Opposition to refugee resettlement growing in West Virginia

10/26/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We have reported on many occasions that West Virginia has pretty much dodged a bullet when it comes to the federal government resettling third worlders in the state, but all of that is changing as new efforts are underway to supply more industries there with cheap labor—in a state that has been struggling for years! [***Update*** or is it pressure from the Catholic Church, see here—ed]
The controversy began last spring when Episcopal Migration Ministries (one of 9 federal refugee contractors) went public with its plan to bring Middle Eastern refugees—Syrians in particular—to Charleston which had only gotten a few Iraqis and Iranians in the last ten years.

alex-mooney-2 — Rep. Alex Mooney represents Charleston, WV. He is also a member of the House Freedom Caucus. West Virginians who have concerns about refugees being placed secretly in the state, must get a commitment from him BEFORE the election to join any effort in the lame duck session to DEFUND the RAP. See here: https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2016/10/26/reminder-these-are-the-house-members-who-should-be-automatically-on-the-side-of-defunding-the-refugee-admissions-program/

BTW, 176 refugees in total were placed (mostly by Catholic Charities) in West Virginia in the last decade. Charleston got 13 Iraqis and 9 Iranians before last year’s five Syrians.
We reported on the plan by EMM here. Then again here and here in September. And, more recently published the testimony of citizen activist Brenda Arthur to Senator Jeff Sessions Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, here.

Arthur has now launched a facebook page—ACT Charleston-Secure West Virginia. Click here to join and keep up with the news.

Earlier in the summer when Arthur was just learning about the RAP (Refugee Admissions Program), after reading about it in an article in the Charleston Daily Mail, she penned a letter to the editor. Arthur reports the following:

This (below) is the letter I tried to get Kelly Merritt – Charleston Daily Mail Opinion Page Editor – to publish in late July 2016. He wanted me to “soften” it, as he said it was too “inflammatory”. I would not — therefore, he would not publish it.

This is the “inflammatory” letter, what do you think?

REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR CHARLESTON?
Brenda Arthur

On May 26, 2016, the Charleston Gazette-Mail published an article by staff writer Erin Beck. She painted a glowing face on the issue of Charleston being targeted by Episcopal Migration Ministries as a “resettlement community.” I’m compelled to fill in gaps in her narrative with what Paul Harvey called ‘the rest of the story’.

The refugees being brought to the United States are 98% Muslim. Only a small number are Christians. In reality, the Christians are treated much worse in the refugee camps. Many Christians are afraid to go to the refugee camps because of mistreatment by the overwhelming numbers of Muslims.

Although people being brought here as refugees come from all over the world — many of those coming now are picked by the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees from the refugee camps in Syria, Turkey, and Jordan. The UN is a corrupt organization that hates America and Israel. How can we trust any refugees they pick for us?

Beck’s article never mentioned that ISIS has sworn to infiltrate the ‘refugees’:

“ISIS has said in their own words that they want to exploit it to infiltrate the West. Again, it is not a threat I am making up, it’s a threat their own officials have warned us about.” (11/18/15)–House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul.

Beck neglected to report that these refugees can’t be vetted, an alarming fact that ISIS knows even if Erin Beck doesn’t.

James B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice: “There is risk associated with bringing anybody in from the outside, but especially from a conflict zone like [Syria]… My concern there [about bringing Syrian refugees into the United States] is that there are certain gaps I don’t want to talk about publicly in the data available to us.” (10/8/15)

Supporters of this resettlement scheme will tell you that the refugees are vetted by our State Department and Homeland Security. REALLY? Is this the same State Department that “vetted” the wife of the San Bernardino terrorist, and gave refugee status to the Tsarnaev brothers a.k.a. the Boston bombers? Perhaps Erin Beck has a copy of the State Department memo warning Charleston – and other host cities across America – that some refugees are afflicted with drug resistant strains of TB.

