Tag: US State Department

Maine: Gee, no jobs for educated refugees, what a surprise!

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Nor are there jobs for your college graduate kids!

Just now as I turned off the TV, President Obama was being interviewed about how to create more jobs and yesterday the Republicans were announcing their plan to flood the job market with both uneducated and educated immigrants for their big business donor friends, yet here is a story from Maine boo-hooing about no jobs for educated refugees!

University of Southern Maine audience listens to plight of refugees who can’t find work!

From Maine Public Broadcasting Network.  (Hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’)  An Iraqi with a college degree from Iraq took part in panel discussion on jobs hosted by Catholic Charities of Maine among others.  I guess there are no more struggling job-seekers among the Americans in Maine!

Portland resident Sarah Mahdi came to the U.S. with a college degree, but, like many immigrants, has had trouble getting it recognized in the U.S. It’s not an unusual problem. Maine educators and other service providers are now looking for ways to make it easier for educated immigrants to find suitable jobs or further their educational opportunities.

[…..]

“When I first came to the States I just wanted to study,” said Mahdi, who was among a handful of immigrant students sharing their experiences Wednesday night at a panel discussion in Portland. The panel was organized by the University of Southern Maine’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, and Catholic Charities Maine.

New Mainers Resource Center uses tax dollars to help immigrants prove they actually have a legitimate college degree.

One place immigrants can turn to is the newly-established New Mainers Resource Center, one of the several service providers on hand at Wednesday night’s event to offer advice. The center’s program co-ordinator, Sally Sutton, is talking to George Dakonsa, who arrived here from the Democratic Republic of Congo seeking asylum four months ago.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance,” he says. “I’d like it if they can help me to evaluate.”

The center was recently opened by Portland Adult Education with the aim of specifically helping college-educated immigrants in their search for suitable employment or further education. Co-ordinator Sutton says with immigrants like Dakonsa come an opportunity to breathe new economic life into the state.  [Would someone please explain exactly how they are breathing new economic life into the state!—ed]

That bad ‘ol Maine governor is at it again—-how dare he try to balance the state budget!

The New Mainers Resource Center, however, may end up being a short-lived venture. It’s meant to be a two-year pilot project funded at $75,000 a year.

But the program could be eliminated after its first year – just one small part of the nearly $34 million in spending cuts being recommended in a report commissioned by the LePage administration, looking for ways to balance the two-year budget.

Governor LePage needs to continue working on something else!  Maine has become a go-to state for asylum seekers.

Check out this article from The Free Press from earlier this month:

Maine has become known to many central African asylum seekers as a place where they can find community support as well as temporary financial assistance while they have their visas and work permits approved. Often they arrive on tourist or business visas, sometimes with forged documents. While many asylum seekers are well educated and come from financial means, the money doesn’t last long and many end up in homeless shelters while their applications are being processed.

Maine happens to be one of a handful of states that does not require proof of citizenship. All asylum seekers must show is that they are applying for asylum. Unlike official refugees, such as many in the Somali and Sudanese populations who are resettled in Maine by the U.S. State Department [and Catholic Charities—ed], asylum seekers do not qualify for any other state or federal benefits while they are applying for asylum. The whole asylum approval process can take from one to two years and it typically takes at least 150 days for asylum seekers to be eligible to legally work once approved for asylum.

See also, Maine the welfare magnet one of our top posts of all time.

One more thing….so much for the importance of educated refugees!

Reader ‘tomasrose’ sent us this comment to our earlier post about Bhutanese low-skilled laborers and the US State Department (as headhunters) bringing them in for businesses:

I spoke with a refugee from the middle east just last week and he confirmed, of course, refugees are coached in what to say to improve their chances at coming to the U.S.. One of the things he said is they hide any education they might have. If the U.S. thinks you are educated your chances of moving to the U.S. are lower. He cited an M.D. from Baghdad who told refugee officials he was a menial laborer and, presumably, would be happy to work the same jobs in the U.S.. Had he advertised his credentials as a doctor, he would have a better chance at going to one of the Scandinavian countries, but to get the U.S. he had to really dumb his resume down.

Bhutanese refugees, depressed, accuse UN of separating families

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We have written a lot lately about Bhutanese refugees in America with a very high rate of suicide. Here is one story I’ve had kicking around from New Hampshire that I never got around to posting.

