights of illegal migrants right along with their resettlement work that is paid for by you!
Here is the story from the Sacramento Bee:

Deborah Ortiz, a veteran public servant who spent years trying to help immigrants and refugees in Sacramento and the state, will soon be aiding hundreds of new Sacramentans fleeing violence or persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and more than half a dozen other nations.

On Jan. 1, the former city council member, assemblywoman and state senator will take over as CEO of Opening Doors, a nonprofit agency that helps refugees, immigrants and human-trafficking survivors achieve self-sufficiency through job training, small-business loans and access to legal and social services. Last year, the agency served more than 650 immigrants and refugees and helped resettle 423. It also assisted 94 human-trafficking survivors.

[….]

Since 2011, when the Syrian conflict started, 1,500 Syrians have been resettled nationwide. Sacramento ranks third in the nation among cities receiving them. Since April, Opening Doors, one of several resettlement agencies here, has resettled 25. [97% of those arriving in FY2015 are Muslims, does Church World Service not advocate for persecuted Christians? Guess not!—ed]

Is Opening Doors keeping a huge chunk of the refugees cash?

Then this (below) gave me pause. Refugees are given cash by the federal government in the amount of $1,975 per person and the contractor usually pockets around $800 of it (per refugee) for their overhead (they are paid by the head for their work, thus they have every incentive to never slow the flow).
Does this mean that Opening Doors is pocketing an even bigger chunk?
Note again, that the contractor’s job is to sign the refugees up for their welfare goodies. You can be sure that no matter how hard they wish it, the refugees are NOT “independent” in three months as they claim.

Refugees receive $925 in federal funding for the first 30 days. It helps pay for setting up their households, food, housing and nominal expenses. Their refugee status many help them qualify for other income-based public assistance programs including cash assistance, Medi-Cal, and CalFresh (food stamps) for up to eight months for adults without dependent children. Families with children are eligible to receive benefits for four years.

Opening Doors supports them for three months from the date of arrival in Sacramento. The agency enrolls refugees in ESL classes, human services and employment services to help them to become independent at the end of the three months.

Maybe it’s the reporter’s fault, but someone needs to see if this contractor is keeping a big chunk of the refugees’ cash.
*** Here is Opening Doors’ most recently available Form 990. They are a $1.3 million a year business with just about $1 million coming from your wallets.
Endnote: An Iraqi refugee wrote this criticism of Opening Doors in 2010.