Are we to believe highly informed intelligence experts — or groups like the Episcopal Migration Ministries (one of 9 major Federal Contractors paid mostly with our tax dollars) who are paid “by the head” to bring these people to the United States. Thanks to a reserved place at the public trough, these Federal Contractors get hundreds of millions of dollars in government grants.

Ask yourself these questions:

Why do groups like Episcopal Migration Ministries (a 501(c) 3 charity) *(and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops operating in West Virginia as Catholic Charities of West Virginia) get hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to do their work ?

Why do they operate “below the radar” away from public scrutiny?

Why aren’t they presenting our elected representatives with the R & P Abstract (Reception & Placement) which details the plan for the town they are invading?

Before you vilify me as a bigot, xenophobe, racist, or hater, answer these questions:

Why is it incumbent on us to absorb so many impoverished third world peoples who reject our language, our culture, or our values?

Why spend millions on them when thousands of my fellow West Virginians are facing hard times due to the Federal assault on our coal industry?

Why is money given to foreign nationals when our veterans cannot get quality medical care?

Why not resettle them in other Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia where there is plenty of space and oil money to boot?

Why should our country which is almost 20 Trillion dollars in debt give refugees Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Food Stamps, Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance, Public Housing, Child Care & Development, Job Opportunities for Low Income Individuals (JOLI), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and other government benefits?

We have our own problems. Could any group that wants to bring impoverished third world peoples here that add a further financial burden to our citizens and have the potential of risking our security have the interest of our community and state in mind?

*Added: 10-23-16

More questions from me:
Where is the West Virginia Congressional Delegation? Where is Senator Shelley Moore Capito? Where is Rep. Alex Mooney? Are they shilling for industries in West Virginia clamoring for cheap immigrant labor in a state that has seen unemployment go up as the coal industry is being killed by Obama? Their silence is telling!
Endnote: While doing my research on Iraqis here yesterday, I noticed that the tiny town of Washington, WV on the Ohio border is getting Iraqis, only a small number so far, but I wonder why? Spillover from Ohio?

Charleston, WV: Another resettlement site expansion being done in secrecy

10/09/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update October 11: Breitbart picks up the story, here.
We have been reporting to you for years that the only way the federal government and its contractors can successfully establish a new or expanded refugee seed community is by keeping their plans secret, within a small group of supporters (and some elected officials!), and getting the program approved before the general public catches on.
It has been my contention for the last nine years that resettlement planning must be done openly, in broad daylight with plenty of opportunity for the public to get all the facts and weigh in on whether they think it is the right thing for their community.
If the non-profit groups (the contractors) and the Department of State (DOS) cannot ‘sell’ the program with all the facts laid out in advance, then the program is not suitable for this particular community.
Today, Michael Patrick Leahy at Breitbart has summarized some of the latest information on communities kept in the dark about what Washington had planned for them. Click here for that story.

Now the Charleston, WV story!

capito-and-manchin — WV Senators Capito and Manchin haven’t agreed to meet with Charleston resident Brenda Arthur, but did meet with the advocates for Syrian Muslim resettlement in the state Capital. The Congressman for the district is Alex Mooney (R) and his staff also met with those promoting the Syrian plan.

You can visit our previous posts on Charleston here.
West Virginia has only gotten a very small number of refugees ever since this program was established in 1980, but all that could change if Episcopal Migration Ministries joins Catholic Charities and begins to place Syrian and other refugees from the Middle East and Africa in the state capital.
And, frankly, you would never know that it was happening, that the federal legislators had met with a local Interfaith group and gave the go-ahead by attending meetings, being informed and then not saying anything to the general public about the quiet planning process underway. If it weren’t for the dogged research of one citizen activist—Brenda Arthur—no one but a tiny select group of insiders would have a clue about what was coming.
I’ll let Brenda tell you the story (below) as she told it to Senator Jeff Sessions when she sent this testimony last week to the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest which the Senator chairs.