But, this was a big surprise to me.  It seems that refugees left behind in camps in Nepal are also depressed and are developing serious mental illnesses.   This is just a reminder to the do-gooders who think bringing refugees to the West and dropping them off in troubled city neighborhoods to work as cheap laborers is always an act of kindness, consider this news:

From ekantipur.com (emphasis is mine):

 Though third-country resettlement of Bhutanese refugees has provided relief to many, the initiative has been the cause of pain for some.

Durga Devi Odari, who was once a lively, happy person, has been on medication for the past three years. Odari went into a state of depression when her parents were flown to the USA and her brother to New Zealand. Her dreams of settling abroad, for which she even divorced her husband, were shattered.

She can’t find her parents!

“I am not sure about finding my parents and I do not know if I will ever be able to find my loved ones,” said Durga.

Durga’s case is not an isolated one: many refugees awaiting resettlement are battling with depression. As the number of people in the camps decreases, depression is becoming a serious issue for those remaining.

Though the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation (TPO) has not officially confirmed the numbers of those with depression, mental disorders, and drug dependency inside the camps, the increase in activity of the TPO, which specialises in providing counselling services, has fuelled speculation that the number of those facing depression is increasing.

Refugees claim UN has separated families!

While the UNHCR has made assurances that they would not separate families without parental consent, some refugees claim that the UNHCR’s actions demonstrate otherwise.

The UNHCR has been working with TPO since 2008, two years after the initiation of the resettlement process.

According to Sanchahang Subba, Secretary of the Beldangi Camp, he receives hundreds of letters per day by those seeking the whereabouts of their loved ones.

How did we come to bring 70,000 Bhutanese to America?    

In 2007: Ms Sauerbrey blamed the refugee leaders in the camps in Nepal for the “intimidation”.

We’ve been writing about this subject since 2007 when then Asst. Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey (a Bush appointee) announced the decision to help the UN clean out its camps for Bhutanese/Nepalese in Nepal.  Here is one re-cap.   Keep in mind the UN and our State Department were never in a hurry to clean out the Palestinian “refugee” camps.

Just now I was looking around further on the history of all of this and was reminded that camp leaders were furious when the third country resettlement began and I suspect the woman in our story above, who divorced her husband to try and be resettled with her parents, was probably married to a camp political leader.  The leaders wanted to keep the pressure on Bhutan to take them back until we stepped in and brought tens of thousands of them to the US to work in meatpacking and other menial labor jobs.

Other than our need for cheap labor (and the contractors’ needs for refugee numbers because they are paid by the head!), what was our national interest in getting involved in a dispute involving Nepal and Bhutan?

Here is another writer a year ago on the same topic.

The photo is from this BBC story where Sauerbrey said sending the Bhutanese to western countries (the US took the lion’s share) was all done for “humanitarian” reasons.

Update from Appleton: community meeting puts refugees on display

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

They say it was planned before the latest uproar about Appleton, Wisconsin and whether it could support more needy refugees, but this—a show and tell of sorts—is a standard practice for refugee contractors like World Relief.  They know if they can showcase some happy refugees it becomes easier for them to demonize anyone who objects to more resettlement as motivated by racism and xenophobia when residents are simply concerned with the economic viability of the plan.

Be sure to see our previous post on Appleton a few days ago, but don’t miss this morning’s post, also from Wisconsin, about Somali gang fights coming across the border from “welcoming” Minneapolis.

Myriam Mwizerwa appears to have moved from Nashville World Relief to direct resettlement from Oshkosh.

From Post-Crescent Media:

The long-scheduled educational panel came on the heels of a weeklong controversy after Alderman Jeff Jirschele raised concerns about preparations for the 75 refugees due to arrive this year from Congo, Iraq and Myanmar.

[….]

Myriam Mwizerwa, the Oshkosh director for World Relief Fox Valley, explained that refugee status is a narrow classification determined by the United Nations. Rounds of interviews determine if individuals meet the persecution requirements based on race, nationality, religion, political opinion or social affiliation.

“A refugee is not someone who has fled due to an economic or natural disaster,” Mwizerwa said. “Only refugees whose lives are threatened and that have crossed into another country for asylum qualify.”

Regarding the above comments, many of the refugees we are accepting into the US are not in danger for their lives.  I’d like to know how many rounds of interviews convicted murderer Esar Met had before being granted permission to enter the US.  And, keep in mind the Senate-passed Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill would do away with refugees having to prove they are persecuted personally at all.  If S.744 (which World Relief lobbies for) should become law, whole classes of people will be considered eligible.  For example, just being a Somali, an Afghani, or a Rohingya would get you in automatically.

