Oregon Christmas tree bomber was a refugee

I’ve had several inquiries from readers about whether the alleged Oregon Christmas tree bomber came to the US through the US State Department’s refugee resettlement program.  According to several reports it sure looked like it.   Now, thanks to Brenda Walker who pointed to a few paragraphs in a New York Times story, we have confirmation that, yes, his family came to the US as refugees making Mr. Mohamud the first refugee accused terrorist in the US.   (I’m leaving out all those Somali refugees who returned to Africa for jihad training, but have not yet returned to use their new skills, or were arrested before they attempted a terrorist attack).

From the New York Times:

Mr. Mohamud, his younger sister and their parents had long lived in the Portland area, including in Beaverton, a suburb that has a small Somali population.

Mr. Mohamud’s family fled Somalia in the early 1990s, and his father, Osman Barre, a well-educated engineer, worked to establish them in Oregon.

“Osman was very sophisticated,” said Chris Oace, a former refugee worker for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon who helped the family resettle here in the early 1990s. “Some refugees are afraid of having Christian churches help them. But it wasn’t an issue with his family at all.”

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is a refugee resettlement agency most likely affiliated (subcontractor) with Church World Service (one of eleven federal contractors)*.   They (EMO and CWS) also do “social justice advocacy” which means lobbying for far left (socialist) causes.  And be sure to check out EMO’s most recent annual report, here, and note that more than half of their funding comes from you—the taxpayer.

Read the whole NYT story to learn how troubled and “confused” the alleged bomb plotter (who didn’t mind killing kids) was.  For our previous posts on this case go here.

* New readers probably thought that these “church groups” resettling refugees were doing it out of pure charitable impulses with private money from parishioners.  Not so!  The so-called volags (short for voluntary agencies) are federal contractors and could not survive without the bulk of their funding coming from the taxpayer.  The top eleven contractors (grants and contracts) subcontract to three hundred or so “affiliates” making tracking your tax dollars virtually impossible.  It is my view that this extensive funding of Far Leftwing “non-profits” is how more and more power has passed out of the hands of the taxpaying voting citizenry.

An afterthought:  This sure put the Somali Sex trafficker story on the back burner!

And one more thing! The largest number of Somalis entering the US came in the Bush years (post 9/11!) of 2004, 2005 and 2006, see here.

Iraqi refugees in America have shattered expectations

I’m beginning to think there is some boilerplate outline for stories on Iraqi refugees in America being passed around by mainstream media reporters.  Although we haven’t had as many such stories lately, here is one that was published in the Washington Post on the day before Thanksgiving (probably to make you feel bad before the holiday).  The stories are all the same—shattered expectations.

The articles about Iraqis (actually most refugee stories) begin with a few opening paragraphs, as this one does, about an Iraqi family with a very sad story to tell.

Then come a few facts like these:

Like 3 million or more Iraqis in recent years, she [Mrs. Jafer of the opening paragraphs--ed] and her three children fled across the border. They went first to Jordan and then to the United States, where the number of Iraqi refugees has swelled dramatically in the past three years after the Bush administration was criticized for accepting only a trickle.

Since 2007, more than 54,000 Iraqi refugees have been admitted to the United States, and an additional 6,651 Iraqis and their families have received “special immigrant visas” for people who have worked for the U.S. government and U.S.-affiliated agencies.

Then comes the “but.”

About 1,000 Iraqis have been resettled in Northern Virginia. But some now say they would hesitate before advising others to follow.

“We came here looking for a better life,” said Jafer, who arrived in 2008. “But . . .”

[....]

For refugees from anywhere, America comes with a lot of “buts” – the harsh realization that life here is not the Shangri-La they imagined, the discovery that it can be costly and lonely.

Then the shocked-by-reality segment.

“We had heard so much about America,” she said. “We thought that the life would be easy, easy, easy. But when we came here and faced the reality, we were shocked.”