October 1, 2016

The Honorable Jeff Sessions
Senate Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest
U.S. Senate
Washington , D.C. 20510

RE: UN/US Refugee Admissions Program

Dear Senator Sessions :

I am writing out of my deep concern for the invasion of our country which is being sponsored and sanctioned by our own State Department and the UNHCR through the Refugee Admissions program all with our own tax dollars .

The UNHCR is picking our refugees for us and it is clear that our State Department has failed in its mission for the people of the United States . This Refugee Admissions program is not serving the interest of the America people but is serving the interests of lobbyists , globalists , and the 9 major Volags who are and have been feeding at the public trough for decades now . Congress has failed miserably to provide for our interests and seemingly has”rubber stamped” the President’s determination yearly . Please hear us now as we make our plea to save our country .

Third world poverty is being imported into our country en masse . This is being done as part of Obama’s overall plan to fundamentally transform America . The whole immigration system is out of control . West Virginia already faces a budget shortfall for 2018 FY of 290 million dollars , the unemployment rate is 6.5% and above the national average , the assault on our coal industry has cost 700 coal miners their jobs, there is a drug epidemic , and the June flood disaster severely damaged or destroyed 1200 homes. In addition , there are other economic factors that are impacting our state . How does it even remotely make sense to bring foreign nationals to our state at such high tax payer expense when so many of our own people are suffering ? Further , our country is 20 trillion dollars in debt . A sane nation does not do this !

Because we are a small state we have so far escaped some of the invasion devastation other larger states have experienced by their towns being invaded and overrun by hoards of peoples who neither want to assimilate or are assimilating . In fact , it is my understanding that they are encouraged ” not to assimilate but rather to integrate ” . I along with others are trying very hard to fight this invasion and keep this from happening here to our beloved state of West Virginia .

In my research to find out about the workings of the Refugee Resettlement program and the contractors I became aware that this program has been operating very much in secret since its inception in 1980. Once I became aware of this effort to resettle refugees in my state of West Virginia I contacted 7-8 elected officials : 2 town mayors , 3-4 state senators and or delegates , my U.S. Congressman Alex Mooney , U.S.Senator Shelley Moore Capito , and the Governor’s office . Even though refugees had been resettled in West Virginia no one knew anything about it . The Chief of Staff for Governor Tomblin even told me that West Virginia was not scheduled to receive any refugees . I later found out that the Governor had in fact signed a state refugee plan 3-4 months before I made the call to his office . This is not accountable or transparent government .

USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) operating as Catholic Charities of West Virginia is the major contractor in our state placing refugees . EMM ( Episcopal Migration Ministries) has filed with the State Department to also become a contractor here in West Virginia . I never hear the contractors speak of the interests of the people . They always speak of the interests of the refugees. I very much want to see the Episcopal Migration Ministries application to “set up shop ” rejected . I have tried to get word regarding this to my U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito but it seems to fall on deaf ears or it is not being communicated to her .

On August 1 ,2016 I contacted the State Refugee Coordinator here in West Virginia to request a copy of the R&P (Reception & Placement ) Abstract for 2016 and 2017 . I was asked who I was . I replied that I am just a private citizen who wants to know about the refugee resettlement program in West Virginia . The State Refugee Coordinator then told me that they couldn’t give this out to just anybody . I asked her why not when it is a public document and the program is paid for mostly with our tax dollars. She just replied that we have our process and that I would have to make a FOIA request . I did make that request and received the documents on August 9 ,2016 .

In finding out more about how the contractors operate I learned that they are to hold quarterly ” stakeholder ” meetings to track and report on the refugees who have been placed . I found out that they consider entities like the school officials, law enforcement, free clinic providers, potential employers , social service providers ,and others the “stakeholders” —–not the people of the community . We are completely left out while they operate in ” secret” .

It would be in the best interests of the refugees to one day return to their home country . Meanwhile , for every 1 refugee brought here we could provide the necessities of life for 12 refugees there . The Refugee Admissions program also poses a threat to our national security as you know . This fact alone should be sufficient to de-fund this program and put a halt to the refugee admissions ” racket” .

