I’m reminded by this report on the San Diego refugee housing scandal at Inewsource.org.
The US State Department on some sporadic basis sends monitors out to refugee resettlement offices around the country to see if your local resettlement agency is compliant with guidelines for the care of refugees they have placed.
Years ago I spoke with Chris Coen who had a blog called ‘Friends of Refugees’ and he regularly submitted Freedom of Information Actrequests to the State Department for those monitoring reports, then patiently waited YEARS to get responses. Lacking patience, I never sought them (little did I imagine that nearly 11 years later, I am still doing this!). IRC’s representative in San Diego: Mireille Cronin Mather
Now that we know that the Tillerson State Department is trying to clear its FOIA backlog, maybe some of you should try again to get the reports for contractors operating in your towns.
Clearly the reporters at Inewsource.org were able to obtain one for the International Rescue Committee in San Diego.
Here is the title and first paragraph of their latest report. The contractors are extremely vulnerable on the issue of how they care for refugees they are paid to care for (I’ve been hearing it for years), and it goes to the heart of the question about whether this is really a ‘humanitarian’ program or simply driven by money.
Federal monitors warned San Diego refugee nonprofit of problems with resettlement practices
Federal monitors raised concerns about a local refugee resettlement agency’s housing placement practices months before the organization’s employees committed additional violations, which KPBS uncovered and detailed in a series of reports last year.
Hereis the State Department’s FOIA guideline site.
If you need to know which resettlement agencies are working near you, go here for a directory. Pick offices that are within a hundred miles of your home.
This post is filed in my ‘What you can do’ category, see here.
And, although this articleat ‘Sight’ magazine got my blood boiling for its promotion of the six ‘religious’ charities (Ha! Ha!) that (out of the goodness of their hearts?) are ‘welcoming’ refugees and getting them their services in your towns and cities, it is very revealing.
Before reading on, maybe revisit my post yesterdayand know that the offices that the ‘religious’ contractors are closing could stay open if they raised private money to pay the salaries of their workers to care for the refugees they placed a few months, or a few years, ago. To SATISFY THEIR CHARITABLE INCLINATIONS, THEY COULD TAKE CARE OF THOSE WHO ARE ALREADY HERE! NEW REFUGEES ARE NOT REQUIRED FOR THAT! However, new refugees are required if they want to suck down millions of federal dollars (through per refugee head payments) and continue their high-flying spending especially on salaries for the big wigs—like Mark Hetfield in the photo that Sight uses to decorate its story.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society CEO Mark Hetfield (left) demonstrating against the President last month in Washington. Being a humanitarian is lucrative if you can get the work! His annual salary (and related income) amounts to $343,630, and taxpayers pay a hefty chunk of that! Adding insult to injury, Hetfield sits down with the US State Department on a weekly basis to make decisions (in secret!) about which of your towns will ‘welcome’ refugees.
Sightmagazine (looks like it is a mag for the international religious Left):
A program under siege!
Refugee aid groups have conducted massive layoffs and office closures ever since the Trump administration began issuing various versions of a travel ban, sometimes called a “Muslim ban”.The groups have been left on the hook for empty apartments and have had to explain to interested churches why they can’t bring refugees to their areas. And many refugee advocates have expressed concern over how long it will take the groups to come back from those cuts, if they can at all.
[….]
President Trump has also slashed the total number of refugees who will be admitted into the US, from 110,000 in fiscal 2017 – a bar set by former President Obama – to 45,000 in fiscal 2018, which started in October. And agencies say they aren’t even on track to settle that number: Just over 6,000 had come to the country in the last three months.
Hidden behind these figures is the decimation of an expansive refugee resettlement apparatus composed largely of faith-based nonprofit organisations that have partnered with the federal government for decades.
Of the nine groups helping refugees find a home in America, six claim a religious affiliation: World Relief, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Church World Service, HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and Episcopal Migration Ministries.
Historically, these groups are contracted by the government to help take in refugees after they undergo a lengthy application and vetting process that involves several agencies, including the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. (The placement of families is determined on a weekly basis through consultation between the State Department and the resettlement groups.)
Once people are brought to the US, resettlement groups authorised annually by the State Department typically provide new arrivals with housing and food, as well as long-term assistance for achieving self-sufficiency such as help in finding jobs, learning English and often becoming permanent US residents or citizens. [And signing them up for their WELFARE, food stamps, medical care, etc.—ed]
But leaders of these groups say the Trump administration’s new policies are hobbling their operations and hurting those they serve. They’re fighting back and finding hope in a groundswell of support from people of faith, but the future remains uncertain. [If they have a groundswell of support, can’t those supporters send enough cash to keep the low level employees in their jobs?—ed]
“I don’t know how long it will take to undo the damage that has been done,” said Matthew Soerens, US director of church mobilisation for World Relief.
