Guest commentary: What you can say, when they say _____

06/23/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

I’m asked all the time: What can I do? What can I do?
This is an excellent example of the kind of thing you can do. This is a list of talking points thoughtfully prepared by Brenda Arthur of the Charleston, WV Act for America chapter. As a citizen activist, she put some serious time into preparing this point/counterpoint and made it available for all of you!

PROPONENTS OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

WILL SAY :

1. Your town is losing population. Bringing refugees will revitalize your city.

+ Truth: Saying that Importing third world poverty into our city or state revitalizes it just defies logic and commonsense.

+The educational level of many refugees is low. They will only qualify for minimum or low wage jobs. Therefore, they will continue to qualify for some form of government assistance such as Medicaid and/or Food Stamps aka SNAP.

+ Big Business uses refugees for cheap labor thereby depressing wages for Americans with low education levels.

+ The cost of educating a refugee child is apprx $10,000+ per year not to mention the additional cost of English language assistance/interpreters and additional tutoring due to a lack of previous education.

+ Refugees often send some of their money out of the country to family left behind. Those remittances that leave the country are dollars unavailable to the local economy. This is never factored in.

+ As the refugee population grows more languages will be required to be provided by the school system. This erodes the quality of the schools and reduces teaching time for American kids whose parents are paying the bill.

+ In towns where the refugee population has grown, parents are finding 17-20 year-olds in class with their children.

+ Some school districts across the country have as many as 81 languages for which they must provide ESL teachers and interpreters.

2. Another selling point by the proponents is that “It is our moral obligation. That’s who we are as a country.”

+ Our tax dollars were never meant to be someone else’s charity .

+ We should aid refugees where they are. For every one brought here we can help 12 people there. The administration of mercy belongs to each of us individually—-not to the government.

+ Our first moral obligation is to our own people.

Arthur created this refugee crimes poster to use as a visual aid when she speaks to groups in West Virginia. You can do this too!

3. OVER 800,000 REFUGEES (since 9/11) HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO THE U.S. AND NO TERRORIST PROBLEMS:

+ Proponents will present the picture that everything is “sweetness and light “. Not true. Many problems are occurring with refugee populations in towns all across America: Gangs, increased drug trafficking, sex slave trade, domestic violence, crime, drug resistant strains of TB, female genital mutilation, and more.

+ Cultural differences are often great and cannot be bridged. Some refugee cultures believe that “honor killing” and rape of non-muslim women is acceptable.

+ In addition, there have been terrorist acts committed by refugees as well as many crimes. Taxpayers pay for expensive trials, and for those who are sentenced we must bear the cost of imprisonment for many years.

4. NO STATE MONEY IS INVOLVED.

+ Yet another selling point of the proponents is that THERE IS NO STATE MONEY INVOLVED. IT’S ALL FEDERAL MONEY. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, FEDERAL MONEY IS OUR MONEY. SECONDLY, LET’S DISCUSS THE STATE COSTS: MEDICAID , STATE EMPLOYEES, EDUCATION, INTERPRETERS, AND LIKELY CASH WELFARE PAYMENTS.

DON’T TELL ME OR ANYONE ELSE THERE IS NO STATE MONEY INVOLVED WITH THIS PROGRAM. It’s a matter of how much.

TO RECAP:

+ Medicaid–Unreimbursed cost to the state
+ TANF–Cash Welfare payments –Unreimbursed costs to the state
+ Interpreters–Provided to students and other refugees as needed
+ Education–Cost for educating children K-12
+ State Employees’ salaries and benefits who work w/refugees

5. The vetting is very, very rigorous.

+ Former FBI Director, James Comey, Obama’s Special Envoy to the Middle East to fight ISIS, General John Allen, Former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, Mike McCaul, Chairman of Homeland Security in the Congress , and now we know from the leaked Wikileaks documents that even Hillary Clinton herself said at a private meeting in 2013 that the refugees cannot possibly be vetted.