Senator Sessions , the Refugee Act of 1980 ultimately needs to be repealed . Meanwhile , “We the People ” must rely on advocates like you who will operate in our interests —-not the interests of the UN , lobbyists , globalists , or any and all enemies both foreign and domestic who are out to undermine the sovereignty, safety , and security of our beloved and great nation.

Sincerely ,

Brenda K. Arthur

cc: Senator Shelley Moore Capito
Senator Joe Manchin
Congressman Alex Mooney

Arthur would like to have one-on-one meetings with members of the West Virginia delegation to discuss why she thinks the program is not good for West Virginia where the coal industry has been devastated and Americans need jobs. So far they will not meet with her.
But get this, they have already been meeting with the WV Interfaith Ministry and the WV Friends of Syrian Refugees as noted in January 2016 minutes obtained by Arthur. I found it interesting that these advocates for resettling refugees appear to be completely in the bag for Syrians, usually groups like this are pushing refugee resettlement in general and are happy with whatever ethnic groups they acquire. (And apparently the contractors have not informed them that they don’t choose who comes to WV, they will be assigned a smattering of up to 15 different ethnic groups.)
Below is a screen shot from page 2 of the minutes:
screenshot-32
So, why are they making themselves scarce when it comes to those in opposition to bringing Syrians to West Virginia?
Incidentally, we do know that 99% of the Syrians entering the US now are Muslims (mostly Sunnis) who are not being thoroughly screened. We heard that in testimony to the Sessions’ subcommittee here.

West Virginia: Is Catholic Charities bringing in foreign laborers for a poultry plant to compete with Americans?

09/26/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Here are some of the facts as we know them:
West Virginia is a relatively new resettlement state which has received only 176 refugees in the last ten fiscal years.
However, in addition to Catholic Charities resettling refugees, Episcopal Migration Ministries wants to open a new office in Charleston. Presently CC has three locations and one of those is in Moorefield, WV.

jbs-greeley — This is the magnificent headquarters building Brazilian-owned JBS has in Greeley, CO. JBS owns most of Pilgrim’s Pride. So think about it! If you have Pilgrim’s Pride or any other JBS company in your town, it is being changed so a foreign-owned company can have cheap/compliant/foreign labor. (This is a photograph I took as I passed through Greeley on my RRW road trip this summer.)

What else is in Moorefield? I’ll tell you! There is a Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant located there.
Here are some things we know about Pilgrim’s Pride:
It is owned by the Brazilian meat giant—JBS (you may know them as Swift & Co.) headquartered in Greeley, CO.
And, now get this. The very same Labor Department, that I would normally be complaining about, says that in some locations in the US, Pilgrim’s Pride is DISCRIMINATING against African American job applicants, Caucasians and women! They are choosing Hispanic laborers (and it would appear refugee laborers) over Americans!
This is from a Dept. of Labor Press Release dated 10/7/2015:

ATLANTA — One of the world’s largest chicken processors systematically discriminated against qualified African-American applicants seeking entry-level jobs as laborers and operatives at its chicken plant in Marshville, North Carolina, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs alleges in a lawsuit filed against Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.

“Discrimination will not be tolerated by employers who profit from government contracts,” said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. “OFCCP will use every action available by law, including canceling Pilgrim’s federal contracts if necessary, to ensure workers are treated fairly.”

The complaint results from an OFCCP investigation into the company’s selection procedures. This is the second lawsuit filed by OFCCP against the company in less than 30 days. The first complaint, filed on Sept. 15, 2015, alleges that Pilgrim’s Pride systematically discriminated against qualified African-American, Caucasian, and female applicants for entry-level laborer and operative positions at its chicken plant in Athens, Alabama. Both complaints were filed with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges and seek complete make-whole relief, including instatement of qualified black applicants at the chicken processing facility, payment of lost wages, interest, front wages, and other fringe benefits, including but not limited to retroactive seniority.

[….]

