Tag: US State Department

Oshkosh, WI reaches out to refugees with “welcoming smile” as State Dept comes for a visit

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Barbara Day, the US State Department’s chief resettlement officer, visited Oshkosh on Tuesday presumably to make sure the community (the media!) was getting the right message about the next batch of refugees to arrive in Oshkosh.  She was essentially shoring-up the base.

Remember there was a flurry of opposition this past January when a city alderman in nearby Appleton raised a ruckus.

Barbara Day wants to be sure Oshkosh stays on board with refugee placement.

Oshkosh and Appleton are 25 miles apart and as is often the case, when a city begins to overload with refugees, there is spillover into another nearby city.  When the State Department does family reunifications they like to stay within a hundred miles of the family or ethnic group enclave.

This is a public relations visit by Day to be sure the Oshkoshers stay on track with “welcoming” the “new Americans.”  You see, they are running out of suitable places to resettle refugees and since there are so many “family” members coming now who want to be with their families that towns quickly get overloaded, especially when the secondary migrants arrive on top of the newly resettled.

From the Northwestern (emphasis is mine):

Oshkosh is expected to continue to be a hub for the resettlement of refugees who are coming to Northeast Wisconsin to establish new roots after fleeing their home countries.

Like previous years, about 70 refugees are expected to arrive in Oshkosh and call the city home in 2014. Most of the refugees will be Iraqis, Congalese or Burmese, said Myriam Mwizerwa, Oshkosh director for World Relief Fox Valley.

[….]

“Refugees can’t survive in a community without knowing other people and becoming involved in the community itself,” said Barbara Day, the Domestic Resettlement Section Chief at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

[….]

Day spoke to members of the Oshkosh Refugee Resettlement Task Force Tuesday at the Oshkosh Public Library.

Once a seed community of certain ethnic groups are established in your “welcoming” community, the resettlement contractors, like those mentioned here from World Relief/Evangelicals (one of the top nine federal contractors), are paid to process the paperwork for “family members” to join the original group. It puts your town or city in a bad light if it suddenly wants to stop the flow (how dare you block families reuniting!)  That is what the following reference is to:

In 2013, 69,926 refugees resettled within the United States, with between 70 and 75 percent of them moving to places near family or friends.

“That fact really drives placement,” Day said. “They’re coming to join family and close friends who are already here.”

World Relief’s regional representative wraps up the piece with a little slap down to other towns that are not ‘welcoming the stranger.’

So who has been coming to America via refugee “recruitment” this fiscal year

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We are half way through fiscal year 2014 (it began on October 1, 2013).

By the way, “recruitment” is the word being used by opponents of Gov. Matt Meads idea to resettle refugees in Wyoming, and I like it.  The word “resettlement” is getting stale and I’ve noticed the refugee industry using it less and less as well.  They seem to be favoring the word “placement” instead.

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society wants 75,000 Syrians admitted to US over 5 years. https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2014/03/29/hebrew-immigrant-aid-society-us-should-bring-75000-syrians-to-us-over-next-5-years/

President Barack Obama set a cap of 70,000 refugees to be placed in your cities and towns for this fiscal year in his annual determination letter of Oct. 2, 2013.

In accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the “Act”) (8 U.S.C. 1157), as amended, and after appropriate consultations with the Congress, I hereby make the following determinations and authorize the following actions:

The admission of up to 70,000 refugees to the United States during fiscal year (FY) 2014 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest; provided that this number shall be understood as including persons admitted to the United States during FY 2014 with Federal refugee resettlement assistance under the Amerasian immigrant admissions program, as provided below.

The 70,000 cap does not include asylum seekers/asylees which number in the tens of thousands, those receiving temporary protected status (TPS), and diversity visa lottery winners (another 50,000!).

Note that there is a 2,000 unallocated reserve which is where some get the number of Syrians that we might admit.  Many Syrians are getting into the US by other means and signing up for TPS or asking for asylum, but we have not begun, nor has the President announced, how many Syrians we are going to take.  I read that as something must be going on behind the scenes for the flood gates not to have been opened yet.

So, six months in, where are we?

Check out this database at WRAPS.net.  In an effort to keep you in the dark, the feds have removed some data bases that previously were available to the public.  One missing set of data that I found especially useful was the one with ‘arrivals by city and country’ (where you could see which ethnic groups were being resettled in your city).  At least they still have the ‘arrivals by state and country’ so you can see how many you are getting in your state and from where they are coming.

For my purposes right now, I’m looking at ‘map arrivals by nationality.’   For the first six months of the year the US State Department admitted 32,810 refugees.   This is the order for the top countries, smaller numbers come from dozens of other countries.  Iraqis top the list as they did last year.