The Washington Post does not disappoint, the story is just like dozens ( maybe a hundred!) we have written before.  All the elements are here:

* Iraqis are highly educated, thus more disappointed than other refugees in America.

* Iraqis had wonderful lives in Iraq before the US came and took out Saddam.

* USA is bad.

* There are no jobs here other than menial work.

* Iraqis feel they are owed more ‘stuff’ than other refugees.

* They are tempted to go back to Iraq or the Middle East.

* Some did go back.

* USA is bad.

* Refugee agencies make excuses.

* Iraqis here are getting financial help from family in Iraq.

* They go to food banks and get welfare.

* But they suffer now so their kids have a better life (in the bad US?).

Visit our previous 482 posts on Iraqi refugees here.

 

NumbersUSA says present immigration levels are unsustainable

We have a link above to the highly acclaimed NumbersUSA “gumball” video about American immigration growth, and now Roy Beck has come out with an even more shocking demonstration of where we are going if we continue our current immigration levels.   Hat tip: Henry

Roy Beck:

Our latest professional video lays out in 10 minutes the practical necessity for the next Congress to start cutting legal and illegal immigration every place possible.

Watch it here.

Note to environmentalists:  Why do you let the likes of Carl Pope and the Sierra Club support higher immigration and open borders—doesn’t make any sense!   Here is one post on the Sierra Club with links to older posts on the subject.

Somali teen wanted a spectacular show at a Christmas event, Omar Jamal spins the story

Alleged “teen” bomber said he didn’t mind killing kids either.  Here is more on the radicalized Muslim Somali we heard about yesterday.  AP has a lot more details, and I am sure there are even more details available today.  However, this article made me laugh for one reason (yes, I know its a terrible situation that could have been very tragic)!  I’m laughing that once again the mainstream media turns to our old buddy, previously convicted of immigration fraud, Omar Jamal (the Somali Jesse Jackson, I call him) for a quote.

Do you reporters have no one else who will speak for the so-called “Somali community” than Jamal?

Every time over the last couple of years whenever a Somali gets into trouble with the law, Omar Jamal dashes on to the scene to spin the story that the “community” is upset, that the perpetrator doesn’t represent the “community,” that the perp was just a “kid.”   And, he ALWAYS contacts the family of the kid so he sounds authoritative to the gullible reporters!   I’m beginning to think that the authorities (FBI?) must give out his name to reporters—hey, reporter, call up Jamal, he will give you a politically correct quote!

I am too lazy to link every post on Jamal but use our search function for him and you will see what I mean.  Most recently I wrote about him here early this month when he was busy spinning the Somali sex trafficking bust story.

Here then is Jamal in this AP story:

In August, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed an indictment naming 14 people accused of being a deadly pipeline routing money and fighters from the U.S. to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliated group in Mohamud’s native Somalia.

Officials have been working with Muslim community leaders across the United States, particularly in Somali diasporas in Minnesota, trying to combat the radicalization.

On Saturday, Omar Jamal, first secretary to the Somali mission to the United Nation and an advocate for Somalis in Minnesota, said Mohamud has a stepmother in Minneapolis. [LOL! Jamal knows some distant step-mother, its probably one of the "teen's" father's other wives---ed]  He condemned the plot and urged Somalis to cooperate with police and the FBI.

Jamal said he had spoken to two Somalis who knew Mohamud, and he was described as religious, quiet and innocent. Jamal said Mohamud is from southern Somalia.

“Everybody’s afraid, really really afraid,” Jamal said of members of Oregon’s Somali communities and elsewhere. “They’re afraid of, first of all, the label. The allegation is very serious …”

Guess what Jamal?  We are the ones who should be afraid.  If Somalis are afraid they better get their acts together and get the “kids” under control!

For New Readers! This story is bringing new readers to RRW in droves, so it’s important that you know some of the background of where all the Somalis are coming from—-the US State Department brings in thousands every year as refugees.  Groups like Catholic Charities, the Hebrew Immigrant Aide Society, Church World Service and World Relief (among others) are paid with your tax dollars to resettle them in your towns.