As a result, some African-American, Caucasian, and female applicants were rejected despite having education and experience levels comparable to male and Hispanic applicants. The Athens plant is no longer in operation.

Based in Greeley, Colorado, Pilgrim’s Pride is the largest chicken producer in the U.S. The Brazilian food giant JBS S.A. owns 75 percent of Pilgrim’s Pride’s outstanding common stock.

From 2007 to 2011, Pilgrim’s Pride received more than $36 million in federal contracts as a provider of poultry to agencies such as the departments of Defense and Agriculture.

Could that same discrimination being going on in other Pilgrim’s Pride plants?
Back to Moorefield and Catholic Charities.
I checked the numbers from the Refugee Processing Center and here is what I learned. In the last 10 fiscal years, 176 refugees were resettled in WV. 49% of those went to Moorefield (CC lists poultry processing job availability there in its R & P Abstract).
Beginning in about Fiscal Year 2010, CC began resettling Burmese refugees (36 total) in Moorefield. In 2012 they began placing Eritreans there (42) and then 6 Iraqis and 2 Ethiopians followed. I know that numbers-wise it is small compared to the numbers being placed for the benefit of BIG MEAT around the country, but it strikes me as a very clear indication of how supposed ‘religious’ charities are working for the benefit of meat processors. But why? Is it all about money?
What is in it for the pols?
Then we get to the politicians. Moorefield is in WV District 2 (Rep Alex Mooney) who won that district when former Rep and now US Senator Shelley Moore Capito moved on to the Senate. Both are Republicans. What is in it for them to defend this practice of hiring refugees when African Americans, and Caucasian women need work in WV?
I don’t know the answer except for the Dems we know they are looking for more Democrat voters.
But as each of you begins to unravel why refugee labor is changing your towns (and why your elected officials aren’t listening to you), you need to figure out what is in it for Republican elected officials at all levels because I can assure you this is not about ‘humanitarianism!’ That is only the cover for big business (and the Chamber of Commerce!) to continue to push for more refugee admissions to the US.
Update: Reader Brenda sent this handy list of US poultry plants, wonder how closely it correlates to Refugee Resettlement sites?

Now they are after West Virginia as new refugee office planned for state capitol

09/13/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

West Virginia has been near the bottom of the list of resettlement states for the last 9 years that I’ve followed the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program, but all that could change.
Resettlement contractors are running out of housing and frankly ‘welcome’ where they have overloaded cities like Lancaster, PA (do you want WV schools to have to cope with this!) and Buffalo, NY so they are casting about looking for fresh territory (populated with lots of naive do-gooders!).
A couple of years ago the folks in Wyoming were able to hold off a program there. Montana couldn’t quite manage it and now has homeless refugees in Missoula. Rutland, VT citizens are working hard to turn back the plan to bring Syrians to their city. And despite what this story from the Charleston Gazette implies, a pocket of resistance is growing in Charleston, WV.

US Senator (Republican) Shelley Moore Capito. So is she for changing West Virginia by changing its people? She sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee. West Virginians need to ask her if she supports billions of your dollars going to import poverty? https://www.capito.senate.gov/

Most eastern states have not dodged a bullet (LOL! except for Joe Biden’s Delaware). West Virginia has always been near the bottom of the list of states being targeted. Not anymore. See my earlier post on Charleston, here.
Imagine in a state where the coal mining industry has been decimated by Obama, they are now being asked to ‘welcome’ impoverished refugees from mostly the Middle East and Africa with a new resettlement office in Charleston!
Where are West Virginia’s two US Senators? Where is Rep. Alex Mooney (a Freedom Caucus member) who represents Charleston? Are they o.k. with importing more poverty for the state?
And, don’t miss the fact that WV Rep. Evan Jenkins is on the House Appropriations Committee. All three, Capito, Mooney and Jenkins could bring this plan to a screeching halt if they wanted to!
From the Charleston Gazette earlier this month:

Of the more than 10,000 Syrian refugees placed in the United States this fiscal year, just five were resettled in West Virginia, but efforts persist to make the state a haven for Syrians fleeing the carnage of civil war in their country.