+ Further, Leon Rodriguez, former Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, reluctantly told former Senator Jeff Sessions’ Senate Committee in September 2016 that some of the refugees get in based solely on their testimony alone.

+ Fraud is rampant in the refugee program. Many refugees come from failed states. They have no documentation. We are supposed to believe the lie that everyone is who they say they are.

+ ISIS has sworn to infiltrate the refugee population. They already have.

6. The refugees become self-sufficient within 5 years.

+ The fact is that the Office Of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) defines self-sufficiency in a way that is contrary to the common understanding of the word. A household is considered self-sufficient if it is not receiving “a cash assistance grant”. But other welfare programs do not count under the ORR definition. Thus, ORR considers and reports them as self-sufficient even if they are receiving other forms of government assistance such as: Food Stamps (SNAP), Housing subsidies, or Medicaid .

Don’t be fooled. Make them define their terms.

7. Refugees pay taxes.

+ Consider that the average educational level of a Middle Eastern refugee is 10.5 years. That is not even a high school diploma. This means that the likelihood of them earning more than $9-$12 /hour is pretty unlikely. Having a low wage job is most likely. Further, even if they work and pay taxes the fact that the earnings level is low will often make them eligible for continuing government subsidies. There are other points to consider:

+ Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to people whose income is low. Many, if not most, refugees would likely qualify for this.

+ Child Tax Credit up to $1000 per child would apply based on income guidelines. This credit is IN ADDITION to deductions for dependent children.

+ Once the Tax Credits are applied it is possible that they are getting back all or most of the taxes that were paid and potentially more than they paid.

So, there we have it for those of you looking for something to do. Use Arthur’s points for letters to the editor, arguing with ‘friends’ on facebook, or when corresponding with your elected officials.
This post is filed in two categories here at RRW: ‘Comments worth noting’ (here) and in my new category ‘What you can do’ (here).
And, for all of you interested in Arthur’s home state of West Virginia, go here for my archive on the state.

Obama State Department approves 100 Syrian Muslims for West Virginia state capitol

12/22/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Where were you WV Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Republican Rep. Alex Mooney? Only two choices!—either asleep-at-the-switch or in support of this move by a local ‘interfaith’ group to be named a federal subcontracting agency for the purpose of beginning a new refugee resettlement site in the state. (Charleston previously received a few refugees through Catholic Charities, but no where near this scale).
If Capito and Mooney had put up significant opposition, we would have heard about it and this decision might have turned out differently.
Does Obama think he can stick it to West Virginia (Trump territory) voters in his final weeks in office? And, where is Joe [Manchin]? He must be all for it too!

Just this morning we reported that in Wisconsin, Republican Rep. Sean Duffy sent a strongly worded letter about plans to begin placing Syrians in his district and here a few days ago we learned that the plan for Bloomington, Indiana was shelved because opposition had grown there and because it is expected that Trump will make some move after January 20th to slow (or stop) the flow of refugees to America (money for resettlement is drying up as well).
So why go ahead with this new site at the West Virginia state capitol?
For new readers we have followed the growing controversy in Charleston extensively for months, see here.
From the West Virginia Gazette-Mail (emphasis is mine):

The U.S. Department of State has approved an application to establish a refugee resettlement program in Charleston, officials announced Wednesday. But that decision could be reversed by the incoming administration, according to an expert on refugee resettlement law.

The West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry, which also is the name local organizers have been informally using to describe their humanitarian effort, will begin as a program of the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the Rev. Canon E. Mark Stevenson, director at Episcopal Migration Ministries, announced that the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry had been approved to join its network of 30 refugee resettlement sites throughout the country.

[….]

In October, they submitted an application for a resettlement agency to place 100 refugees in Charleston in the first year.

David Ramkey, chief financial officer for the Episcopal Diocese of West Virginia, said the refugees should be a “welcome addition” and “very productive part” of the community.

