They must be having problems in Boise with refugee numbers…

…or this news story wouldn’t be out there.

From State Impact (NPR):

Idaho residents know well the reversal of fortune the state has seen since the start of the recession.  The state, which not so long ago had the fastest growing economy in the nation, has been hit hard.  In a broadcast story tomorrow, we’ll look at how Idaho’s economic troubles have affected the state’s refugee population, focusing in on a particular family.

First, a little background.  How many refugees are resettled in Idaho each year?  Here are the numbers, according the the Idaho Office for Refugees, which has statewide responsibility for providing assistance and services for refugees.  [visit the article for the numbers]

Beware employment numbers put out by biased resettlement agencies—their future contracts depend on their ability to find work for the refugees they bring to your town.  The real unemployment numbers are  much worse then this article tells us.

Below are the available employment statistics.  In 2005, 95 percent of the Idaho Office for Refugees’ employable caseload found work, a rate IOR Director Jan Reeves calls “the high-end baseline” for the years preceding the recession.  By 2007, the employment rate had dipped. [but refugees kept coming---ed]

[....]

Looking at the top table, it’s easy to see that 2008, 2009 and 2010 stand out for the relatively large numbers of refugees coming to Idaho.  Reeves says those numbers were based on assessments of the state’s capacity [there is no formal assessment of capacity that I am aware of---ed] to resettle refugees.  Why did the numbers go up even as employment opportunities became scarcer?  “The projections come out in advance of the year,” he says, “so the numbers were determined, really, before the full extent of the recession was known.”

Resettlement contractors like the International Rescue Committee in Boise find any sort of job, part-time job, anything! just to say the refugee is employed.  There is no follow-up statistical study available to the public to show how many kept the job for any length of time.

A little known racket for some businesses (something I learned about here in Maryland) is that certain companies get federal subsidies (payroll tax breaks) to hire immigrants.  But those only last so long.  So businesses do what businesses do and let those workers go and get a fresh batch of immigrant workers (with federally subsidized pay) and the beat goes on!

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reveals in this piece as well that once you get the refugee flow going to a certain city, it is hard to stop because the first refugees bring their extended families. Not reported in this article is that the IRC helps with the paperwork for the family members and gets paid for that too—by you, the taxpayer.

Defending high unemployment among refugees, the IRC spokesman goes on to say that the refugees are here for protection, not necessarily to supply employment.  However, it was explicitly clear when the Refugee Resettlement Act of 1980 passed Congress that the refugees were not to come here to be on welfare—this was not about importing poverty—but that is exactly what is happening now.

Here this same IRC spokesman, Bob Carey, is wailing to Congress to give them more welfare money because refugees can’t find work.

Someone must be making waves in Idaho about refugee resettlement or we wouldn’t be seeing this twisted defense of the program by NPR.

Dutch called “intolerant” for new ban on Somali drug khat

This is one of those diversity is strength reports from Europe.  Since we know Europe is ahead of us in its reverence for multiculturalism, take heed.

From AFP news:

UITHOORN, Netherlands — A small Dutch city less than 20 kilometres from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport has become the hub of Europe’s sales of khat, a plant chewed for its stimulant qualities, soon to be banned in the Netherlands.

In a discreet warehouse tucked away in the city of Uithoorn, around a hundred Somalis and Yemenis were haggling over the latest delivery: a tonne of khat.

“The arrival of the delivery varies daily, depending on the flight from Kenya,” said a khat importer of the plant which drug authorities say produces a natural amphetamine when chewed.

The men sit around and chew the stuff, talk politics, and get high in the welfare capitols of Europe (especially as this report points out, in Scandinavia).

Residents of this ‘khat market’ city have had it.

Three khat deliveries a day, weighing about a tonne each, are taken to Uithoorn by truck from Amsterdam-Schiphol airport, 15 kilometres (nine miles) to the northwest. From Uithoorn it is sold to wholesale dealers and then resold throughout Europe.