A program under siege
The harm inflicted on the resettlement program by the Trump administration is difficult to calculate. Each organisation is structured differently and many partner with independent local groups for on-the-ground efforts.
[….]
Meanwhile, officials say the cost of the ban can sometimes fall disproportionately on the resettlement agencies*** instead of on the federal government.
When you have contractors (see below) that are 97-98% federally funded I can’t see that the costs will fall disproportionately on the contractor!
For serious students of the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program there is a lot of really good information in here, so continue reading here. I may actually revisit this article tomorrow so I can be sure you see the individual contractor’s sob stories. And, I got a chuckle out of their glowing use of quotes from the recently departedLinda Hartke.
Where is Congress?
As long as the nine federal contractors are almost entirely funded by the US taxpayer and then are permitted to protest, community organize and lobby Congress for more refugees and more money, this program will never be reformed!
Photo caption! Just so you know I am not making up Hetfield’s handsome salary, here is a page from HIAS’s most recent Form 990:
*** These are the nine federal resettlement agencies, six are (LOL!) ‘religious charities.’
The original Refugee Act of 1980, that set up this monstrosity, envisioned a public-private partnership that over the years has almost completely morphed in to a federal program and that is why these agencies are hurting now—they got fat and lazy on the federal teat!
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of their income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees and get them signed up for their services (aka welfare)! From most recent accounting, here.
I told you about it here yesterday, but I’ve noticed over the last 24 hours that the story about Trump’s refugee policies being blamed for closure of NON-PROFIT GROUP offices is all over the media.
Let me be clear! The blame rests squarely on the design of the US Refugee Admissions Program (and Congress) which has shoveled so much federal money to NON-PROFITS that they long ago gave up any idea of seriously attempting to raise private money to TAKE CARE OF THE REFUGEES THEY CLAIM THEY WANTED! The program has essentially become a ponzi-scheme built on US Treasury payments to NON-PROFIT groups on a refugee per head basis. Refugee (paying client) numbers decline, and thus so does the NON-PROFIT groups’ taxpayer support.
For ten years I have been hammering this point—nothing has stopped NON-PROFIT refugee agencies from raising PRIVATE money in the old fashioned way! They could have held more fundraisers, sought out grants from businesses AND from religious groups to tide them over through the ups and downs of the refugee admissions flow. (If, at this point, they say there isn’t enough private money for this, then that means the public doesn’t want it!)
So instead they got lazy on the federal dole. It isn’t the Trump State Department’s fault if refugees brought in previous months and years are now left without local support. The State Department can’t legally shutter NON-PROFIT groups. It is the management at the top of the nine federal contractors (below) who were careless and lazy (all the while collecting exorbitant salaries themselves!) who are to blame if refugees are left in the lurch now, or staff at the lowest levels is dismissed.
Where the h*** is Congress! It is way past time to either dump or completely reform the Refugee Act of 1980!
The nine contractors….
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of their income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees and get them signed up for their services (aka welfare)! From most recent accounting, here.
“We’ve never seen a cut of this size and also a cut of this impact.”
(Hans Van de Weerd an executive at the International Rescue Committee)
Warning!Although this is news you will find valuable, especially if you live near one of the soon-to-be-closed resettlement sites, remember that this is temporary and when Trump is no longer in the White House, the refugee industry will go in to high gear to make up for what they will call the lost Trump years! In order for that not to happen, CONGRESS must dump or reform the Refugee Act of 1980! Reutersis reporting the impending closure of 20 offices.
Demonstrating that elections have consequences, it was only in 2016 that the State Department was on a high attempting to add about 47 offices to their roster of resettlement towns and cities. Now this….
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Refugee resettlement agencies*** are preparing to shutter more than 20 offices across the United States and cut back operations in more than 40 others after the State Department told them to pare their operations, according to plans seen by Reuters.
It should come as no surprise to you that refugee contractor employees like Hans here also support illegal aliens getting amnesty. It isn’t about humanitarian concern for refugees, but is about flooding America with immigrants, like Hans himself.
The slated closures, which are being reviewed by the State Department for final approval, follow President Donald Trump’s decision to dramatically reduce the number of refugees that will be allowed into the United States in 2018.
The State Department has said the drop in refugee numbers, from the 110,000 ceiling set by the Obama administration to 45,000 for 2018, means the country no longer needs all of the 324 resettlement offices that were operating at the end of 2017. This year’s cap on refugees is the lowest since 1980.
The offices, run by private non-profit agencies that contract with the U.S. government, provide a range of services to refugees, from assisting them in finding housing and jobs, to helping them navigate banking, medical care, school enrollment and other complexities of life in America. [Complexities=getting their welfare!—ed]
Opponents of the resettlement program say it is more costly to resettle refugees in the United States than it is to give aid to displaced people overseas.
