Tennessee Measles outbreak first identified at Memphis mosque

05/11/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update May 12th: More here from Leahy at Breitbart.
We have long contended that you may be at greater risk from the health issues related to refugee resettlement than you would be from a catastrophic terrorist attack by a refugee. See our health issues category with 290! previous posts to see what I mean!
[That said, I do believe that in the long term, the very greatest threat we face from the resettlement of tens of thousands of refugees each year is the more gradual, but ultimately more devastating, demographic change (the Hijra) that is necessary for the expansion of Islamic shariah law.]
But, nothing frightens people more in the short term than thinking about their children being exposed to potentially deadly diseases.

Holly Johnson Memphis — Leahy tells us that the Health Department has yet to call Holly Johnson who runs Catholic Charities of Tennessee and is responsible for the refugees entering the state. Wouldn’t she be able to tell them quickly if those infected were in their refugee data base for TN? And, doesn’t she have records on refugees’ immunizations? Here is how to reach Johnson: http://www.cctenn.org/servicedetails.cfm?name=Tennessee%20Office%20for%20Refugees%20-%20About%20Us&pid=14071713565812760-D&id=9

Here is the news at Breitbart. You can be sure this information would not have come out without relentless digging by Breitbart reporter Michael Patrick Leahy.

The first reported case of a person with measles in the recent Memphis outbreak, which now numbers seven confirmed cases, was at a local mosque on April 15, according to the Shelby County Health Department.

“The first public place where there was a public exposure potentially [to measles] was the Masjid Al-Noor Mosque on April 15,” Dr. Alisa Haushalter, Director of the Shelby County Health Department, tells Breitbart News.

“The mosque is one location we know that individuals who were infectious were during their infectious period, but that’s not necessarily where the first case occurred. I don’t want you to draw conclusions without sufficient information,” she added.

Haushalter acknowledged, however, that the measles outbreak could have originated with an unvaccinated for measles adult or child brought to Tennessee under the federal refugee resettlement program, something she called “a possibility amongst many.”

[….]

Surprisingly, the majority of the more than 70,000 refugees resettled annually across the United States through the federal refugee resettlement program are not required to have been vaccinated for measles prior to their arrival here.

Continue reading here.
If you live in the area, you definitely want to go to the full story because reporter Leahy provides a whole list of locations where you might have come in contact with one of the infectious Measles cases.
I get so steamed when I see stories like this because there is so much our good-for-nothing Congress could do to at least make this program safer if they can’t bring themselves to scrap it altogether!

ACLU of New Jersey asks Christie to NOT withdraw from federal refugee program

05/04/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

They are talking big about not being bothered by the news from Kansas and New Jersey, but believe me they are getting nervous!
Who is “they?” That would be the open-borders cabal that includes the American Civil Liberties Union (as we are learning here), and Human Rights First (see our previous post). It surely includes the nine major federal contractors responsible for placing refugees in your towns as well.

If they are so confident that refugee resettlement can continue without slowdown if a governor takes the state out of the program, then why is the ACLU bothering to badger Christie?

For new readers, it all began recently with the move by the Tennessee legislature to vote to sue the feds on States’ Rights grounds.
Once a state opts-out of the program (TN opted-out nearly ten years ago), the federal government claims they can simply assign a non-profit group to run things for the federal government in that state. But, it’s looking like they haven’t a legal leg to stand on and so if a governor withdraws his/her state and follows up with step #2—suing the federal government when they assign a non-profit group to determine how state and local tax dollars are expended—this program could be ground to a halt.
Here is what we just learned from North Jersey.com:

TRENTON — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey is calling on Republican Gov. Chris Christie to reconsider withdrawing from a federal refugee resettlement program.

The group sent Christie a letter Tuesday arguing that the state has a long history of welcoming refugees from across the world.

Christie’s office did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment.

The group says the letter comes in response to the Christie administration’s decision last month to notify the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program that it intended to pull out.