But 15 of the European Union’s 27 states and Norway have already listed khat as an illegal narcotic and the Netherlands too announced earlier this month it would ban khat.

Local businesses have also complained about the commotion at the “khat market,” one of the reasons for the Dutch decision.

“Some days there may be more than 200 cars in the street,” sighed Uithoorn mayor Dagmar Oudhoorn.

Residents are tired, she said, adding “there is a real fear of crime and traffic problems.”

[.....]

Two-thirds of the khat at Uithoorn were exported illegally from the Netherlands, mainly to Scandinavia, the Somali importer told AFP.

The Somali khat “importer” goes on to wonder why the Dutch are so intolerant, but brushes it off with a promise to find another way to get his khat and make his illicit drug money when the Dutch ban goes into effect.

We’ve written about khat in the US from time to time.  It is here too.  This is our khat archive (Minnesota, Kansas, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee and more!).

Note to readers:  I’ve been meaning to mention that on the many days lately that I don’t get time to post here, I can always be sure my reader numbers stay up because hundreds of people search every day for posts here on Somalis—Somalis in Minnesota, Somalis in Maine, Somali numbers,  Somalis in Canada, why so many Somalis and so forth.  See what I mean, go to the right hand side bar and look at “Top Posts” to see what old posts everyone is reading.

Fargo, ND: “Canadian” gets 18 years for major credit card scam

When I saw that title (or a similar one) about this story, I knew before reading further that it wouldn’t be somebody named Smith or Jones (or whatever the Canadian version is of ‘everyman’).  The convicted thief is Adekunle Adetiloye, a Nigerian who became a  Canadian citizen (although maybe he faked a passport too!).

I don’t know if he is a refugee originally granted asylum in Canada or what, but I do know that I had to laugh when I saw that the word ‘Nigerian’ was eliminated the second time it was mentioned in one mainstream media version of the story.

Here is USA Today on the story (one of the largest bank heists in US history!):

FARGO, N.D. – He was unemployed and receiving welfare, but Adekunle Adetiloye was somehow living lavishly, complete with a Range Rover, extended trips to England and an expensive condominium.

That alone piqued authorities’ interest, but then there were two credit cards tucked away in his wallet that seemed to confirm suspicions that Adetiloye, a Nigerian-born Canadian citizen, was up to something nefarious. The cards each bore different names — Donald Douglas and Vincent Andriole — and helped authorities prosecute a case they describe as one of the largest high-tech bank robberies in U.S. history.  [the 'N-word' is here---ed].

“Characterizing this fraud scheme as massive, if anything, is an understatement,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nick Chase of North Dakota said in court documents.

Adetiloye, 30, was sentenced Monday to nearly 18 years in prison on fraud charges. He was convicted of mail fraud, but authorities believe he masterminded a scheme to open nearly 600 fraudulent bank accounts and bilk 22 major banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Federal prosecutor Nick Chase said during the sentencing hearing in North Dakota that Adetiloye had an “insatiable hunger for other people’s money.”

Gee, that seems to apply to a lot of people these days—insatiable hunger for other people’s money!

Here is the paragraph at USA Today that I want you to look at:

Defense attorney Richard Henderson had asked for a sentence of fewer than 16 years. Henderson said any prison time for his client is more difficult than it would be for American citizens because he has no family in the United States.

Now, here is the same paragraph as originally written by AP and posted at Canadian Immigration Report where the reporter apparently wanted readers to not miss the fact that he was a Nigerian (not a native Canadian) by mentioning that fact twice.

Defence lawyer Richard Henderson had asked for a sentence of fewer than 16 years. Henderson said any prison time for his client, a native of Nigeria, is more difficult than it would be for American citizens because he has no family in the United States.

The phrase—a native of Nigeria—has been removed from the USA Today story (although it is mentioned once in the story).

And, by the way, why should anyone worry about this crook getting a lesser sentence then an American citizen just because he has no family in the US.  He surely wasn’t thinking about that when he was ruining the financial lives of hundreds of Americans.