[….]

Neil Grungras, executive director of the nonprofit Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, said the Donald Trump administration could reverse the decision.

“The State Department is never obligated to allow even an approved refugee into the U.S.,” Grungras said. “The answer, with regard to the 100 approved, is that it probably depends where they are in their processing. [I will bet a buck that the Obama Administration is packing as many as they can into that pipeline right now!—ed]

[….]

Lynn Clarke, a local organizer, said the group had been told that, if they were approved, the refugees would likely begin arriving this summer. She said the group anticipates refugees fleeing from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, but she said they also could be from other countries. –

As I said in a previous post, I don’t know why this ‘interfaith’ group was so hot for Syrian Muslims (apparently Iraqis and Afghans too), they usually don’t get to pick their favorite ethnic groups, but actually get a little bit of everything.

Report: Charleston, WV pro-Syrian Muslim resettlement rally held

11/17/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

“I don’t think they should be brought here, period!”

(citizen activist Brenda Arthur)

As I told you a few days ago a Charleston ‘Interfaith’ group was planning a rally to push for the resettlement of Syrian refugees to the state capitol. And, as I mentioned then, I am struck by the fact that the rally for refugees was so specific about Syrians when we bring refugees from all over the world (and resettlement contracting agencies don’t get to pick only those ethnic groups they prefer).
Why are they so concerned about Syrians? Why is the Charleston, West Virginia group so discriminatory against other ethnic groups?

And here are my bigger questions: Where is Alex? Where is Shelley? Where is Joe?

manchin — Come on Joe! Even if the Republicans are too squishy to speak up, surely you get it!

Considering that the controversy about the resettlement of Syrian refugees in American towns is one of the major issues that pushed Donald Trump over the finish line last week, shouldn’t we expect elected officials like Rep. Alex Mooney (R) in whose district this rally occurred and US Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Joe Manchin (D) to have the guts to say where they stand on the issue!

Are they for or against this plan from Washington?

One story about the rally is here. There was a counter-rally, so no one can say any longer that there is no opposition to the plan to expand the resettlement of Syrian Muslims (99% of all Syrians entering the US are Muslims) in to West Virginia.
See some of the opposition’s arguments reported at the Charleston Gazette-Mail:

During last year’s rally supporting Syrian refugees, Brenda Arthur stood across the street in protest. She learned of the rally only hours before it was scheduled to begin. She was then one of only two people protesting against it.

This time, she brought a few friends. To them, the reasons to not bring refugees seem endless.

“We had the June flooding disaster, we’ve lost jobs, there have been cuts in school funding and then there’s the drug epidemic,” Arthur said. “We’ve got all of these major problems to deal with. How does it even make sense to bring people here from halfway around the world that are going to need every form of government assistance?”

Arthur, 65, gathered with about a dozen other people in protest of the rally. Their main complaints about settling refugees in Charleston is the fear that they might be sent by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and that tax money would be used to resettle them.

But even if it didn’t cost taxpayers anything to bring refugees to West Virginia, and even if officials could be completely sure that the refugees weren’t sent by ISIS, Arthur still doesn’t want them here.

“I don’t think they should be brought here, period. We should take care of them in their homeland,” Arthur said. “A lot of these people, you know, they’ve been in their tribal land for thousands of years, and now they’re uprooted, brought to a new culture — in many cases a culture that has nothing to do with them. Our values are antithetical to a lot of things that they believe.”

See our complete archive on the West Virginia controversy by clicking here.

Charleston, WV rally Tuesday: We want Syrian Muslims in our city!