Charleston is still in the running to become one of the Episcopal Migration Ministries “resettlement communities.” The resettlement agency has 30 similar communities throughout the United States where local organizations assist the refugees with translation, finding work and health care, getting to know their community and other services.

This April 14, 2014 photo provided by the Congressional Campaign of Alex X. Mooney shows Republican Alex X. Mooney who is running for West Virginia's 2nd district Congressional Republican nomination in the May 13 primary. (AP Photo/Congressional Campaign of Alex X. Mooney) — Rep. Alex Mooney represents Charleston. He is of Cuban heritage, will that blind him when faced with a decision to fund Syrian Muslims (among others) to be placed in his district? (AP Photo/Congressional Campaign of Alex X. Mooney)

[….]

In November 2015, Catholic Charities of West Virginia, which, for 30 years, has assisted in resettlement of refugees, including Syrians, told the Gazette-Mail it had told the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that it had the capacity to help resettle 100 Syrian refugees. Catholic Charities’ Migration and Refugee Services Division typically helps resettle about 50 refugees per year, but it anticipated a greater need because of the crisis in Syria.

Patti Phillips, director of development and marketing for the nonprofit, said this week that, during the fiscal year, just a handful of Syrian refugees — a family of five — were placed in West Virginia. During the 2015-16 fiscal year, about 30 total refugees arrived in the state. Phillips said Catholic Charities only places refugees in West Virginia who have pre-existing ties to family or friends in the area.

Danna Van Brandt, public diplomacy and public affairs adviser for the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, provided a statement from Barbara Day***, domestic-resettlement section chief for the same bureau. Day said the State Department’s placement plan for refugees in West Virginia in fiscal year 2016 included up to 50 refugees from around the world and was “formulated in partnership with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Charities of West Virginia.”

Here we are with this family-tie trick. What they will do is start seeding new refugees into Charleston and next year they will be bringing the family members of that first group! So it never ends! Be sure to see my ‘Ten things your town needs to know’ by clicking here.
The Gazette continues…..

“Refugees are placed in West Virginia when they have family or personal ties in the state,” Day said. “Being resettled in a place where a refugee has personal ties is a crucial way to ease a refugee’s transition into life in the United States.”

[….]

In May, Episcopal Migration Ministries [one of nine major federal resettlement contractors.—ed] sent an employee and consultant to Charleston to learn more about the city, in hopes of establishing the city as a resettlement community. If Charleston is selected, a local organization potentially would assist in resettling 100 to 150 refugees each year in Charleston.

The West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry, a group that started to create greater understanding of the plight of Syrian refugees and combat rising anti-Muslim sentiment, had encouraged the resettlement agency to consider the area.

See more here on the WV Interfaith Refugee Ministry and how they admit WV is poor and lacking in jobs, but what the hell, bring in the diversity anyway! Beware any ‘interfaith’ group where you live.
How many refugees has WV gotten over the years?
I just had a look at the numbers for West Virginia (Refugee Processing Center). Since Obama took office the state has resettled 176 refugees (a tiny number when you compare it to Texas’s over 7,000 a year). In 2008 only 5 refugees were placed in WV. This year there were 25 up until September 1.
In addition to the Syrians, the primary countries of origin of the refugees so far have been Iraq, Burma and Eritrea. The top resettlement city was Moorefield and a few went to Morgantown. Of course, as we said, Charleston, the capitol, got its first Syrians (99% of Syrians entering US are Muslims, we are not saving Christians!) and is now being considered for a new resettlement office to bring in up to 150 soon.
*** Day is another federal employee who rotated into her position from a refugee contracting agency. There should be a law against this! See more here.

West Virginia you are up next as expanding federal refugee program looking for fresh territory

05/29/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

And, West Virginia is fresh indeed! It is one of the states the UN/US State Department program forgot (until now). Other states with tiny refugee populations are Joe Biden’s Delaware, Bill Clinton’s Arkansas, a few states in the deep south and of course Montana and Wyoming. I always assumed that Democratic Senator Bobby (“Sheets”) Byrd had kept the program out of West Virginia, but he is gone.