With all the unrest in Nigeria (Muslims killing Christians), look for us to open up refugee resettlement from that country next!

If any of our Canadian readers know more about this guy, please comment.  It’s highly likely he wasn’t even a Canadian citizen, and Canada shouldn’t be the bad guy to all the American readers who skim only headlines and never read further.

Endnote:  As I have said many times, someone should write a blog just about fraud schemes by immigrants.  The food stamp fraud is especially egregious and the mainstream media is too squishy to report on it in any thorough way.

Rise of Russian nationalism a challenge for Putin

Prime Minister Putin says he would like ethnic diversity in the former Soviet Union, but would urge that immigrants also learn and respect the Russian language and Russian culture, frankly a challenge he will fail (in my opinion) to accomplish as Muslims flow into Russia in large numbers.

From Reuters:

(Reuters) – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, warning ethnic tensions could tear Russia apart, said on Monday he would toughen migration rules and keep a tight rein on Russia’s regions to prevent it following the Soviet Union into oblivion.

In a newspaper article and an address in southern Russia, Putin used the danger of ethnic discord to call for limits on electoral reforms.

[.....]

Putin, in power since 2000 and favored to win a six-year presidential term in March, described a Soviet-style vision of a country in which the rights of ethnic minorities would be respected but Russian language and culture would dominate.

“The Russian people, the Russian culture is the glue holding together the unique fabric of this civilization,” Putin wrote.

Putin is steering a fine line between Orthodox Christian ethnic Russians, some of whom fear labor migration and higher birth rates among Russia’s Muslims, and ethnic tensions which could challenge his vision of a centralized, united, Russia.

Thousands of nationalists have protested in Moscow over migration and state subsidies to the mostly Muslim North Caucasus, where an Islamist insurgency rooted in the Chechen wars persists.

We have heard it all before.

Canada says NO! to Hungarian criminals seeking refugee status

We don’t often hear of Hungarian Roma people seeking refuge, but they do. And, below is a story out of Ontario, Canada about a couple who scammed the welfare system in Hamilton and will be deported.

From the Hamilton Spectator:

The public needs to be aware of flaws in Canada’s refugee and welfare systems that allowed a group of Hungarian Roma criminals to live in Hamilton and get paid for it, says the lead prosecutor of an ongoing human trafficking case.

“Disgusting, stunning, shocking, I just don’t have the words to describe,” assistant Crown attorney Toni Skarica said in court.

He made the statement during a court appearance for Viktoria Nemes, the 45-year-old wife and mother of accused human traffickers. She pleaded guilty Friday to welfare fraud.

She has been in custody since early December and will be deported this month.

Nemes came to Hamilton, from Hungary, in December 2008 and soon after misled authorities into believing she and her husband had separated and that she was a single mom, court heard.

In total, she and her husband are believed to have defrauded the City of Hamilton out of nearly $50,000.

“We lost $50,000 paying criminals,” Skarica said.

But Nemes’ case is about a much larger issue, he added.

The “bizarre” criminal justice system in Hungary allows a person who has been found guilty of a crime to return home, before returning to jail, he said, adding that this “is almost designed for criminals to flee somewhere else.”

That is just what Nemes did.

There is more, read it all.

Out the door….

Readers, sorry I’ll be away for a few days without internet.  If I don’t answer your e-mails and post your comments you know why.

If you want to read about some immigration issues, about Santorum getting an A grade from NumbersUSA, about Gingrich and CAIR, about Michelle Obama, about Ken Timmerman running for Congress and about a workshop in Maryland to learn how to become an investigative journalist, visit my other blog Potomac Tea Party Report where I have been busy posting these last few days.

To the reader who sent me a film recently!  I lost the e-mail, if you are seeing this, please send it again!

Christian advocacy group blasts Israel for new bill to stem illegal immigration

I guess one man’s illegal immigrant is another man’s refugee. 

