Tag: US State Department

Syrian Muslims headed to North Dakota, Nebraska and Kentucky

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Kentucky refugee contractor:  I think it’s time that all those Arabs we are bringing to Kentucky have their own newspaper!

Kentucky Refugee Ministries Executive Director John Koehlinger: Newspaper would “unify” Arab community in KY.

Unless you have been living in a cave over the last few months, you know that the US State Department is bringing about 10,000 Syrian, mostly Muslim, refugees (chosen by the UN) to the US in this fiscal year (2015 started on October 1, 2014).

Here are three news stories sent from several readers about where they will be going.

North Dakota from the Jamestown Sun:

Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota and its community partners, which include schools, medical facilities, law enforcement, county and volunteer agencies and churches, are anticipating a shift in the ongoing resettling of refugees here.  [They are slowing the Bhutanese (Hindu) flow and switching to the Middle Easterners—ed]

[….]

The agency has recently resettled a number of people from Afghanistan, and is planning for refugees in the coming months from Syria and Iraq, who are escaping the terrorism threat of ISIS.

[….]

Lutheran Social Services (LSS) is projecting to place a total of about 400 refugees in North Dakota in fiscal year 2015, which began in October.

Laetitia Mizero, program director and state refugee coordinator at LSS, said 260 will settle in the Fargo area, about 95 in Grand Forks and 45 in Bismarck.

In fiscal year 2014, LSS placed 500 refugees statewide, a larger number than usual.

This next bit is really informative, and is something every community “welcoming” refugees should be paying attention to.  Once they get a “seed community” started, they (the Lutherans in this case) then are paid to process in the family members.

“Ninety-eight percent of individuals who’ve arrived over the past 12 months are joining family who are already here,” she said.

Nebraska from McCook Gazette:

LINCOLN, Neb. — At least four Nebraska agencies have pledged to help some of the thousands of refugees expected to come to America as a result of persecution and genocide in Syria.

[….]

Nebraska agencies pledging to help deal with the refugees include Lutheran Refugee Services of Lincoln, Lutheran Family Services, Catholic Social Services and the Southern Sudan Community Association.

Such refugees are eligible for a full range of public assistance programs swell as refugee assistance programs.

***Here is the contact information for the 4 contractors who will bring Syrians to Nebraska:

CWS (Church World Service)
NE-CWS-01: Lutheran Refugee Services
Address: 2900 O Street, Suite 200
Lincoln, NE 68510
Phone: 402-435-2954

USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops)
NE-USCCB-02: Catholic Social Services
Address: 2241 O Street
Lincoln, NE 68510-1133
Phone: 402-474-1600

CWS (Church World Service)
NE-CWS-02: Lutheran Family Services
Address: 1941 South 42nd Street, Suite 402
Omaha, NE 68105-1401
Phone: 402-346-6100

ECDC (Ethiopian Community Development Council)
NE-ECDC-01: Southern Sudan Community Association
Address: 3610 Dodge Street, Suite 100
Omaha, NE 68131
Phone: 402-554-0759

 

Kentucky from the Courier Journal (article about a new start-up Arab language newspaper):

Kentucky Refugee Ministries Executive Director John Koehlinger said Botan’s venture comes as Louisville agencies continue to resettle a large number of refugees from Iraq — a trend that started around 2008 — and prepare to aid the first refugees from Syria some time next year.

“Refugees have been coming from Iraq in large numbers for five years,” he said. “I think that the time is right for a newspaper for that community.”

About the photo and Kentucky Refugees Ministries.  In its most recent Form 990 KRM took in $4,703,422 from government contracts as part of a total revenue stream of $5,287,956 which means they are 89% funded by taxpayer dollars in a Wilson Fish state where the resettlement program is run by the federal government’s contractors (with no say by elected representatives of the state government of Kentucky).

When you visit that Form 990 be sure to check out the costs of running this ‘non-profit’ for salaries, office expenses, travel etc.

