I don’t want to say I wasted an hour and a half watching the Congressional “Oversight” hearing on the US Refugee Admissions Program put on by the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security because it wasn’t a complete waste.
I learned that we are in more serious trouble than I even imagined!
And, I’m not going to give you a blow by blow account because frankly I’m going out to work outside shortly (in nature) to clear my head and calm down!
The wimpy male witnesses were no match for the pro-more refugees, pro-abortion Democrat women like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) who monopolized the hearing, changing the subject!, over the issue of the Constitutional right (they say) for illegal aliens in the care of ORR to get abortions.
When the hearing began with a good, strong, promising opening statement by Chairman Raul Labrador and a shorter statement by full committee chairman Bob Goodlatte, I still thought there was hope, but alas there wasn’t any hope that serious problems (of concern to you!) with the refugee program would be revealed in the next hour and a 15 minutes or so.
Go hereand herefor my previous posts on the hearing to see what we expected to happen and other details about the committee.
Here, briefly, are just some of my observations:
First,where the HELL were Republicans?
Besides Labrador, only Steve King and Mike Johnson asked any questions.
Where were Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, Lamar Smith, Jim Jordan, Ken Buck or Andy Biggs? Or, any Republicans from the full committee?
(If more Republicans were present they would have been able to dig in to other lines of questioning.)
The Dems were out in force with three women Reps who ate up the milquetoast men witnesses for the Administration.
Reps Zoe Lofgren, Pramila Jayapal, and Sheila Jackson Lee pounded the clearly nice guy (meek!) Scott Lloyd who is Trump’s Director of ORR over abortions for illegal alien children in ORR’s care. They were cheered on and supported by the rambling and obviously senile John Conyers.
The other day I joked about not throwing shoes at the computer screen, but I had to control myself from doing just that! Those tough you-know-whats totally destroyed the men testifying and monopolized the hearing with their pro-abortion line of questioning.
And, there was no line of questioning by anyone about local and state community involvement and consultation in the issue as promised!
We did learn a few things….
Yes, there was some discussion of fraud in the refugee program mostly centered on wannabe ‘refugees’ fraudulently getting in to the US through Resettlement Support Centers (RSC) run by non-profit contractors for the State Department around the world.
No one mentioned fraud by resettlement contractors operating in the US!
The GAO witness (a woman who escaped the wrath of the witches on the committee) did say they found cases of fraud where screeners (or interpreters) for these non-profit groups were asking for bribes to move cases along.
And, Rep. Johnson (R-LA) did ask the State Department witness about the travel loan repayment by refugees. The acting Asst. Sec. of State for PRM, Henshaw, said the repayment rate was 75% and when asked what happens to those 25% who never pay up he said something about how they would have a lousy credit score! OMG!
Oh, and Rep. Lofgren submitted testimony for the record from a whole host of refugee contractors (who depend on government payola) and groupiesincluding (but not limited to): HIAS, LIRS, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, CWS, the Cato Institute, the Episcopal Church (that’s all I heard of the list as she rattled it off).
The record is open for 5 more days, if you feel like you want to contribute something, go back here and see the contact information for the committee and ask how to submit testimony.
But, frankly, I am sorry to conclude, Congress/the swamp is a waste of time…..
And, if Trump is going to permit such milquetoast men to represent his administration before Congress then he will be a one-termer! (But, that looks like the Republican leaderships plan!).
Put your limited energy and finances into local organizing like I saidhere.
As Itold you yesterday, the House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security (full Committee is the Judiciary Committee) will hold an oversight hearing on the US Refugee Admissions Program this morning.
We had little notice of the hearing with a press release only sent out late in the day on Tuesday (the 24th).
So there was little time for you all to get information in to the committee. However, it isn’t too late, go to my post, here, and see the contact information and take a few minutes to send your concerns to the committee staff whose names were in the press release. If your member of Congress is on the subcommittee, please send comments to the member and to the staffers listed.
Leo Hohmann, at World Net Daily, has a very informative article this morning on the hearing that we are told will address fraud in the program and the lack of community involvement and consultation regarding the decisions that result in targeting Anytown, USA for refugees.
