Tag: Tennessee

Tennessee lawsuit challenging refugee program could be filed by end of January, Kentucky may join

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Faithful readers know that this is a long time in coming, but we now see movement with the legal challenge that has the best shot of success in pushing the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program toward reform.

haslam4
Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Haslam fought the legislature on this issue. He welcomes more refugees to the state. Tennessee’s two US Senators (Alexander and Corker) also have done nothing to control expansion of the program in Tennessee.

The case, to be litigated by the Thomas Moore Law Center after the Tennessee legislature voted to sue and the governor agreed to hire them, involves the so-called Wilson-Fish provision that many believe is being used to unlawfully place the refugee program in a non-profit groups’ hands in states where the state government has opted out of the federal program.
In other words, one of the questions to be resolved is can a non-profit group (working with the feds) say how state taxpayer funds are spent, which is essentially what is happening in states that have withdrawn from the program?
States that could join Tennessee are those that recently withdrew including Texas, Maine, New Jersey and Kansas.  The older Wilson-Fish states, in addition to Tennessee and Kentucky, are also possible litigants, depending on the structure of their program, and include: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont.
Here is the news from The Tennessean yesterday:

Tennessee’s lawsuit against the federal government over refugee resettlement could be filed by the end of the month, a proponent of the effort said Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said a team of legal experts was coming to Nashville to discuss the forthcoming lawsuit, which was approved by the legislature last year.

“We will be working on the complaint that we intend to file I hope before the end of the month,” he said, while indicating that there has been interest from some in Kentucky about joining the lawsuit.

Norris said any lawsuit would be filed in the federal court in Nashville or possibly in Washington, D.C.

Tennessee’s lawsuit will be the first of its kind in the nation, given that it will challenge the federal government for noncompliance of the Refugee Act of 1980 based on the 10th Amendment.

[….]

The basis of the lawsuit centers on based on several arguments, including that the federal government has failed to consult with the state on the continued placement of refugees; the cost of administering the refugee resettlement program has been shifted to the state without officials specifically authorizing the appropriation of funds; and that the ongoing placement of refugees is a violation of the 10th Amendment.

Last fall, legislative leaders signed off on the selection of the Thomas More Law Center, a Michigan-based legal group that has taken on several conservative legal causes in recent years.

For our extensive archive on Tennessee, click here.  Go here for all of our reporting on Wilson-Fish states.

When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!
When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!
When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!
When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!
When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!
When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!
When governors withdraw their state from the Refugee Admissions Program, that is not the end of it!

What am I doing you ask?  An expert on communication once told me that people have to hear the same message seven times before they get it.  I want readers to get this point!

governor-paul-lepage
Come on Governor LePage—do it! Sue!

Once a governor withdraws his/her state from the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program (RAP), a Constitutionally unsupportable program created out of whole cloth known as the Wilson-Fish program gives the director of the ORR the (supposed) authority to designate a NON-GOVERNMENTAL organization to run the program in the state.
Please visit the Office of Refugee Resettlement website, here, to learn more about it (see a list of all states that are W-F now).

Knowledge is power:

Then, see Michael Patrick Leahy’s (Breitbart) clear description of the history of the law/regulation known as the Wilson-Fish Alternative program by clicking here.  (That article, written almost a year ago, is available by googling. Are lawyers for governors withdrawing from the program so incompetent that they can’t  find that information?)
As governors withdraw there may be a brief period of disruption to the flow of refugees to the state (the new withdrawals are New Jersey, Kansas, Texas and now Maine), but the resettlement proceeds and services are supplied when a federally-funded non-profit resettlement contractor takes over.
Think about it!  The federal government and an unelected, unaccountable to any voters, non-profit group will be deciding how to spend local and state taxpayer dollars in this case, Maine!

gov-abbott
Texas Governor Greg Abbott—do it! Once Texas is designated a W-F state, file the Tenth Amendment case!

I continue to be stunned by how little lawyers for these governors know about the RAP and are apparently in the dark about what they are doing…..
Unless of course they do know and by withdrawing they are getting the monkey (you) off their backs, fooling those of you who want it stopped, and thus allowing the program to proceed claiming they can do nothing.
However, they can do something…..
If a governor withdraws, he must follow-up with a state’s rights lawsuit!
The state of Tennessee is proceeding to challenge the Constitutionality of the Wilson-Fish program, see here.  The real test for the governors who withdraw is if they will join the lawsuit!

Under present administration of the program, Maine resettlement will continue as the federal government will (illegally we believe) assign a replacement agency to administer it!

Now, here is the AP story about what the Governor of Maine has just done and what the feds will do in response (I bet Catholic Charities is chuckling behind closed doors!).  Will Governor LePage sue?

sam-brownback
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has a mixed record on refugees. Test: Will he join the Tennessee lawsuit?

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) – Refugees will continue entering Maine despite Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s announcement that the state will no longer participate in a federally funded resettlement program.

