Fix immigration policy? Only the part that works

Someone named Craig has written a terrific rant  on a website called Project USA. It’s titled “Washington fixing broken immig system by killing E-Verify, only unbroken part.” Here’s some of it:

Let’s see. Which broken part of immigration policy should we fix first?

Should we fix the broken refugee part, which has spawned a refugee resettlement industry in this country that’s paid by the head?

Or should we fix the broken labor and employment visa part, the SD2, H-1B, R51, T51, E14, H-1C, SM4, E11, H-2A, E22, SM1, E23, SM2, H-2B, L, O-2, E15, O-1, EW5, E32, P-1, P-3, E35, Q-1, T53, E31, SR3, T52, SJ2, E21, SR2, EW4, SR1, C53, SM3, SJ1, E34, SD3, E13, SD1, C51, P-2, H-3, EW3, E12, SM5, and C52 visas part, which generally benefits a rich few at the expense of an insufficiently corrupt many?

Or should we fix the broken ethnic preferences part, which has members of ethnic caucuses in Congress coordinating legislative activity with foreign governments and running citizenship mills out of their district offices?

He goes on to bring in chain immigration, anchor babies, welfare abuse, sham marriages, sanctuary cities, and more. And he tells us:

After some influence-peddling in an amount appropriate to the size of the task, Washington came up with a course of action.

The Washington establishment’s fix for our broken immigration policies, the one significant action on immigration in Congress this year, turns out to be an effort to kill the one part of immigration policy that isn’t broken—the E-Verify program.

The E-Verify program is more than just not broken, in fact. The program is actually in the process of fixing a big chunk of our broken immigration system. But it’s the E-Verify program that’s on the congressional chopping block this year instead of one of the dozens of other broken, harmful, costly, and dysfunctional components of immigration policy Congress might have chosen.

He sure got the refugee part right. And a lot more.

Muslim Brothers and Sisters Trucking Company busted

You will be outraged by this story!  Ponder it as you zip along a busy highway in your little hybrid surrounded by 16-wheelers traveling at 60 plus miles an hour, and thank ever-watchful blulitespecial for tipping us all off to this story. 

Muslim Brothers and Sisters Trucking is (was) made up of drivers hailing from Somalia and Bosnia (our refugee program supplying labor for jobs Americans won’t do?) who were never qualified to drive a big rig thanks to this scam busted by the US Attorneys Office in Missouri.

A former superintendent of a truck driving school in West Plains pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a scheme that provided fraudulent commercial driver’s licenses to large numbers of Somali and Bosnian nationals, said John F. Wood, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Read the whole story here.  It is a detailed anatomy of a scam of major proportion.     Some of those busted are going to prison, but you can bet they never caught all those students who are now spread throughout the US driving a rig on the highway next to you.

And then there is the larger question, what is in those tractor trailers?

Are these Cuban immigrants refugees?

I bet you were under the impression that the era of Cuban refugees streaming to the US had pretty much ended.  A reader sent this article about a Cuban family being resettled in Texas by the International Rescue Committee and commented about this line in the article:

 The family said they sought asylum in the U.S. three years ago for economic reasons.

The legal definition of a refugee is:

REFUGEE - Any person who is outside any country of such person’s nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

So, we don’t just take people, even families like this one who sound like nice people, into the refugee program who are economic migrants as they appear to be.  They need to be persecuted or fear persecution.

What is the big deal?  Well, refugees are entitled to taxpayer subsidized airfare loans, subsidized housing, a case worker provided through the volag and funded by you, food stamps and other forms of welfare.    Other immigrants are on their own.

One bit of information I discovered is that the Cubans don’t even have to be outside of the country to seek asylum, we now process them in Cuba.  See this information.

Obama: Islamic terrorism is all about poverty and racism

I’m getting off topic a bit here, but thought you should see this important story.  Hat tip:  Robert.    Here is how the story at World Net Daily begins:

JERUSALEM – The 9-11 attacks were carried out because of a lack of “empathy” for others’ suffering on the part of al-Qaida, whose terrorist ideology “grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair,” Sen. Barack Obama explained in largely unreported comments eight days after the mega-terror attacks that rocked the nation.