“The changes will consolidate smaller affiliates, reduce costs and simplify management structures to help the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program run in a way that is fiscally responsible and sustainable in the long term,” State Department spokeswoman Cheryl Harris said in an email.
[….]
“We’ve never seen a cut of this size and also a cut of this impact,” said Hans Van de Weerd an executive at the International Rescue Committee, one of the nine resettlement agencies. [Why isn’t newshound Miliband quoted?—ed]
While the size of the U.S. refugee program has fluctuated over the years, it has never seen an across-the-board cut to dozens of offices in such a short period of time, he said.
Van de Weerd said the cuts could make it difficult for the United States to ramp up refugee numbers in the future. “It took years to build up this capacity,” he said. “Once you break it down it’s not easy to build it up again.”
Continue reading here.
Below is a screenshot of a portion of a very useful graphic Reutershas prepared. Click here to see the entire page.
***These are the nine federal contractors which refer to themselves as VOLAGs (Voluntary agencies, Ha! Ha!) which will lose some of their subcontractor offices (see list here before it is revised). The number in parenthesis is the percentage of federal funding each gets to place refugees in your towns. They are paid by the refugee head thus the focus on Trump’s admission numbers.
Linda Hartke is the second refugee contracting agency CEO in a matter of months to step down apparently involuntarily from the leadership of one of nine federal refugee contractors.***
She follows Lavinia Limon (USCRI) who was, we heard from sources, “pushed out” last October (see here). No explanation was ever given about Limon’s departure, but it came at about the same time that investigations into LIRS had commenced.
This is what Michael Patrick Leahy is reporting at Breitbartthis morning:
Linda Hartke is out as CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, three months after Breitbart News first reported on an internal investigation into claims of financial irregularities and harassment at the embattled non-profit under her leadership.
“Today, Linda Hartke, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), announced her departure from LIRS after eight years of service,” LIRS said in a memorandum sent to its donors, Lutheran congregations, and the U.S. government on Tuesday.
Hartke and LIRS brought refugees to lobby Congress last June for more refugees and more funding. On our dime? https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2017/06/26/refugee-contractors-brought-refugee-lobbyists-to-washington-again-last-week/
A source familiar with the operations with LIRS tells Breitbart News that the Board of Directors fired Hartke on Thursday of last week, a consequence of the findings of the internal investigation into her tenure as CEO.
[….]
“The issues related to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIaRS) are widespread but are rooted in the main areas of financial mismanagement and the incompetence of leadership,” a source familiar with the operations of the refugee resettlement industry told Breitbart News in November, adding that “seven key areas” were the focus of the internal investigation:
Financial Mismanagement
Failure to Address Financial Irregularities Discovered by Independent Audits
Wasteful Spending
Concealment of Taxable Income
Timesheet Fraud
Budget Grant Fraud
Large Severance and Settlement Payouts to Avoid Public and Board Reporting
The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) has contracted with LIRS and eight other voluntary agencies (VOLAGs) to resettle refugees admitted into the United States under the Refugee Admissions Program. Over the past several decades, federal payments to these VOLAGs have averaged about $1 billion annually.
Virtually all of LIRS’s revenues come from the federal government.
Continue reading hereand see LIRS leadership efforts to make her departure sound so warm and fuzzy.
Yes, LIRS is a federally funded resettlement agency that I have followed for years sucking down on average 95% and up of its funding from you, the US taxpayers (see my most recent accounting, here). We sure hope that in addition to the Dept. of Health and Human Services looking into its grants management that the US State Department is doing the same! And, where the h*** is Congress?
Not such a happy place to work!
Just yesterday, I came across the Glassdoorand got a few screenshots of comments from employees that let you know what an internal mess was going on there in recent months.
Here are just three of those. (When you read these, consider that all this was going on while you paid for it including Hartke’s over $300,000 annual income/related income package.)
Yikes! Unkindest cut of all—likening her to Trump!
LIRS near you? Then this is what you must do….
Be sure to go here and see LIRS’s subcontractors working in 23 states. See if you have an affiliate near you. It is up to you to make sure your people know about the turmoil at the top of this food chain! LIRS headquarters is where your local agency gets most of their funds. And, it is LIRS headquarters that works with the US State Department to choose which refugees are to be placed in your towns and cities.
*** These are the nine federal contractors paid by you to place refugees in to hundreds of towns and cities via their subcontractors (see directory of offices).
They sit down with the Dept. of State every week in Washington to divvy-up the incoming refugees to be distributed (unbeknownst to you) to your towns. Although, due to the Trump slowdown, there are fewer to divvy-up each week.
The number in parenthesis is the percentage of their income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place those refugees and get them signed up for their services (aka welfare)! From most recent accounting, here.