***Contact information for all of the resettlement contractors in the nation may be found at this handy list.

Asst. Secretary of State Anne Richard: we have 1,000-1,500 Syrian referrals coming in a month…

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

….but not to worry, the UN is identifying for us the widows and children, the elderly, and people with medical needs (all people not likely to be terrorists, just costly)!

Oh brother!  I wonder if the “widows” are those of Sunni fighters?

Asst. Sec. of State for PRM, Anne Richard (blue jacket), tours Syrian camp in Jordan. Photo by REUTERS/Ali Jarekji.

From AL Monitor (emphasis is mine):

US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne Richard says the United States will dramatically increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed to resettle permanently in the United States from about 350 this year to close to 10,000 annually as the crisis grinds on into its fifth year.  [Previously Richard said we would be taking 9,000 this fiscal year.—ed]

While the number is minuscule given a total Syrian refugee population of 3.3 million, it reflects US recognition that the civil war in Syria is not about to end anytime soon and that, even when it does, Syria will need years for reconstruction and reconciliation. [If the war ended tomorrow, these refugees will be here forever.—ed]

In an interview with Al-Monitor Dec. 22, Richard said, “People are surprised we haven’t taken more.” She said the initial low numbers reflect the reality that “resettling refugees is never the first thing you do when people are fleeing an emerging crisis” and that other countries — in particular Germany and Sweden — have “stepped forward and offered to take a lot” of Syrian refugees.

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Germany has pledged to absorb 30,000 Syrians just since 2013 — nearly half of those processed for resettlement.

“We thought that was a great offer and unusually generous so we encouraged UNHCR to take advantage of that,” Richard said. [LOL!  Isn’t she magnanimous, let Germany kill itself first!—ed]

After initial vetting by UNHCR, Syrian refugees who want to resettle in the United States must be interviewed by officers of the Department of Homeland Security at US diplomatic facilities in Amman, Jordan or Istanbul, Turkey. That leaves out a million Syrians who have fled to Lebanon and large populations in Iraq and Egypt. Richard said lack of space and security concerns have kept the United States from interviewing Syrian refugees at the US Embassy in Beirut but that US officials are looking at the possibility of setting up a refugee vetting operation in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.

UNHCR seeks to identify the most vulnerable candidates, Richard said. “By Dec. 15, we had 10,000 referrals from UNHCR and they are coming in at 1,000 to 1,500 a month.”  [Do the math! Sounds like more than 9,000!—ed]

Asked how many of those referred would be accepted, Richard said, “I think most” because they are likely to meet the United State’s definition of a refugee as someone fleeing persecution or threats because of race, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs or membership to a particular social group.

As we have reported many times, the UN is picking our refugees!  Since they will come from UN camps, they will be Muslims!

Refugees must also pass medical and security checks. “The last part has been tricky in the past,” Richard said, but added that it is not likely to be a major problem with the Syrians referred by UNHCR. She said she expected them to comprise mostly widows with children, the elderly and people with medical conditions. “It will be fairly clear that they are not terrorists bent on harming Americans,” she said.

There is more, read it all.  The article even mentions the fact that Richard was an executive with one of the contractors she now awards grants and contracts to!

Editor’s note:  I am coming down to the wire on the Christmas holiday crunch, but have at least six other things I want to post.  We’ll see if I can get to them….

List of ORR “preferred” communities has some additions

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
WTH! A preferred resettlement site? More waiters needed?

Update April 15, 2016: There is a more up-to-date list of preferred communities in the 2014 ORR report to Congress. Click here and go to page 51 for the list.

Since everyone (thousands of you) really liked the map of America with the 180 or so cities where the US State Department and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS) are resettling refugees, I thought it might be a good idea to update the “preferred” communities list.