Please read the whole article.   Obama isn’t alone in his thinking that poverty breeds Islamic terrorism, we see that notion as a driving force even among high level  State Department officials.  Note former Asst. Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey’s comments last year here (bring more refugees to the US so they won’t become terrorists).    Sauerbrey, before joining the Bush Administration, was a Republican leader in Maryland, but must have been drinking too much of the kool-aid at the State Department.  Her comments, and Obama’s, show a fundamental misunderstanding of the imperatives of Islam.

Ho hum, another abuse of women story, this one from Cleveland

Believe me I am not as heartless as my title above suggests.   We have a very serious and growing problem with abuse of women and girls in the immigrant population and it is especially hard to eradicate in the Muslim community that views women as the property of men. 

The difficulty in rooting out the problem is compounded by our reverance for the concept of cultural relativism—multiculturalists would have us think that all cultures are equal.   It is not true, and immigrants and refugees must be taught to assimilate to our culture and the standards we set in this country for the treatment of women.  From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The first time her screams brought police to the house, the Lakewood mother lied. She told the officers that her husband did not strike her.

She was thinking of her immigrant community and the role she was expected to play. Faithful wife. Submissive mother. Mostly, she was thinking of her children and how she would support them without an income.

The night the police came back, she did not have to weigh what to say. She heard her enraged husband admit that, yes, he smacked his wife. He owned her. He could hit her.

“No, you cannot,” she recalls the officer answering, and he led her husband out of the house and out of her daily life.

The Lakewood mother asked that her anonymity be protected because she fears further angering her husband or his family. She is a Palestinian Muslim who last year took a step almost unheard of in her community. She declared herself a victim of domestic violence, secured an order of protection against her husband and filed for divorce.

Good for her!   Since we have been posting lately about the Palestinian refugees, I am wondering how this Palestinian family came to be in the US.  I don’t see any statistics at the Office or Refugee Resettlement database to indicate we are taking Palestinian refugees, yet.

Italy tackles the Muslim polygamy problem—will we be next?

Thanks to some very brave Muslim women, Italy is now beginning to face up to the problem of polygamy among Muslim immigrants.    Everytime I see an article like this one in the Los Angeles Times which has this lead-in: 

A boom in the illegal marriages is a byproduct of voluminous immigration by Muslims. Authorities largely ignore the unions, leaving the women in a murky world with no recourse when things go wrong.

I am reminded that we are seeing the advance warnings for us— the United States.  Already there are stories of such abuses of women among refugee communities here.  See our previous posts on polygamy.

Also, I’ll bet some of those so-called family members, sisters(?), that have been found to not be related to the applicant through DNA testing are actually extra wives (or would-be wives) the refugee wants to bring to the US through the family reunification program.

DNA tests on African refugee applicants show false claims

NPR’s Weekend Edition had a segment this morning on refugees:

Early this year, the Department of Homeland Security conducted a first-ever DNA sampling of several hundred refugee applicants in Africa. Tests showed that a large percentage of applicants were not related to people they claimed as family members living in the United States.

Click here to listen.

The refugee screening there is being suspended.  One woman commenting said she would lie too if she were in their position.

Note from Ann:  I just listened to this NPR report.  You must listen to it!  The woman Judy mentions is none other than Livonia (whoop-de-do) Limon the head of the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.  Think about it, a woman in her position is saying she would cheat and lie too!   I was so glad to hear we are doing DNA testing for family reunification (the largest source for legal immigrants coming to the US).

A kook and a bully introduce a bill to bring more Iraqis to the US

Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and John Dingell (D-MI) re-introduced a bill this past week to increase by a minimum of 20,000 the number of Iraqi refugees we will bring to the US each year.  Now it’s not clear to me if this is 20,000 over the State Department’s 12,000 and over the additional 5000 Congress (Sen. Ted Kennedy) shoved down the Administration’s throat attached to the Defense Authorization bill earlier in the year.

Here is a portion of Hastings press release in which he thanks the groups who are supporting this effort.  NGO’s would get increased funding to do this work if the bill passes.

(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) and Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, lauded prominent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and religious groups for their support of the Iraqi Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement, and Security Act (H.R. 6496). The following organizations have endorsed this legislation: The Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict (CIVIC), Church World Service, Congregation of Divine Providence of San Antonio, Education for Peace in Iraq (EPIC), International Rescue Committee, the Leadership Conference on Women Religious, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Mercy Center, Mercy Corps, NETWORK, Open Society Policy Center, Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement, the Presbyterian Church (USA), Refugees International, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Sisters of St. Joseph NW PA, and Save the Children.