For new readers, in addition to New Jersey and Kansas, these (below) are the so-called Wilson-Fish states where the federal program is being run by mostly unaccountable-to-the-taxpayers non-profit groups.

Folks in NJ and Kansas need to thank your governors and urge them to take step #2!

And, if you live in one of these states tell your governor to look at the Thomas More Law Center case.
Wilson-Fish states (one city) and which NGO is running the program there:

Alabama: USCCB – Catholic Social Services

Alaska: USCCB – Catholic Social Services

Colorado: Colorado Department of Human Services

Idaho: Janus Inc. (formerly Mountain States Group), Idaho Office for Refugees

Kentucky: USCCB – Catholic Charities of Louisville, Kentucky Office for Refugees

Louisiana: USCCB – Catholic Charities Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana Office for Refugees

Massachusetts: Office for Refugees and Immigrants

Nevada: USCCB – Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada

North Dakota: LIRS – Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota

San Diego County, CA: USCCB – Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego

South Dakota: LIRS – Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota

Tennessee: USCCB – Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Tennessee Office for Refugees

Vermont: USCRI – Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program

And, one last thing, for the life of me I have never been able to understand how the ACLU can look the other way on the separation of church and state when these ‘religious’ groups are paid by the taxpayer to resettle refugees. I guess it’s simply the fact that these ‘religious’ groups are on the political Left as is the ACLU!

Breaking news: Tennessee legislature votes to sue feds over refugee program

04/19/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

It is an understatement to say that this is a significant development! I have no time to give you all the details of the states’ rights lawsuit, so please read the story yourselves at Breitbart by clicking here. Michael Patrick Leahy begins his report on the great news:

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–On Tuesday, the Tennessee General Assembly declared it will sue the federal government over its refugee resettlement program on Tenth Amendment grounds. The State Senate passed a resolution authorizing that lawsuit in a 29 to 4 vote one day after it passed the Tennessee House by a 69 to 25 margin.

“Today we struck a blow for Liberty by finally adopting SJR467,” State Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville), the co-sponsor of the resolution who shepherded it through the State Senate, tells Breitbart News.

Continue reading here.
See all of our coverage of the issue in Tennessee by clicking here.
I’ll be in DC tomorrow for meetings, so consequently I won’t be on top of all the latest news on the refugee front until I’m back on Thursday (and there is a lot of news)!

Tennessee legislature moves one step closer to states' right lawsuit on refugee program

04/14/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

This is a big deal!

Just yesterday we reported that Syrian refugees resettled in Memphis, TN are dumpster diving because they don’t have jobs and apparently their resettlement agency (a contractor of the federal government) doesn’t raise enough private charitable money to help them!
The_Tenth_Amendment
Tennessee legislators have had enough of Washington making decisions for Tennessee taxpayers and are moving a resolution through the legislative process that in the end could result in a states’ rights lawsuit against the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program.
Here is the latest from Michael Patrick Leahy writing for Breitbart:

NASHVILLE, Tennessee–The Tennessee General Assembly is on track to sue the federal government over the refugee resettlement program on Tenth Amendment grounds after Senate Joint Resolution 467 cleared its last substantive hurdle in the Tennessee House Finance Committee.

The resolution sailed through the committee on a voice vote, and is now headed to the Calendar and Rules Committee, which will schedule a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives some time during the next seven days. The resolution is expected to pass in a landslide, as 74 of the House’s 99 members have already signed on as sponsors.

In February, the resolution easily passed the State Senate by a 27 to 5 margin.

“As SJR 467 is moving forward, other states will read our actions. I am pleased that seventy-four of my colleagues believe wholeheartedly that Tennessee is responsible for asserting our state’s sovereignty rights under the Tenth Amendment,” State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster), the sponsor of the resolution in the House, tells Breitbart News.

Terri_Lynn_Weaver_Tennesse_House_Seat_desk — Rep Weaver is the chief sponsor of the resolution and was joined by 74 of her fellow legislators.