11/14/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

You know what strikes me as different about this pro-refugee rally scheduled for tomorrow evening (Nov. 15th) at 5 p.m. is that it is specifically a rally to welcome Syrians (99% of the Syrians the Obama Administration is admitting to the US are Muslims even as we see Christian genocide in the Middle East).
In most locations where an ‘Interfaith’ group advocates for refugee resettlement they don’t pick a specific nationality/religion. Indeed, a new agency like the one proposed for Charleston won’t get to choose its favorite nationalities either—they will take a mix of people from different regions of the world.

rabbi-victor-urecki — Rabbi Victor Urkecki suggests we must atone for mistakes in WWII when the US turned away Jews, by inviting tens of thousands of Syrian Muslims to the US. I do not get this logic!

So here is the latest from Charleston. Longtime readers know that West Virginia has taken very small numbers of refugees over the years and those that have been resettled were placed by Catholic Charities. Now, Episcopal Migration Ministries wants in on the action.
From The Charleston Gazette-Mail:

Volunteers are planning a rally for Tuesday in Charleston to send a welcoming message to Syrian refugees fleeing their war-torn country.

The second-annual West Virginia Welcomes Refugees rally will be held at 5 p.m. in the mini-pavillion at Court Street and Kanawha Boulevard East.

Episcopal Migration Ministries, one of nine national refugee resettlement agencies that works with the U.S. government and local groups to place refugees, and the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry have been working together in hopes of making Charleston a safe haven for refugees.

Last month, the ministries submitted an application to the U.S. Department of State to turn Charleston into one of its “resettlement communities” and place 100 refugees in the first year in Charleston. The State Department has not yet made a decision.

Then below we hear the story about how some Jews were turned away from America in WWII (yes, it was an awful mistake). But, I fail to see how throwing America’s gates open to large numbers of Muslims (Sunnis in the case of Syrians who form the basis of ISIS and Al Qaeda) is equivalent in any way.
Please someone explain to me why an error of 75 years ago somehow requires us to invite to America tens of thousands of participants of a religious civil war in the Middle East!
Update: And tell me why this isn’t a rally for the Christians facing genocide in the Middle East which would be the real equivalency argument to what happened to the Jews in WWII.
But here we go again with the guilt trip:

“These are people that are escaping the same forces of evil that we are opposed to,” said Rabbi Victor Urecki, one of the organizers.

“There is a sense that America is not welcoming to the other — to the refugee, to the immigrant,” he said. “And this is our response, to say ‘We are together. We stand in solidarity and hospitality to all who come to our state. We are a city of tolerance and love.’”

Urecki noted that at one point in America’s history, America’s border was closed to the Jewish community.

“The best way I can show that I’ve learned the lesson of what it’s like to be an outsider is by embracing the outsider and the other,” he said.

How many Syrian Muslims will Rabbi Urecki take home with him? How many would even want to go home with him?
Is the huge cost of resettling large numbers of refugees of any concern to the Rabbi and the local ‘Interfaith’ activists?
Learn about Charleston’s ‘Interfaith’ group here, and go here for more posts on the Charleston refugee controversy.
For West Virginians who are not happy with what you are learning, you must contact your two US Senators and Congressman Alex Mooney who represents Charleston and let them know what you think!
Endnote! I don’t want to hear from any readers who think this is a Jewish plot. This is about political ideology. Remember that most resettlement in America is being done by Leftist Christian organizations. There are many people of the Jewish faith who disagree vehemently with our policy of admitting large numbers of Muslim refugees, not to mention those who have serious concerns about the economic impact on local communities and state governments and are working hard to bring attention to the enormous cost to taxpayers.

Charleston, WV 'Interfaith' leader and lawyer setting up new refugee resettlement office, planning rally

11/07/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Funny, it was only yesterday I told you that local ‘Interfaith’ groups were primary promoters of the expansion of refugee resettlement beyond the two hundred or so offices already up and running, here, into dozens of new towns and cities primarily to receive massive new numbers of Syrian Muslim refugees, among others from dozens of countries.
Now we learn from the Charleston Gazette-Mail that Episcopal Migration Ministries is applying to the US State Department to expand resettlement from the small number of refugees placed in the West Virginia capitol now by Catholic Charities (about 25 last year) to add 100 from EMM in the 2017 fiscal year.