So far this year, about 607 refugees were resettled in Maine, and more will arrive next year. Over the past decade, the state has worked with Catholic Charities of Maine to settle more than 3,400 refugees.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said its Office of Refugee Resettlement is working to appoint an interim agency that will administer earmarked federal funds, though a timeline is still uncertain.

That agency will likely be Catholic Charities. The federal government will later accept competitive bids for an agency that will take federal funds directly for refugee resettlement. [This whole process is built on no legal authority!—ed]

[….]

LePage wrote a Nov. 4 letter to Democratic President Barack Obama saying he no longer wants Maine associated with the federal refugee resettlement program, and he has also opposed the settlement of Syrian refugees in Maine “until adequate vetting procedures can be established.”

[….]

The governor said Maine communities are being burdened by this “unchecked influx of refugees” and “especially prevalent” welfare fraud within the refugee community. He did not provide data for such assertions.

[….]

Maine joins three other states – New Jersey, Kansas and Texas – that have recently opted out the federally funded refugee assistance program.

If you live in one of the so-called Wilson-Fish states you should be urging your governors to join the Tennessee case!

Endnote: I saw Kansas Governor Brownback’s name on a list of people Trump is interviewing.  I sure hope it isn’t for any position relating to immigration/refugees. See here in 2014 we reported that he signed on to a letter with Grover Norquist and other RINOs, including Jeb Bush, which urged the Republican Party to embrace more refugee resettlement.  Human Rights First loved it!

Tennessee's Tenth Amendment case against federal Refugee Admissions Program is moving ahead!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here is the breaking news from Michael Patrick Leahy at Breitbart:

The Tennessee General Assembly has selected the Thomas More Law Center to represent the state in its lawsuit against the federal government over the resettlement of refugees in the Volunteer State.

thomas-more-law

The Ann Arbor, Michigan based nonprofit public interest law firm made the announcement in a press statement released on Tuesday.

The Thomas More Law Center will represent the state free of charge in the “constitutional challenge to the federal government’s refugee resettlement program as a violation of the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”

Tennessee is one of twelve states that have withdrawn from the federal refugee resettlement program in which it is operated by the federal government under the statutorily-questionable Wilson Fish alternative program. Texas is the thirteenth state to withdrawn from the federal program, effective in January. Two additional states, Vermont and Massachusetts, allow the federal government to resettle refugees within their boundaries under the Wilson Fish alternative program, but have not withdrawn from the federal program.

Continue reading here.
This lawsuit is available for only those so-called Wilson Fish states (feds and a non-profit contractor call the shots on resettlement bypassing the state legislature) that have withdrawn from the federal program.  As mentioned above, Texas is the most recent one to do so.  Within the last year Kansas and New Jersey have withdrawn as well, so they don’t yet appear on this outdated ORR list.
So what should you do—tell your state to withdraw and then have the governor sign up as a plaintiff with the Thomas More Law Center!
But, don’t forget to pressure your member of Congress to DEFUND the program in the lame duck session of Congress next month.  This lawsuit is going to take a little while to work its way through the system and in the meantime (if Trump isn’t elected) we could have another quarter of a million refugees spread out across 49 states (assuming Wyoming continues to hold out!) by the time a legal judgement and the appeals process has been exhausted.
Here are the Wilson Fish states.  By the way, there is one county on the list (San Diego County) so this could mean a county could withdraw and join the lawsuit.  I’m not a lawyer, but I can’t see why that wouldn’t work!
Alabama
Alaska
Colorado
Idaho
Kentucky
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Nevada
North Dakota
South Dakota
Tennessee
Vermont
And then New Jersey, Kansas and Texas have joined the list.
Come on Governors Abbott (TX), Brownback (KS) and Christie (NJ) show some fight!

We need to get rid of slippery REPUBLICAN Senators like Bob Corker (R-TN)

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Don’t let letters like this one from Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee (thank God Trump did not choose him as VP) deter you. I’ve been asking all of you to write/call or whatever even if you know your US Senator or Congressmen are losers.
Thanks to a reader for sending this with this comment:

So much for contacting my senators and congressman, there are significant reforms don’t you know which makes everything all right.

Corker has done zip! He is one of the biggest problems we have in the US Senate and here he thinks he can blow you off with throwing the blame onto the Obama administration.  Corker and his fellow Republicans in the Senate hold the purse strings. They could cut off Obama’s funding if they wanted to—they don’t want to!

corker-and-obama
Surely Senator Corker is pressing Obama here on the golf course to slow the flow of mostly Muslim refugees to America!

With this letter, he insults his constituents by assuming you know nothing about refugee resettlement.  The Visa Waiver program has nothing to do with refugee admissions!  And, then he falls back to blame those dastardly Senate Democrats (who are in the minority!) for not getting anything done.
Corker is going to “press the administration!”  How about pressing your own leadership namely Mitch McConnell!
Letter from Senator Corker:

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office with your concerns regarding homeland security and the resettlement of refugees in the United States. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.