The ORR says these 82 (or so) preferred communities offer the best chance for refugees to find jobs and become self-sufficient, but really they are the cities with overload problems and with especially challenging and needy refugees (cases needing “intensive case management”).  So to help ameliorate the problem, the feds throw more grant money to the contractors!

Here are the contractors receiving grants now for “preferred” sites.  By the way, this program is only open to the big nine contractors that monopolize the program.  Then they funnel your money to their subcontractors (here).  See on the “affiliates” list that there are addresses in cities involved that are not on my list below, so I would look to those cities too as now in refugee overload or getting there.

This possibly incomplete list of cities is cobbled together from information in the ORR’s 2012 Annual Report to Congress, p. 47 and a previous post we wrote, here.  There may be some new “preferred” communities I’m not yet aware of.   And, note, if comparing lists, that I inadvertently left out Wichita, Kansas on my earlier list.

Recently added in red (or ones I missed in a previous review).  Again this is not a complete list of where refugees are being resettled, it merely highlights those where the contractor has over the last few years received additional money from the US Treasury in order to cope with problems there:

Arizona:  Tucson, Phoenix

California:  San Diego, Sacramento, Modesto, Walnut Creek

Colorado:  Denver, Greeley, Ft. Collins, Loveland

Connecticut:  Derby/Bridgeport, New Haven

Florida:  Orlando, Clearwater, Palm Beach

Georgia:  Atlanta, Savannah

Idaho:  Boise, Twin Falls, Treasure Valley

Illinois:  Chicago, DuPage/Aurora, Moline

Indiana:  Indianapolis

Iowa:  Des Moines

Kansas: Wichita

Kentucky:  Louisville, Lexington, Owensboro

Maryland:  Baltimore, Silver Spring

Massachusetts:  Springfield, Jamaica Plain, Worcester, Malden

Michigan:  Dearborn, Ann Arbor, Lansing

Minnesota:  Minneapolis, St. Cloud, St. Paul

Missouri:  Kansas City

Nebraska:  Omaha

Nevada:  Las Vegas

New Hampshire:  Manchester, Concord

New Jersey:  East Orange

New Mexico: Albuquerque

New York:  Syracuse, Buffalo, Utica, Albany, Manchester (this tiny town is listed on p.49, but it must be a typo, NH maybe?)

North Carolina: Raleigh, New Bern, Wilmington, Durham, High Point, Charlotte, Greensboro (lucky NC!)

Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus, Akron, Dayton

Pennsylvania:  Lancaster, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie

Rhode Island:  Providence

Tennessee: Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis

Texas:  Fort Worth, Houston, Austin

Virginia:  Charlottesville, Hampton Roads

Washington:  Seattle, Richland, Tri-Cities

Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Madison

Dover, NH update: No refugees coming (yet!), but mayor wants a plan and federal legislation…

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

…..that would give local communities more say in the matter, assure financial help!

This is an update of the hot story we reported last summer about the possibility of the US State Department granting authority to a wannabe refugee resettlement agency to begin resettling refugees into the Tri-cities area of New Hampshire.  The nascent plan was killed when it appeared that a planned public meeting would be explosive.

Sensible Dover Mayor Karen Weston wants a plan! Bio here: http://www.dover.nh.gov/government/boards-and-commissions/city-council/index.html

Backpedaling now, the resettlement agencies in the state say there are no plans in the immediate future for Dover and surrounding towns.  However that isn’t the most important thing about this article!  First we learned some new bits of information and secondly, and most astoundingly, the Mayor of Dover wants to seek federal legislation to give communities a greater say in resettlement plans for American cities.  Wow!

She needs to call for a meeting of  bipartisan(!) mayors from “pockets of resistance” including mayors of Athens, GA, Amarillo, TX, Springfield, MA, Lynn, MA, Manchester, NH and Lewiston, ME for a start!

From Foster’s Daily Democrat:

DOVER — There are no plans to resettle African immigrants in the Tri-Cities, according to state officials and two refugee relocation groups.