lynn-s-clarke-photo-877479 — ‘Interfaith’ leader/lawyer Lynn S. Clark. Photo and bio here: http://www.lawyers.com/charleston/west-virginia/lynn-s-clarke-1783094-a/ Go here to see what she said in 2015 about her WV ‘Interfaith’ group: https://woolfinstitute.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/interfaith-refugee-ministry-in-west-virginia-usa/

A local activist ‘Interfaith’ group is incorporating as a non-profit supposedly for the purpose of being the local resettlement subcontractor.
(If this is your first visit to RRW, be sure to see ‘Ten Things your town needs to know…’ because once opened the office will expand each year even if the city of Charleston begs for a reprieve in the number being placed.)
For background, see this previous post on Charleston, WV and follow links to earlier posts.
There is a ‘pocket of resistance’ getting firmly established there.
Wonder where the phrase ‘pocket of resistance’ came from? That is what I heard officials of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement call any community where citizens were demanding answers about the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program. Go here for that 2013 post! Imagine that! Government bureaucrats referring to citizens who might disagree with their plan for America as being in ‘pockets of resistance.’
From the Charleston Gazette-Mail:

A national refugee resettlement agency has submitted an application to the U.S. Department of State to turn Charleston into one of its “resettlement communities.”

The West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry aims to create greater understanding of the Muslim community [assumption here for this group is that they will get Syrian Muslims–ed] and the plight of refugees, including those fleeing Syria, where millions have been displaced and hundreds of thousands have been killed.

[….]

Episcopal Migration Ministries submitted an application to the State Department last month to resettle 100 refugees in the first year in Charleston. Duvall noted the State Department will determine the number if the application is approved.

[….]

Kendall Martin, spokeswoman for Episcopal Migration Ministries, said that the agency has not recently submitted any applications for resettlement communities anywhere else. She said that if the application is approved, they will hold quarterly meetings with the community.

Asked how often their applications are typically approved, Martin said they had only submitted one other site application, for Wichita, Kansas***, to the State Department in the past five years, and it was approved.

Lynn Clarke and Ibtesam Sue Barazi, two of the local volunteers, said they are working on bylaws for their group and preparing for the possibility of establishing a nonprofit organization if the application is approved.

A pro-Syrian refugee rally is scheduled for 5 p.m. on November 15th.

There is only one reason for such a rally and that is to create the impression that West Virginia is wildly welcoming of refugees from the third world and from countries that hate us! It is about swaying the media and the US State Department.

Barazi, a Syrian immigrant who has lived in West Virginia since 1975, said they also are planning a “West Virginia Welcomes Refugees” rally to be held at 5 p.m. on Nov. 15 at Haddad Riverfront Park, followed by a candlelight vigil. The rally follows a similar event last year that drew hundreds of people. Organizers say they want to “respond to fear with love.”

Visit the Charleston Gazette-Mail for more information and to see the cool graphic showing the other locations around the country where EMM has offices.
One more thing! If Clark and her cohorts succeed and get an office open, they won’t be choosing the refugees, but will be required to take what Washington sends them. Ultimately, refugees will come from dozens of countries, thus, in some ways, making it harder and more expensive for the city and county to deal with the myriad languages. Remember local and state taxpayers are responsible for providing interpreters for medical care, schools, and the criminal justice system!
P.S. If you are a West Virginian reading this and getting angry, there are 3 people to complain to: Rep. Alex Mooney (R) who represents Charleston in the House of Representatives and the two US Senators: Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Joe Manchin(D). By the way, if anyone talks to Mooney, tell him to get his history straight about that damn plaque on the Statue of Liberty. It was added later, the original statue had nothing to do with immigration.
***Wichita, Kansas is a prime example of refugee overload as the school system is swamped with refugee kids speaking many languages and it is subsequently BROKE, see here. Do you want this problem in Charleston?