We have admitted well over 100,000 Somali refugees to the US.   To check out the numbers visit this post, one of our most widely read posts over the last few years.   In FY2010 which ended September 30th the US State Department resettled 4,884 Somalis (here) to towns near you.  The “teen” would-be bomber in Oregon was one of the refugees.

Also, after being closed for nearly two years, the US State Department is on the verge of resuming the fraud-ridden family reunification program that admitted as many as 36,000 Somalis fraudulently to the US between 2003 and 2008.  See the latest on new regulations, here.  The State Department is on the verge of re-opening the program.

Oregon: Somali arrested for attempting to blow up Christmas Tree lighting ceremony

Update December 1st:  Portland town fathers: maybe we need FBI Terrorism Task Force after all, here.  It just isn’t Christmas without a Muslim bombing, here.

Update November 30th: It is confirmed, would-be bomber was a refugee, here.

Update November 29th: Foil terrorists by keeping them out!  Here at CIS.

Update November 28th: More here and Omar Jamal is on the scene and running his mouth!

Of course I had to laugh!  The title of the story from CNN is ‘Teen suspected of trying to set off bomb at Oregon tree-lighting event.‘  (Hat tip: Ed)  You gotta read the story to find out it was a 19-year old (probably older) Somali former refugee who got caught in a terrorism sting.

(CNN) — A 19-year-old has been arrested in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon, on Friday evening, the Justice Department announced.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. He is a resident of Corvallis, Oregon, and is a student at Oregon State University, according to the FBI.

Mohamud was arrested by the FBI and Portland Police Bureau after he attempted to detonate what he believed to be an explosives-laden van that was parked near the tree-lighting ceremony in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Justice.

Read the story and take note—you never quite know who you’re talking to on the internet!

The arrest was the culmination of a long-term undercover operation during which Mohamud had been monitored closely for months as his alleged bomb plot developed, the Justice Department said. Officials said the public was never in danger from the device.

Next we will hear from CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) that the “kid” was lured into this.

For new readers: We have admitted well over 100,000 Somali refugees to the US.   To check out the numbers visit this post, one of our most widely read posts over the last few years.   In FY2010 which ended September 30th the US State Department resettled 4,884 Somalis (here) to towns near you.

Also, after being closed for nearly two years, the US State Department is on the verge of resuming the fraud-ridden family reunification program that admitted as many as 36,000 Somalis fraudulently to the US between 2003 and 2008.  See the latest on new regulations, here.  The State Department is on the verge of re-opening the program.

Somali terrorists hiding in refugee camps in Yemen

No! You are kidding me!

From the UK Telegraph:

Militants from war-torn Somalia are using refugee routes into Yemen as a cover for making contact with an al-Qaeda group responsible for a series of plots against the West.

Yemeni officials have claimed that members of the al-Shabaab terrorist group have been arrested in refugee camps for Somalis. The government fears that refugee camps such as Al-Kharaz, which now houses 18,000 out of an estimated 2-300,000 Somali refugees in Yemen, could become recruiting grounds for radicals.

Yemen: no automatic refugee status!

The Yemeni government says it is to make it harder for refugees to claim asylum as a way to cut the links. It is considering a proposal to remove automatic refugee status to all Somali arrivals and then seek international support for repatriating those not granted asylum. The move is opposed by aid workers, who say there is little evidence to back the claims. The UN, which runs Al-Kharaz and another camp in Aden, said it had received no approach from the government over the change of rules.

Canadian Supreme Court: refugees can be extradited (maybe?)

This is a really confusing article entitled, ‘Refugees can be extradited to face crime charges: Supreme Court.’

The Montreal Gazette begins:

OTTAWA — Canadian laws protecting refugees do not preclude the federal justice minister from ordering their extradition when they are wanted for alleged crimes in the countries they fled, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday.