The refugee issue emerged last summer when representatives from the Manchester-based Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success, or ORIS, approached Dover officials about becoming a resettlement community. The group appeared to back away from the plan amid concern from residents and local officials.

Barbara Seebart, the state refugee coordinator for the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, said she’s not aware of any plans for refugee resettlement in the Tri-Cities.

This is the first we have heard that there is a certain time period for wannabe refugee contractors to get approval:

ORIS is a social service agency not authorized by the federal government to resettle refugees and therefore it cannot place people in Dover, according to Seebart. That federal authorization process could take 18 to 24 months.

Dover mayor wants a plan in advance!  (Just like the mayor of Athens, GA)  And, she wants federal legislation!   Me too! And, I have ideas on how it should be crafted.

Mayor Karen Weston doesn’t oppose refugee resettlement but believes host communities should have more control in determining how many can arrive each year. She also believes the federal government should offer funding to offset the effects on city and school budgets.

“There are no plans today, but it can happen any day,” Weston said. “That is why we want to be proactive and (pursue) possible legislation with the federal government.”

[….]

She hopes to arrange a conference call with Rochester Mayor T.J. Jean, Somersworth Mayor Dana Hilliard and members of the state’s congressional issue to address those immigration law changes. Weston expects that call won’t happen until next year.

The U.S. has been accepting refugees since the early 1980s. New Hampshire currently receives between 250 and 550 of these legal immigrants each year, Seebart said. Most live along the Interstate 93 corridor from Nashua to Concord, although some have been placed in Laconia.  [Note to the mayor, be sure to arrange for at least those New England mayors asking for a moratorium to join your call!–ed]

This next line may be factually correct, but certainly local elected officials should be part of any plan coming down from the feds especially as it will involve high costs for local taxpayers for everything from health care, to subsidized housing (see Seattle!), to education for the kids and, not to be forgotten,the criminal justice system!

Cities and towns cannot block refugee resettlement, the same way they cannot restrict people of any race or ethnic group from moving in.

Then get this!  Seebart says there is “extensive collaboration” before refugees are resettled.

“Extensive collaboration” my foot!  They may have a meeting with “stakeholders,” but the general public is not invited!  Heck, they have already demonstrated reluctance to hold a public meeting (where contractors and the State Dept would stand before the public and answer questions) as everyone who followed the controversy this summer noticed. 

Regardless, refugees don’t just show up in host cities overnight. There is a well-established federal system for refugee resettlement that includes extensive collaboration with local communities, Seebart said.

[….]

“If a new resettlement site is being nurtured,” she [Amy Marchildon a resettlement contractor in NH] said, “there would be a long process of engaging city government and community social support services and the community.”

I’ll bet we have 50 posts on New Hampshire over the years due to the many refugee controversies happening there.  Click here to learn more.

So where might those Syrians be going?

~ Ann Corcoran

Update January 2, 2015:  Here is where 164 of them have gone so far in the last couple of months.

Yesterday we learned that the Obama Administration committed the United States to take 9,000 Syrian (mostly Muslim) refugees  in FY 2015 which is already two months underway, and place them throughout America at some of their 180 cities where federal contractors are waiting to sign them up for social services, give them employment counseling, take care of their health needs and sign the children up for school.

Here is a map of where they could be placed.  Is your city on it?

See the legend on the right hand side of the map.  Those are the initials for the nine major contractors:

What you should do is go to this list of federal refugee contractors (listed by city) and call them.  And, by the way, don’t assume that if your city doesn’t have a colored dot you are off the hook.  They can place them within a hundred miles of a contractor’s office.  When you call, ask how many Syrians are coming to your town?  Then contact your local newspaper, your local elected officials and your representatives in Washington and let them know what you think!

Direct your ire at refuge contractors and elected officials at all levels of government, not at the refugees who are only taking advantage of a good deal.

Please send us anything you learn and send links to news stories about their arrival.