I’m posting this article about Christian Solidarity Worldwide blasting the Israeli government over a bill passed recently that would restrict access to Israel of many immigrants streaming through the Sinai because for me it poses a problem—how do you separate illegal alien economic migrants from legitimate refugees?  And, what happens to a country that says—borders are open, come one and all!

Interestingly the bill goes one step further and includes punishment for any Israeli helping illegal immigrants/refugees get into Israel.  (Something to consider here in the US!)

I don’t know this group—Christian Solidarity Worldwide— but when the words “solidarity” and “justice” are mentioned I immediately think religious Left political activists are involved.  Perhaps I’m jumping to conclusions about that, but if you know anything about them, please comment.

Here is the story:

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights group, says that it is concerned that the desperate plight of refugees and asylum seekers in the Sinai will be exacerbated by the passage of the Illegal Migrants Bill in the Knesset last week, which allows for the arrest and imprisonment of any crossing into Israel.

[....]

The majority of those who would fall foul of the proposed Israeli legislation are from sub Saharan Africa and are fleeing brutal regimes, such as those in Eritrea and Sudan.”

[....]

According to the terms of the Illegal Migrants Bill, refugees can be imprisoned without trial for up to three years, or deported back to their country of origin or a third country. Not only does the bill effectively criminalize genuine refugees, it also carries a prison sentence of between five and 15 years for Israelis who assist them in any way. Prior to the passage of the bill, refugees were subjected either to a “Hot Return” border policy or imprisonment on arrival and subsequent legal limbo, due to the absence of a system of refugee status determination (RSD) in Israel that meets international standards. The Illegal Migrants Bill will further curtail the limited protection and assistance available to them from the state or from concerned individuals and humanitarian NGOs.

Shouldn’t the UN just run a camp on the border, gather all the migrants and sort them out?

In defense of Israel, at what point does a country literally die when its population is completely impoverished trying to care for the massive flow out of Africa.  With no cultural or historic glue to hold all these people together, what happens to Israel?  Indeed, what will happen to the US eventually?

“New Americans” prominent in Al-Shabaab

Jerry Gordon brings our attention today to yet another news story about immigrants we welcomed to America turning their backs on the good life to join a Jihadist group in the Horn of Africa.

Gordon at New English Review:

Americans have risen to the fore in the Somali al-Shabaab terrorist leadership. That doesn’t surprise us. We have written extensively about Somali naturalized citizens recruited through fundamentalist Mosques in major émigré centers like Minneapolis, Columbus and Nashville. Then there are Kurdish immigrant naturalized citizens like Jehad Mostafa from San Diego, California and Omar Hammami, a son of an American Baptist mother and Syrian immigrant father from Daphne, an upscale community on Mobile Bay, Alabama’s Eastern shore.

[....]

What has always concerned us has been that many of these American Jihadis fighting for Al Shabaab were welcomed to the US as humanitarian refugees under the Refugee Act of 1980.  This multi-billion dollar program administered by the State Department Bureau of Population, Migration and Refugees and the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Department of Health and Human Services has been fraught with massive immigration fraud.

Read on!

Santorum soars on immigration!

Readers: this is cross posted from Potomac Tea Party Report (my other blog).   You may want to check out other posts there over the last few days as they are related to immigration issues.  Keep in mind the post is written for an audience which may not be as savvy as RRW readers on Legal immigration problems and programs.

Yesterday I wrote a post based on a Washington Times story from Thursday that said that the immigration control crowd was forming behind Mitt Romney.  But, all that appears to have changed when Rick Santorum gave a speech on Friday in South Carolina that will change the playing field for many.  Michael Savage, for one, should be pleased that one of the candidates has finally come out forcefully on immigration.

In a press release late last night, NumbersUSA announced that the former Pennsylvania Senator had soared to the top of their Presidential scorecard primarily because he didn’t just stick to the usual talking point—illegal immigration is bad, legal is good—he told people that the numbers are too high.  He took on, without prompting, the Diversity Visa Lottery and chain migration (that is when you get your foot in the door, you can bring a whole host of relatives in with you).