Iraq:  9,394

Burma:  6,781

Bhutan: 4,424

Somalia:  3,708

Cuba:  2,154

Iran:  1,470

Dem. Rep. Congo: 1,381

Sudan:  861

Eritrea:  842

Afghanistan:  382

A couple of other countries of interest are Colombia (204) and we admitted 90 Palestinians.

Where are the Syrians?

26 Syrians have been admitted so far this year.  The US is under enormous media pressure generated by the ‘human rights industry’ to admit Syrians, so again, there must be some serious squabbling going on behind the scenes in the the State Department and the Dept. of Homeland Security for this number to be so small at this point in the year.  Maybe there are members of Congress flexing some muscle (for a change!)?

By the way, Brenda Walker writing at VDARE has an excellent report earlier this week on the media push for Syrian ‘refugee’ admission to the US.

Walker begins:

The top newspaper in our capital city, the Washington Post, is mouthpiecing a Refugee Industry campaign to convince Congress to welcome thousands of Syrians fleeing their civil war. But you can bet they won’t be resettled in Georgetown.

Read it all!

 

Wyoming still moving forward with refugee “recruitment” discussions; story goes national

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’ve not seen that phrase before—refugee recruitment—it must be newly coined by critics of Wyoming Republican Governor Matt Mead’s proposal to study the possibility of a refugee resettlement office in the state, but I like it!

Mead’s primary challenger, Dr. Taylor Haynes, opposes Mead’s invitation to the federal government to study the possibility of resettling refugees in Wyoming.

Here is yet another article on the controversy.  Our complete archive, is here.

From the Wyoming Tribune Eagle:

CHEYENNE — State officials are continuing to study a proposal that could bring a refugee resettlement program to Wyoming.

But the governor’s office and others are also trying to quell worries that this will lead to an influx of immigrants coming here.

“Some people are concerned about this effort, worrying that Wyoming is ‘recruiting’ refugees,” Gov. Matt Mead recently wrote in a letter to the editor sent to newspapers in the state. “There is no recruitment; there is, however, an effort to understand the issue.

“Right now, our state is learning more on the issue.”

Mead sent a letter last year to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement*** to explore setting up a public-private resettlement office here.

The federally funded program would provide refugees with a range of assistance, including help finding housing, employment and health care, for the first several months after they arrive in the country.

The feds and their resettlement contractors would like Wyoming decision-makers to think that the whole program is funded from Washington.  It is not!  For a few months US taxpayers foot the bill for the refugees and then the responsibility falls on the state for all of those refugees who never find work.  Wouldn’t you think that a Republican governor would be sensitive to taxpayers and jobs for Americans everywhere before getting into a contract with Washington?

Barnett:  Federal refugee contractors are no different then your Lockheed Martins in that they have the same incentives.

The Tribune Eagle continues:

Don Barnett is a fellow for the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for a reduction in the number of immigrants coming into the country.

He agreed that refugees can impact the state’s and federal government’s budget.

And he cautioned that the federal government and the groups picked to be its contractors rather than the state  would largely control how many refugees come here, where they will live and where they come from.

He said the contractors also proactively try to set up the refugees with the welfare programs.

“I don’t think people realize that the state will not have much control of this program if it is institutionalized or implemented,” he said. “It’s largely these contractors that will have the say, and these federal contractors are no different than your Lockheed Martins in that they have the same type of incentives.”

*** Gov. Mead wrote his letter of inquiry to the Office of Refugee Resettlement which is in the US Dept. of Health and Human Services (they dole out the $$$ to the contractors after the refugees are resettled.  It is the US State Department (and the UN) which makes decisions about who comes to the US and it is the State Department which doles out the $$$ to the contractors for the initial resettlement and decides where they will be located (in consultation with ORR).  Contractors are PAID BY THE HEAD.

Wyoming controversy goes national, including discussion about Mead challenger Taylor Haynes

The Associated Press has picked up the Wyoming refugee story.  Here it is at the Washington Times:

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) – Gov. Matt Mead is addressing criticism about the possibility of opening a refugee resettlement program in Wyoming.

Mead recently sent a letter to the editor addressing the issue to newspapers across the state. Mead wrote that the state is still learning more about the issue and said that Wyoming is not recruiting refugees.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle (http://bit.ly/1m21Fj0) reports that Mead’s challenger for the Republican nomination, Taylor Haynes, is among those who have criticized the move.

Haynes said refugees could strain Wyoming’s budget by relying on state and federally funded safety net programs like Medicaid. He is also worried that they may not be screened for ties to violence or for diseases such as HIV and the Ebola virus.  [Haynes is a medical doctor, so it is interesting that the story doesn’t mention those credentials.—ed]

Two Wyoming cities are the subject of discussion for locating the federal offices—Gillette and Casper.  Once established, it is only rarely (extremely rare!) that a city can stop the program when they find out that there are problems and there will be many problems!