As I told WND, I will be surprised if those two important concerns are addressed in any depth. Watch for the bureaucrats to spin and flat-out lie, especially about community consultation.
Here is what I said:
“If these congressmen get anywhere near touching on these issues of fraud and abuse, I will be amazed,” says Ann Corcoran, a government watchdog who blogs at Refugee Resettlement Watch. “I’ve been following this program for 10 years and I can assure you, I have never heard Congress address fraud and abuse or the lack of consultation at the local level.”
WE will be watching!
Again, see my post yesterday for more details including who is on the Subcommittee. It will be fun to see who shows up at the hearing!
Go here for the Subcommittee hearing schedule for today. They say it will be webcast here. https://judiciary.house.gov/
Filed in my ‘Where is Congress’tag! It is also filed in my ‘What you can do’ category here. For new readers who ask, check that category because almost every day I suggest things you can do where you live!
This is one of several statements I’m seeing this morning on the Trump Administration’s latest announcement on more stringent vetting for refugees and others wanting to enter our country.
Editor:When I can’t quite figure out how much Trump is accomplishing on this issue, I can always use a ‘squawk’ gauge—what is the decibel level of the squawking from the refugee industry? It is pretty high today!
And, you know what is too bad, as the House Immigration Subcommittee holds a hearing this morning on the refugee program, there will not be one word of the fact that contractors are working against the very people who fund them—us.
As usual, in his Trump-blast, the CEO of one of nine federal contractors (paid by the head to place refugees in your towns) never once mentions that with more stringent vetting and fewer refugees entering the US, his ‘religious’ charity may have to absorb a huge loss in FEDERAL funding.
Washington, D.C. – CWS joins our partners and communities of faith across the United States in decrying the White House’s announcement today regarding changes to the US refugee resettlement program. As a result of these changes, hundreds, possibly thousands of families that have gone through the exhaustive vetting process in good faith and were promised refuge in the United States will see their eligibility revoked and be exposed to even further danger. The disruption to the program will have severe long-term consequences. [Including, but never mentioned, the possible loss of millions of dollars to their coffers—ed]
CWS’ President and CEO, Rev. John McCullough said “today’s announcement makes the pattern undeniable. The Trump administration is seeking to dismantle the refugee resettlement program brick by brick, through any means necessary. This administration is not interested in pursuing our national interest, enhancing national security, upholding the legal frameworks that protect both us and our allies, much less our shared moral obligation to lead as a nation during the world’s largest displacement crisis. The arguments put forward to dismantle the refugee program are all just smoke screens in order to fulfill the Trump campaign’s bargain with white-supremacy.”
This past summer, I used Charity Navigator for my source of information on CWS and its income (see all nine contractors here). This is what I learned. In the most recent year for reporting (2016), CWS was operating on a budget of just over $88 million. See how much of that YOU (the taxpayer) supplied.
71% of their revenue comes from the US Treasury! Yet, the good reverend is perfectly comfortable protesting, political organizing against the President, and calling any of you who have concerns about the refugee program a white supremacist!
This organization could not exist without government grants!
See if a Church World Service subcontractor is working where you live, click here.
(It was Church World Service that sent its subcontractor, Virginia Council of Churches, to the county in Maryland where I live over 10 years ago and so CWS is responsible for helping create this blog! However, I see VCoC isn’t listed as a subcontractor on that list anymore! Hmmm!)
Update October 26th: Hearing was a bust in my opinion, see here.
Here is the press release (hat tip Joanne): from the Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee with jurisdiction over the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program.
See the list of Subcommittee members below. If any of those members are your representatives you should reach them today with your opinion on the program.
To have some real impact on this hearing, folks in Idaho must get to Rep. Labrador today! https://labrador.house.gov/contact-me/
Supposedly they will be addressing “fraud” (we’ll see!) and lack of consultation with communities!
Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, October 26, 2017 at 9:00 a.m., the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing on the United States Refugee Admissions Program.