Somalis are a case in point

Not to get too deep into the weeds, but on this business of chain migration, the US State Department in 2008 halted “family reunification” for Somalis (and a few other African groups) when they discovered through some random DNA testing that the would-be family members weren’t family at all.   It is believed that as many as 36,000 Somalis got into the US illegally by claiming family connections.

Diversity visa is insane

Also, I haven’t mentioned it here much (here is one post this past July), but the Diversity Visa Lottery (yes, a real lottery) allows 50,000 immigrants from countries—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Bangladesh etc.—that we don’t (supposedly) have enough people from to apply for a lottery to get into the US to increase our diversity.  NumbersUSA has been working with certain members of Congress in recent years to kill the program.

So, here then is what NumbersUSA is saying about Rick Santorum:

Former Sen. Rick Santorum zoomed from the back of the GOP pack on immigration issues to way out FRONT at a C-SPAN televised event in South Carolina on Friday. For the first time in many years,  we have a Presidential candidate who says LEGAL immigration numbers are too high!

[.....]

Congratulations to all of you Santorum supporters who have been pushing him to greatly improve his immigration platform.  You succeeded beyond most of our wildest dreams.

Now, the rest of you who are supporting other GOP and Democratic candidates need to increase your pressure on them to catch up to Santorum.

Roy Beck explains what happened—Santorum from a D- to an A literally overnight:

We have long said that candidates don’t need a long speech or a huge position paper to make it clear to the American public that they think American workers should get the next U.S. jobs, that illegal aliens should not be rewarded with U.S. jobs and that legal immigration categories should be cut if they don’t serve the national interest.

When Santorum began moving up in the public opinion polls late November and December, we devoted blogs and webcasts to his poor record on immigration that worked out to a D-minus.

But we always said that his bad grade was mainly based on bad decisions in the 1990s and on a lack of statements on various categories during the campaign.  We said that it would be easy for him to improve his platform and grade very quickly with a set of new statements and promises.

Here is the clincher.  Santorum went beyond the usual—I oppose illegal immigration—and took it one step further.

But for the first time in the year-long Presidential campaign thus far, we have a candidate who has brought up the Visa Lottery and Chain Migration.

Go to NumbersUSA to see what Santorum said.

I guess we will now be testing the Michael Savage thesis!

Don Barnett speaks at New York’s Penn Club on refugees; reports on Tennessee law

Center for Immigration Studies fellow, Don Barnett of Nashville, TN, recently traveled to New York to make a presentation on the Refugee Resettlement Program and tell the audience about the Tennessee initiative enacted into law last year that attempts to get some local control over the program.  Up until now the US State Department and non-governmental organizations are able to drop refugees off in communities against the wishes of many local residents.  Tennessee lawmakers want to see that changed.

Here is a report from the website American Rattlesnake:

One of the most harmful aspects of our nation’s current immigration policy is its manifold refugee resettlement programs, the disastrous consequences of which have been amply documented on this website. That’s why the speech Don Barnett, currently a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and expert on refugee resettlement in the United States, delivered to the Penn Club on Tuesday night is so crucial to understanding the scale of the problem faced by small towns and communities throughout America. A former employee of the United States Information Agency within the U.S. State Department, he spent an extensive part of his career working in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, which produced most of the refugees brought to the United States during the Cold War Era.

Today we have a much different approach to refugee resettlement that, as Barnett pointed out repeatedly during the course of his speech, is completely untethered to any concrete American foreign policy goal, and which is divorced from any traditional definition of the term itself. Even as President Obama promises to end the signature law that allowed hundreds of thousands of refuseniks and political and religious dissidents to emigrate from Russia and the former USSR, the amount of refugees being sent to America from the third world increases exponentially. As Barnett noted in his talk, and as even open borders advocates readily concede, the United States accepts more than four times as many refugees as every other industrialized nation combined.

Read it all!