Addendum:  I see our fact sheet on refugee resettlement is attracting large numbers of readers (again!).  If you haven’t seen it, click here.

US resettles 75,000 Bhutanese refugees since 2007; State Department goes back on its word

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

In 2007, then Asst. Secretary of State for Population Refugees and Migration, Ellen Saurbrey, said the US had agreed to take 60,000 of the 100,000 Bhutanese (really Nepali) refugees living in camps in Nepal over a five year period.  Here we are, going on 7 years, and we have now taken in 75,000 with more on the way!

Sauerbrey: 60,000 over five years.

You can read all about why we decided it was our duty (here) to do this when we had no national interest in it—other than that the UN told us to do it!  And, surely US companies, looking for cheap legal labor, were egging the Bush administration on, while the human rights industrial complex agitators cheered.  In fairness, we can’t blame Sauerbrey for what the subsequent Obama State Department is doing.

But, pay attention because they will do this (lie) about the Syrians as well. 

Once the US State Department begins the process with its resettlement contractors, the numbers will balloon way beyond what they promised in the first place.  Remember the contractors are paid by the head to resettle refugees in your cities and town.  They are always out scouting for a fresh supply!

Other countries were supposed to help, but as is the usual case, the lion’s share falls on the US.

From the International Organization for Migration (also a US contractor):

Nepal – The United States this week resettled its 75,000th Bhutanese refugee from eastern Nepal. Tilak Chand Ghimire, 44, his wife, 12-year-old daughter and 75-year-old parents, will start new lives in Akron, Ohio, where his brother resettled in 2010.

The move brings the total number of Bhutanese refugees resettled from Nepal since 2007 by IOM, in close cooperation with the Nepali government, the embassies of resettlement countries and UNHCR, to 88,770.

Get it!  We took 75,000 of the 88,770 resettled so far!

All subsequent negotiations to allow them to return to Bhutan failed and almost the whole 107,000 caseload are expected to eventually be resettled in third countries, notably the US.

We have an extensive archive on Bhutanese refugees going back to our first year writing RRW, click here to learn more.  You will see in the early posts that a large number of the Bhutanese/Nepalese camp dwellers DID NOT want to be resettled in third countries.

Bethlehem, PA: Who will pay for Burmese refugee’s murder trial?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

That, readers, is a question we have been asking for months now as the number of trials for refugees committing violent crimes appear to be on the increase.

What did the Utah Burmese murder trial cost?  What did the Albany Iraqi rape trial cost?  What about the Somali terror trials in San Diego and Minneapolis?  And, that Iraqi sex trafficking case in South Dakota?  Interpreters alone cost the taxpayers a bundle!

Accused murderer, Win Min Htut, wants his kids to get his house. The taxpayers would then be responsible for his court costs.

From Lehigh Valley Live (Hat tip: the very busy ‘pungentpeppers’).  Emphasis below is mine:

With prosecutors seeking the death penalty against a Bethlehem man accused of shooting his wife in the street in front of their children, a Lehigh County judge said today the cost of defending the man at trial could hit six figures.

But in the case of Win Min Htut, there is a question of how those bills will be paid.

Htut is charged with homicide, burglary and criminal trespass in the Dec. 17 killing of his wife, 37-year-old Thida Myint. Prosecutors said Htut killed Myint in the street in front of their Bethlehem home on the day a permanent protection-from-abuse order was granted against him.

Htut is represented by the public defender’s office, court-ordered by Judge Robert Steinberg. The deed for the family’s home in Bethlehem is in Htut’s name only, officials sad, and Htut has said he wants the house to be given to his three children.

In court today, Chief Public Defender Kimberly Makoul said Htut told his attorneys he does not want to spend any money on experts necessary for a death penalty case.

“Our client does not want any of his assets spent,” Makoul said.

Steinberg said this is not a new situation, in terms of case law, and that while Htut may not want to spend his own money, “it doesn’t mean the county has to absorb the costs.”

Here is my suggestion:  The US State Department should be responsible for all of the refugee criminals that go before a court system.  I know, I know, that is taxpayer money too, but at least if someone (brave!) introduced such a bill in Congress it would get the public’s attention.

Then of course there is the much more intriguing idea of billing the resettlement contractors when their refugees break the law!

Note to “welcoming” communities—consider the case of Win Min Htut when you open your doors to more refugees.

Pennsylvania is in the top five preferred resettlement states in America.

How many Burmese in the US:

Here is one accounting of how many we have resettled over the last 12 years from Burma and camps in Thailand.  They are still coming.

*Burmese refugees resettled in the US since 2001: 97,713

*Chin Refugees resettled in the US since 2001: 30,453

*Karen Refugees resettled in the US since 2001: 57,962

*The rest ethnic groups from Burma in the US since 2001: 9297

This last number above would include Burmese Muslims/Rohingya