Islamic Assocition of West.jpg&MaxW=332&imageVersion=SoftCropArticlePictures — The Islamic Association of West Virginia (a mosque) is expanding its space. They are involved in the local ‘Interfaith’ group looking to bring Syrians to Charleston. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/20160409/muslims-outgrow-mosque-in-south-charleston

I just now checked the State Department data and since 2008, West Virginia ‘welcomed’ 156 refugees with the largest number being Iraqis (59), Burmese (46) and Eritreans (40). Tiny numbers of course compared to states which receive in the thousands each year. Guess the low-wage refugee workers will now be competing with out of work coal miners.
Here is the news from the Charleston Gazette-Mail (emphasis is mine):
They all think that economic boom times will follow the refugees (it doesn’t, all of you citizens of West Virginia, please learn from what happened in Utica, here).

As Charleston’s population continues to decline, a refugee resettlement service is considering opening an agency in the city that would assist hundreds of refugees in moving to the area.

Episcopal Migration Ministries [one of nine top federal contractors—ed] a refugee-resettlement agency, sent Jeffrey Hawks and Allison Duvall to Charleston to learn more about the city this week. Hawks is a consultant for the organization, while Duvall is an employee.

The West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry [remember my warning about these ‘interfaith’ groups!—ed] a group that started to create greater understanding of the plight of Syrian refugees, is working to turn Charleston into one of the Episcopal Migration Ministry’s “resettlement communities.” The ministry has 30 of those communities in cities throughout the United States.

The agencies work with local organizations in each city to assist refugees with translation, food, clothing, housing, education, mental health support, medical services, job training and community orientation.

Anti-Muslim sentiment is rampant throughout the country. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, has called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Many have called for preventing Syrian refugees, fleeing the carnage of civil war in their country, from entering the country. A West Virginia lawmaker even started a petition to ban them from West Virginia.

However, a group of Charlestonians sat in a meeting room at St. John’s Episcopal Church Thursday afternoon and took turns trying to convince Hawks and Duvall that Charleston would be an ideal place for refugees from Syria and other places to live…

More evidence that the federal contractors are out looking for fresh territory in which to seed Syrians (and other refugees).

But they didn’t have to do much convincing. Episcopal Migration Ministries has already researched Charleston and decided it would be a good fit for refugees. Ultimately, whether the city can be selected as one of the ministry’s resettlement communities will be up to the U.S. Department of State, Hawks said.

Now check this out! The local Islamic Center is one step ahead of you all with their propaganda campaign (gotta fill that new building!):

Hawks and Duvall met a friendly crowd Thursday evening as well. They attended “The Refugee Experience” at 7 p.m. at the Islamic Association of West Virginia, in South Charleston. At the community event, refugees spoke about their experiences resettling in Charleston.

And, then this is new! I have never heard of a federal contractor expecting up front money from a wannabe subcontractor. They must really be stretched to get Obama’s 85,000 refugees in here by the end of the year and be ready for his proposed 100,000 for next year.

…those in Charleston organizing the effort will need to raise about $90,000 for upfront costs. They will need to pay for the salary of at least one employee of the agency for every 75 placements.

Continue reading here.
I can’t guarantee that Trump can save us, but I know for sure that Hillary Clinton will put the refugee program on steroids if elected in November!
P.S. It is Sunday morning, maybe it’s time for any of you Episcopalians reading this to have a word with your priests and church leaders about what they are doing in the name of your faith!
An afterthought: It occurred to me right after I hit ‘post’ that this story might bring in new readers who don’t know that we have been writing about several new sites to be colonized including Missoula, MT, Ithaca, NY, Reno, NV, Rutland, VT and Fayetteville, AR. Many more will be popping up soon as they prepare for the new fiscal year which begins Oct. 1.