Like you, I believe there can be no shortcuts when it comes to guaranteeing the safety of the American people, and that protecting American citizens is the most significant responsibility of the United States Senate. In light of recent attacks in the United States and Europe, Congress can and should examine all potential gaps that might allow individuals who pose a security threat to enter our country, including in our refugee and visa programs and at our nation’s border, and resolve these issues in a constructive way to make sure our citizens are protected.

For this reason, I was pleased the Fiscal Year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations law included significant reforms to strengthen the visa waiver program, including prohibiting individuals who have traveled to Iraq, Syria, or countries that are state sponsors of terrorism, or are nationals of those countries, from using the visa waiver program to travel to the United States.

As you may know, I also voted to advance H.R. 4038, the American SAFE Act, which would put new requirements on the refugee vetting process for refugees who are nationals or residents of Iraq or Syria, or have been present in those countries at any point since March 2011, the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. Specifically, the FBI Director would have to certify the refugee vetting process, and refugees from these countries, could only be admitted into the United States after the Secretary of Homeland Security, the FBI Director, and the Director of National Intelligence certify that each refugee does not represent a threat to national security. While there was majority support for proceeding to debate this legislation, unfortunately Senate Democrats blocked it from coming to the floor.

Please know, I understand your concerns about the potential security risks from immigrant visa programs, including the resettlement of refugees in the United States. I will continue to use my position in the United States Senate and on the Foreign Relations Committee to press the administration to demonstrate leadership on this issue and protect Americans from all those who seek to do us harm.

Thank you again for your letter. I hope you continue to share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely,

Bob Corker
United States Senator

Are you getting slippery letters like this one, send them my way and I will publish some (can’t promise to publish all if you send me dozens and dozens!).
And to our reader and all of you getting letters like this.  Write back and tell them their answer is unsatisfactory and you want to know what he/she is going to do right now on this year’s omnibus—tell them you want the funds cut completely for the Refugee Admissions Program because there has never been a satisfactory answer to the security screening issue.  Tell them in fact security screening time has been reduced for Syrians and ask slippery Senators like Corker what he is doing about it!

Big news! Tennessee AG allows 10th Amendment lawsuit to be filed against feds!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It has been a long time coming, but regular readers know that the Tennessee legislature voted earlier this year to file a lawsuit against the federal government’s refugee resettlement program being operated in the state as a so-called Wilson-Fish program.
I’m not a lawyer and have no time to get into the weeds on the case, but just know that for these 12 states*** this case is the worst nightmare for the refugee industry in America.  It seems the case prepared by the Thomas More Law Center will proceed as the last impediment to filing has been removed!

jan-reeves-holly-johnson
Holly Johnson of Catholic Charities (left) calls the shots for TN. On the right is Jan Reeves who has been making decisions on who comes to Idaho for over two decades. Idaho is also a Wilson-Fish state!

Here is a little bit of the Tennessean last night (LOL! trying to downplay the momentous decision):

The lawsuit will move forward because a resolution approved by the legislature earlier this year included a provision that allows the legislature to hire outside counsel to sue the government for noncompliance of the Refugee Act of 1980.

[….]

“This Office shares the General Assembly’s concern about unauthorized federal intrusion in matters that have historically legally resided within the exclusive purview of state and local officials,” Slatery (TN AG) wrote in a letter sent to the clerks of both legislative chambers. “The founders in adopting the United States Constitution created a series of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch of government would have unfettered power.”

The federal government working with Catholic Charities and NOT with the elected officials of the state of Tennessee is basically spending Tennessee taxpayers’ money with no authorization from the legislature!

Proponents of the measure have said the lawsuit is necessary because the federal government has failed to consult with Tennessee on the continued placement of refugees while suggesting that the feds have shifted the cost of administering the program to the state without lawmakers specifically authorizing the appropriation of funds.

This is not the same case that was filed in Texas and Alabama! This is a states’ rights lawsuit!

Texas and Alabama have sued the federal government over refugee resettlement, but Tennessee’s forthcoming lawsuit would be the first based on the 10th Amendment, which states that the federal government possesses only powers delegated to it by the U.S. Constitution and that all other powers are reserved for the states.

Continue reading here.
We will write more later as others weigh in on the exciting news.
For all of you working in ‘pockets of resistance’ this is huge news, but it is not by itself a silver bullet! There is no one silver bullet! Unfortunately we cannot count on Congress to abolish or even reform this program with the present leadership. So we must all continue working on all of the seemingly small things we do every day to bring attention to the refugee resettlement industry in America!  I’m confident a tipping point is near!

The New York Daily News had its say about the Tennessee case with a story filed on Saturday. As someone said, it reads like a “novella!”  Check it out here since it discusses yours truly being driven by Islamophobia.  I guess what went down in Lake Calhoun, MN last week can all be chalked up to Islamophobia too!
***Two other states are effectively Wilson-Fish states now as Kansas and New Jersey withdrew from the program, but it appears governors there are too chicken to make the next move and file a lawsuit just as Tennessee will now do.