“We have seen unprecedented federal overreach during the Obama administration. We need clarity and definition concerning the relationship between the federal government and our state when it comes to appropriations to pay for the federal Refugee Resettlement Program,” Weaver adds.

It is now a virtual certainty that the Tennessee General Assembly will file the lawsuit in federal court, as the Thomas More Law Center, a well-respected conservative public interest law firm, has said it will represent the state of Tennessee at no cost, even if Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery chooses not to litigate the case.

Continue reading here.

You can do this too!

Readers, this is not a lawsuit only for Tennessee. If you live in one of these so-called ‘Wilson-Fish’ states, your state too could be a plaintiff (because of the way the program has been structured in these states)…..

…..if your governor had guts!

Wilson Fish states: Alaska, Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee and Vermont.

Go here for our complete archive on the Wilson-Fish program.

Tenth Amendment poster above right can be ordered by going here: http://www.zazzle.com/tenth_amendment_poster-228447030250525985

From Syrian refugee camp to dumpster-diving in Memphis, TN

04/13/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

To get Obama’s promise of 10,000 Syrians on US soil by September 30th fulfilled, resettlement contractors like World Relief (and eight others) must resettle about 358 a week for the remaining weeks of this fiscal year.
Is this story from Memphis indicative of what is happening in your town as more and more refugees are dropped off?

homeless-dumpster-diving — “Welcoming” Memphis! Syrian refugees dumpster-dive to support families. Where are all the charitable and good Evangelical Christians at World Relief? When the RAP was created, these federal contractors were supposed to match the federal dollars with private charitable giving. The private share is almost non-existent now.

The Refugee Admissions Program (RAP) of the UN/US State Department already costs American taxpayers over $4 billion and this is what you get for your money!
Where is all the money going? I expect to offices and staff at the nine federal contractors!
From the Memphis Mirror:
After a lengthy lead-in about the troubles the Alkani family had in leaving Syria, check this out!

Today, Alkhani’s strife is drastically different. He is not surrounded by warfare, but struggles every day to make his family’s next dollar with no English language skills and a sixth grade education.

His worries about money started immediately. He owed the U.S. Department for their flight fares – a total of $6,000.***

Refugee families receive a one-time welcome payment of $925 per person from the U.S State Department, or $4,625 total for this family, that was channeled to them through World Relief Memphis. [Most people, especially the refugees, don’t know that World Relief, as the middleman, gets a cut of the money —-ed]

World Relief Memphis was the Alkhani’s first American contact and provided the family with the basics to get them started in Memphis. The money for basics like couches, kitchenware, and beds was deducted from their welcome money. [And, World Relief couldn’t get those items donated and save the cash?—ed]

“The World Relief Organization took care of the migration process,” Alkhani said. “We were supposed to get $4,500 in welcome money. We only received $900 of it.”

World Relief Memphis also provides English lessons for refugee families. But Alkhani, like other refugees, said he did not learn much. Alkhani gave up after three months because the teacher only spoke English, and he could not understand anything. [Your tax dollars paid for those English lessons!—ed]

Rami Alhomsi is another Syrian refugee who gave up on the English classes that World Relief Memphis provided.

“None of us benefited from these lessons. We all quit school after sixth grade,” Alhomsi said in Arabic to an interpreter. “We don’t know any English.”

[….]

Because of the language barrier, Alkhani has trouble finding a permanent job. He works for people in the Arab community whenever someone needs an extra hand. He also collects items thrown out in dumpsters and on sidewalks and sells them in a flea market on Summer Avenue.

By the way, World Relief has been advocating that 100,000 Syrians be admitted to the US. For what? So they can compete with poor Americans in dumpster diving?
*** One thing most of you don’t know is that when World Relief collects the airfare loan money they get to keep a portion of it for themselves for running the collection service. All of your money does not return to the US Treasury.
Meet the staff at World Relief Memphis by clicking here.