Ms. Mwizerwa continues:

After achieving the status, host countries begin resettling the refugees. Last year the U.S. took 70,000 refugees — a number set by Congress that will remain the same for 2014.

Congress does not set the number the President does in his annual determination letter.  Congress could change the numbers, but as far as I know they just rubber-stamp whatever the President wants.

U.S. communities accept 80 percent of the world’s refugees, Mwizerwa said, but that’s less than 1 percent of the 14 million worldwide refugees seeking a move.

After the two-year vetting process by the U.S. State Department and Federal Bureau of Investigations, the refugees are handled by the contract agency, in this case World Relief.

Two years?  I have never heard an exact time-frame for vetting.

“We have 90 days to help make people self-sufficient,” Mwizerwa said. “In that time we do the airport reception, help with housing, food, basic needs and do a community orientation.”

Almost none are self-sufficient in 90 days.  She only means that the federally-supplied contractor’s bucks start to run out.  It pretty much means they have 90 days to get the refugees signed up for welfare.  There is nothing that says World Relief can’t find private money to keep them afloat.

And, if refugees are becoming self-sufficient in 90 days, why do we have articles published like this one just yesterday at The Huffington Post—In the war on poverty, don’t forget the refugees!

The airfare for refugees is considered a loan, and eventually paid back. Each refugee receives about $925 for the 90-day period for essentials, a one-time gift, Mwizerwa said.  [A gift from the US taxpayer—ed]

Again, not the whole truth.  Yes, the refugees are required to pay back the airfare, but how many do so is a tightly held secret at the State Department; and World Relief takes a cut of whatever they can wring out of the poor refugees as their reward from the State Department for their collection agency services.

Refugees are eligible for permanent residency status in the U.S. after a year, and after five years can apply for citizenship. They only face deportation if they are convicted of a crime.

I would love to know how many are ever deported, even the rapists and murderers get to stay.  We did have some reports of Somalis being deported, but I’ll bet its a tiny handful.

Mwizerwa said the decision on a specific community is largely based on history.

The decision is really based on whether they (State Dept and its contractors) can get away with flooding a city with impoverished people before the local complaints get too noisy.  I call it the “squawk factor.”  The squawk factor seems to be coming into play in Appleton.    And, it depends on how demanding the local business community is for cheap laborers.  By the way, the State Department, the Office of Refugee Resettlement and their contractors are always out scouting now for new “welcoming” territory in which to drop off refugees.

Photo is here at World Relief Nashville unless there is more than one Myriam Mwizerwa.

If you’ve never checked out our Refugee Resettlement fact sheet, check it out here now.

Appleton, Wisconsin alderman dares question city’s readiness for more refugees

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Uh oh!  The fur is flying (or something is hitting the fan!) in Wisconsin where an elected official is bucking the Mayor and other city council members about the plans for US State Department resettlement contractor World Relief*** (subcontractor World Relief of Fox Valley) to bring in more third world refugees from Burma (Myanmar), Iraq and the Congo.

I told you about Appleton here last November and it’s a post worth re-visiting.  Check, out the Mayor and his diversity coordinator!

In this story the Mayor says like a petulant child:   “These are the diverse people I want in our city.”

Alderman Jirschele called for immediate suspension of refugee resettlement in Appleton.

Readers need to help spread this latest news about one (rare!) brave alderman standing up to the ‘diversity is beautiful’ crowd that has launched willy-nilly (as usual) into resettling more refugees before a city is capable of handling large numbers of poor and needy people.

The US State Department HATES news stories like this one where someone dares to say NO!—because consequently as the news gets out, others, elsewhere in America, learn that there is resistance!

From the Northwestern.com (emphasis mine):

APPLETON — An Appleton alderman says he has serious concerns about 75 refugees relocating in Appleton this year, setting off a furious response from City Hall.

Jeff Jirschele, who represents a portion of the city’s south side, said this week that planning has been lax and the region needs to be sure it’s prepared for the challenges with the resettlement — which is expected to bring people here from Congo, Iraq and Myanmar.

“I’m worried about these people and our social safety net when they arrive,” Jirschele said. “These are real people and real lives … we have no room to flounder on housing or medical care despite the best intentions of the groups involved.”