Sounds simple enough, but the article goes on for many column inches and it sounds like certain refugees who face criminal charges cannot be extradited. 

Near the end, the Gazette says this:

The court also reaffirmed international treaties and domestic law, saying that an undertaking not to return refugees to persecution “is a cornerstone of refugee protection.”

So who knows what they have done, maybe you can figure it out!

Canada: Judge throws out earlier decision in refugee case of white S.African

We’ve told you about this case previously here and here.  

Brandon Huntley asked for asylum in Canada claiming he was persecuted because of his white skin color in majority black S. Africa.  Initially he was granted refugee status but now a judge has overturned the earlier decision.

From the Globe and Mail:

The Federal Court has quashed an immigration tribunal decision to grant refugee status to a white South African who claimed he feared racial persecution in his homeland.

Brandon Carl Huntley told the refugee protection panel that he feared he might be killed by black South Africans, and that neither the government nor the police would protect him because of his race.

The tribunal found Mr. Huntley’s fears justified and gave him refugee status in August, 2009.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney asked for a Federal Court review of the finding.

Mr. Justice James Russell released a scathing ruling on the case Wednesday, saying the decision was badly flawed.

The judge claims there was no international pressure to reverse the ruling, but you know there was because the message being sent was the politically incorrect one.  We all know whites discriminate because of color, but it NEVER goes the other direction, right!

When the refugee decision came down, the South African government expressed outrage and the case raised a furor in that country’s media. The authorities called the decision itself “racist” and “ridiculous” and made diplomatic complaints.

Heaven forbid the“Rainbow Nation” would be the source for a horde of white refugees looking for new homes!

Food stamps used to purchase drugs

Your tax dollars:

This is another food stamp fraud case that I don’t believe is connected to immigrants but it’s the second story I’ve seen lately (the first is here) about the authorities going after the sellers of the government assistance.

From KMOV-TV in St. Louis, MO*:

Police found 60 Missouri Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, usually used in place of food stamps. Detectives say the accused dealer accepted the government aide in instead of cash. [He knew they were just as good as cash at some local convenience store---ed]

A handful of SecuritE Cards, with child support payments loaded onto them…

[....]

The discovery of government-issued debit cards is kicking off a seperate fraud investigation as authorities begin to track down the people who traded government aide for drugs.

“We have names of the persons the cards were issued to and that information is being turned over to a state agency,” said Wellston Police Chief George Walker.

Fox News has a storyon this too, here.

* St. Louis has just been dubbed the crime capital of the US taking the honors from Camden, NJ here (last year’s winner).

Historic case in Virginia: Somali pirates found guilty

Germany has a case too!

From  The Virginian Pilot:

In a historic decision Wednesday, a jury in federal court convicted five Somali nationals of piracy in the April 1 attack on the Norfolk-based frigate Nicholas.

They face mandatory terms of life in prison when they are sentenced March 14.

It’s the first time in nearly 200 years that a jury returned a guilty verdict in a piracy case in a U.S. court, a verdict that likely sets up years of appeals.

The Somalis – Mohammed Modin Hasan, Gabul Abdullahi Ali, Abdi Wali Dire, Abdi Mohammed Gurewardher and Abdi Mohammed Umar – all were found guilty of piracy under the law of nations and 13 related counts.

Germany’s modern-day piracy trial underway

From Reuters:

(Reuters) – Ten suspected Somali pirates captured during the hijacking of a German cargo ship in April went on trial in Hamburg Monday, in Germany’s first modern-day piracy trial.

We think we have compiled enough evidence,” said Wilhelm Moellers, spokesman for the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office. “We presented the court with 22 witnesses and a mass of material evidence, including the weapons used by the accused.”

He said the accused included seven adults and three young people who, once their exact age has been determined, could be tried under juvenile law and face lesser prison sentences of 10 years if convicted. The adults face 15-year sentences.

Boy, I guess if you are a Somali pirate and get caught you better hope the Germans catch you and not the Americans!