The Refugee Admissions Program is tasked with vetting and resettling refugees in the United States and is administered by the Department of State in conjunction with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services. In recent years, there have been concerns that the program is susceptible to fraud and poses national security concerns due to the inability to thoroughly screen refugees seeking resettlement. In addition, the program has been criticized for its resettlement process, including that state and local governments are not consulted when refugees are resettled in their communities.The Trump Administration has taken these concerns seriously and is implementing changes to enhance the security of the program and the processes to ensure smooth resettlement.
At this week’s hearing, members of the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee will hear from officials from the agencies that administer the Refugee Admissions Program on what steps they are taking to address concerns about the program. Additionally, the Subcommittee will hear from the Government Accountability Office regarding their reports on fraud and security issues within the program.
Editor: Of course they NEVER hold a hearing with citizen witnesses who have vast experience in how the program has gone wrong where they live. Watch these witnesses spin! Please restrain yourselves from throwing a shoe at the screen!
Witnesses for the hearing are:
Mr. Simon Henshaw, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Department of State [Shamefully Trump has made no move to put his own choice to head the program at State.—ed]
The Honorable Lee Francis Cissna, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security
Mr. Scott Lloyd, Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement, Department of Health and Human Services
Ms. Rebecca Gambler, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Unit, U.S. Government Accountability Office
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) issued the statements below in advance of this hearing.
Chairman Goodlatte:“For generations, the United States has been a safe haven for those around the world fleeing persecution in their home countries. We must maintain our nation’s generosity toward those in need but must also ensure that our nation’s humanitarian programs are not abused by those seeking to harm our nation and our citizens. This week, the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee will closely look at the Refugee Admissions Program and examine the concerns that have been raised about it in recent years, including fraud and abuse, vetting procedures, the lack of consultation with state and local communities, and the arbitrary annual ceiling. I look forward to hearing how the Trump Administration is addressing these concerns to enhance the safety of our nation and ensure that the program works as intended to benefit those most at risk of persecution.”
Subcommittee Chairman Labrador: “As Americans, we have a long tradition of helping refugees who are fleeing persecution and wish to become contributing members of our society. However, our refugee program needs to be reformed to keep pace with the security challenges of today’s world. President Trump recognizes those challenges, and I look forward to hearing how his administration is working to restore confidence in the refugee program. Congress has a role play, as well. I’ve introduced legislation, H.R. 2826, which enhances refugee screening, curbs fraud, and gives states and communities a voice in refugee settlement decisions. This bill has already been approved by the Judiciary Committee, and I am eager to hear from the witnesses how the solutions featured in my bill can further improve the refugee program.”
Here are the subcommittee members as of July 2017:
I have little confidence (after 10 years of observing the issue) that Congress is going to ever go so far as to trash or seriously reform the US Refugee Admissions Program (hearings like this one are extremely rare), but hope springs eternal, and if you would like to tell them what is happening where you live, try contacting those contacts listed above. Good luck!
But, don’t stop working hard where you live! See here.
That is the crux of this story and not in my wildest dreams did I think that money was directlychanging hands between the meat industry and a federal refugee contractor, in this case Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service headquartered in Baltimore, MD.
I always assumed it was an informal relationship where the largely federally-funded ‘religious’ charity (LIRS is 96% funded by you and not via the collection plate) just happened to be bringing immigrant workers to small town America.
Now we learn that there is a formal (secret!), contractual arrangement planned for pilot projects in four states with JBS USA a Brazilian-owned company. And, it makes me wonder if this isn’t new and whether similar arrangements are being made with others of the nine federal refugee contractors.***
For those of you in places like St. Cloud, MN frustrated that you can’t get local elected officials to listen to you, remember their seemingly illogical resistance to slowing the flow of refugees has nothing to do with humanitarianism and everything to do with changing America for the almighty dollar!
Global meatpacking giant goes all in for refugee labor
A Lutheran resettlement agency that places United Nations refugees into dozens of U.S. cities and towns is working with the world’s largest meatpacking conglomerate to train refugees for work in four American states while also softening up the local natives to be more “welcoming.”