Jirschele authored a resolution with some tough language aimed at World Relief Fox Valley, the Oshkosh-based group shepherding the resettlement, and its selection of Appleton for a resettlement city.

He said the group had “not been vetted” and called for an immediate suspension of all city efforts in the relocation until a group could identify the impact of absorbing the refugees into the community.

“I understand it’s emblematic of our community to help people, but we need to slow down and take a breath,” Jirschele said. “I’m already hearing some folks that think this resolution is cold-hearted, but the reality is good intentions aren’t good enough to produce a successful outcome.”

Alderman hits a nerve!

Jirschele’s sentiment hit a nerve Thursday among fellow aldermen and Mayor Tim Hanna.

Hanna said he spoke for all City Hall departments in criticizing both the tone and content of Jirschele’s resolution.

Read on.  A representative from World Relief says that most refugees are not on food stamps.  Not so, from the latest available figures, 63% of refugees nationwide are on food stamps and I doubt the numbers are somehow much better in Wisconsin.

***So what is World Relief?

Just a little bit about World Relief whose full legal name is World Relief Corporation of National Association of Evangelicals.   It is one of nine major refugee contractors the US State Department has chosen to resettle refugees.  The State Department pays them by the head for each refugee they resettle.  In turn, World Relief contracts two dozen subcontractors including the one in this news story—World Relief Fox Valley.

It is very hard to track the federal dollars that flow from the primary contractor to subcontractors (there is no financial auditing done by the feds).  I could not find a Form 990 for the Oshkosh/Appleton subcontractor, but World Relief’s most recent Form 990 is here.  Note on page 9 that their income that year was $51.8 MILLION and you (the taxpayer) paid them $34.1 million of that.  This is not a charitable effort from the goodness of their Christian hearts and pocketbooks—it is big business funded by you!

One item that caught my eye on that same page 9 was a line in the income ledger that is also YOUR money.  They received $1.3 million for “travel loan commission.”   What that means is that taxpayers paid the airfare (in a loan program) for the refugees to fly to your city and it’s up to the contractor to collect the loan from the refugees.  When they are successful (and we don’t know how many loans go uncollected) they keep a cut.  In this particular year, the cut was $1.3 million of taxpayer money that also went to the contractor on top of the $34.1 million!  Racket huh!

And, on page 10 note that they pay out approximately $25 million for salaries and benefits/other payroll expenses.

For more about how refugee resettlement works, visit our fact sheet here.

And, one more thing, once your city is deemed “welcoming” these contractors are paid to do the paperwork to bring the family members of those they had previously resettled and there is no end in sight!

They are at it again! “Active Voice” promotes another immigrant propaganda film; will air on Al Jazeera

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Longtime readers may remember “Active Voice” as the Far Left/Open borders promoters of that propaganda film about Shelbyville, TN which portrayed local critics of the growing Somali population there as a bunch of redneck boobs who eventually saw the light and reached out with “welcoming” arms to the Africans drawn there by Tyson Foods (looking for cheap legal laborers with the help of the US State Department).

The US State Department even showed the Shelbyville film throughout Africa and Europe!

We have an extensive archive on “Welcome to Shelbyville” here.  Be sure to see this post in which reporter Brian Mosely sets the record straight about how he was misled by the filmmakers and how the filmmakers/promoters demonized him and the city of Shelbyville.  Mosely in 2011:

I never imagined three and a half years ago that simply telling a story honestly could lead to being demonized on national television, in a film sponsored by our own government, no less.

Active Voice propagandists working on Shelbyville strategy “prototype” in 2011.
http://www.socialbrite.org/2011/03/17/a-story-driven-web-platform-for-communities/

And, you should know about some of the wealthy people who give big bucks to Active Voice, check out this post.

This is how the Left does it!  Active Voice makes or uses a ‘diversity is beautiful’ film to be shown on Al Jazeera and in your local schools, and they build a whole public relations campaign around it.  Behind it all are one-worlders (Soros!) whose goal it is to eliminate borders throughout the world and to provide slave laborers to their big business buddies as a side benefit.

Here is an idea, let’s make a film about the brutal Utah murder case and build a PR campaign around it!   We could call it Beware immigrant rapists, killers and crooks among us!  Time for us to tell “stories” too!  Our message would be to strengthen our sovereignty and preserve our culture by making it more difficult to get access to America.

Speaking of crooks, I’ve got another juicy immigrant food stamp fraud story to get to this morning.