The secretive pilot program between Baltimore-based Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and the U.S. subsidiary of JBS Swift aims to pump more refugees into Georgia, Texas, Iowa and Michigan to work in the company’s meat plants. If successful, the pilot program could be renewed for a second year and replicated at JBS meat plants across the U.S., WND has learned.
JBS Swift, the Brazilian-based global meat-processing giant, has agreed to pay Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, or LIRS, $155,000 to implement the pilot program over the next year in the four states, according to a draft of the partnership agreement obtained by WND from a person with inside knowledge of the deal.
“The shock here is to find out that a religious agency is being paid by a foreign global corporation to train refugees and ultimately transform the demographics of small towns in America’s heartland,” said Ann Corcoran, an expert on the international movement of refugees and the nine volunteer agencies that resettle them for the U.S.
The deal between the global meat producer JBS and the Lutheran agency has been dubbed “Rebuilding Dreams,” and is described in the draft document as a “grant and collaboration agreement” between JBS USA and LIRS in the four states.
“The primary goal of this agreement is to improve the capacity of JBS USA and local resettlement agencies to support and improve the hiring and retention of refugee employees at four pilot sites in Michigan, Texas, Iowa, and Georgia,” according to the document.
The following are the cities in those states where JBS has meatpacking plants:
Iowa – Council Bluffs, Marshalltown and Ottumwa, mostly pork production
Michigan – Plainwell, mostly beef
Georgia – Elberton, Douglas, Athens, Ellijay, Canton and Carrollton, mostly chicken
Texas – Waco, Lufkin, Nacogdoches, Pittsburg and Mount Pleasant, mostly chicken
“Rebuilding Dreams will achieve this goal by creating customized trainings and resources for key stakeholders, building stronger relationships through communications and technology platforms, enhancing the collection and evaluation of data, and improving the overall quality and culture of the workplace experience for refugee employees,” the agreement states.
The agreement also calls for improving the local “welcoming culture” in the cities where the refugees will be placed.
Part of United Nations agenda for sustainability
JBS is a transnational, global corporation that beats the United Nations “sustainability” drum on its website, and it also cashes in on the globalized “labor mobility” concept pushed by the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Read more here. The story is a detailed must-read about how a global corporation and a supposedly religious charity are changing America by changing the people.
And as a side reading project, see this 2006 article from the Greeley Tribune involving Swift (JBS bought Swift) explaining how the meat industry went from being a desirable place for Americans to work to their model today that is increasingly reliant on the global movement of labor—-middle America be damned!
Don’t miss Bloomberg: Big Meat worried about Trump’s reduced refugee flow, here.
For Republicans it’s about money!
We know the Dems are pushing refugee resettlement in order to boost the number of Democrat voters, and if you are wondering why the Republicans aren’t doing enough to get the program controlled—look to the Chamber of Commerce and GLOBAL Corporations that have convinced the Republican leadership that the free flow of cheap and captive (uncomplaining) labor across borders is the future.
The jig is up!
Big Meat gets cheap labor, the Dems get voters, and you, the taxpayer, get to subsidize it all (including welfare for workers paid insufficient wages!). If you complain you are a hater, a racist and an Islamophobe!
LIRS is headquartered here in Baltimore. This is their own description: The Lutheran Center (LIRS headquarters) is a six-story structure constructed in 1999 on property owned by Baltimore’s historic Christ Lutheran Church. The building is located near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in the historic Federal Hill neighborhood, a charming area rich with history and an eclectic array of eateries and shopping venues.
LIRS, in Baltimore, is not a separate group from the others on the list! LIRS is the lead contractor that deals directly with the US State Department and divvies up incoming refugees between the agencies below—LOL! it is the ‘mothership’ to the following:
So what do you do? Go to this postI wrote earlier this month and get to work where you live!
*** For new readers, these are the nine major federal refugee contractors largely funded by you, the taxpayer, see here. Refugee resettlement is not first and foremost about humanitarianism so don’t let them shut you up!