Last night, Hastings and Dingell reintroduced H.R.6496, which addresses the impending humanitarian crisis and potential security break-down as a result of the mass influx of Iraqi refugees into neighboring countries, and the growing internally displaced population in Iraq, by increasing directed accountable assistance to these populations and their host countries as well as facilitating the resettlement of Iraqis at risk.

Read the bill (HR 6496) here (you will need to re-enter the bill number).   I couldn’t find any mention of how we could help refugees already returning to an increasingly stable Iraq.   I am such a cynic, but there is nothing in it for these groups if Iraqis go home.

And, as for the comment above that the internally displaced population is growing, where are they getting that information?

Refugees International: Bring the Iraqi Palestinians here now!

Refugees International an NGO (Non-governmental organization) that lobbies to bring more refugees to America is taking up the cause of Iraqi Palestinians caught at the border of Iraq.   The reason these Iraqi Palestinians were fleeing Iraq, according to a Brookings Institution report, is that they were favored by Saddam Hussein and he encouraged their residence in Iraq.  When Saddam met his fate, they fled their homes in an attempt to escape irate Iraqis who had been persecuted by Saddam’s regime.  In other words, it was payback, so don’t let them make you feel guilty, they were not fleeing American military action.

Recently a plan has developed to send 3000 of these Palestinian Iraqi refugees to Sudan—a decision which has really ticked off Refugees International and their ilk.   Bring them here they say: 

Approximately 34,000 stateless Palestinians have lived in Iraq since 2003. Since the beginning of U.S. military operations in Iraq, many suffered persecution at the hands of the Iraqi government and other armed groups. More than 3,000 fled to the Syrian-Iraqi border, where they live in makeshift tents in the desert with limited access to basic services. Syria refuses to allow them to enter its territory and only a few have been resettled, mostly to Sweden and Chile. Failure to act on the part of the U.S. government and other resettlement countries led UNHCR to sign a tripartite agreement with the PLO and the Government of Sudan that called for the relocation of this population to a neighborhood of Khartoum.

“We must not allow this vulnerable population to be used as pawns in a greater political game,” said Younes. “The U.S. government should acknowledge the vulnerability of this stateless population and resettle them here. It is appalling that Sudan, a country infamous for its violations of international humanitarian law, has stepped in to protect these people when the U.S. would not.”

To resettle this vulnerable population expeditiously, Refugees International urged the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to create a special category to process refugee applications. Any process should be held without prejudice to the Palestinians’ right to return to their homeland.

Note that the PLO has been involved in this.  I would like to know why rich Arab countries like Saudi Arabia can’t begin to resettle Muslim refugees into their Muslim country.  Or why won’t Muslim Jordan and Syria let them in?

If we take any (we probably will) lets make sure, as Judy suggested the other day, that they go to cities like Berkeley, CA!  What the heck, put all 34,000 in a city that loves the Palestinian cause.  Maybe the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society could get the government contract to do the resettling.

Bill would make special immigrant visas available for Tibetans

I haven’t been at this long enough—following refugee resettlement—so I don’t know if this is unusual.  Two Congressmen have introduced HR 6536 which would allow 3000 Tibetans to enter the US as refugees over the next 3 years.  See this news account.

Dharamsala, July 19: A bill to provide 3,000 immigrant visas to Tibetans has been introduced in the US House on Thursday.

U.S. Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Tibetan Refugee Assistance Act on July 17 to provide 3,000 immigrant visas to long-staying Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal, according to a report by International Campaign for Tibet (ICT).

The Tibetan Refugee Assistance Act extends support by providing 3,000 immigrant visas to qualified Tibetans over a three year period, ICT’s report explained.

Why a special bill?   Each year the President determines what the ceiling will be for how many refugees will be admitted to the US, so it’s not clear to me whether bills like this one are attempts to add to the present ceiling of 80,000 for FY08, or are part of that 80,000.  It also strikes me that this is the State Department’s (really, the UN tells us) prerogative to choose which refugees we take and from where, and am now wondering if bills such as this are meant to tell the State Department what to do, or is it to stick a finger in China’s eye. 

A reminder to readers:  Refugees entering the US receive air fare loans, housing subsidies, food stamps, a case worker and other forms of welfare while immigrants entering the US through other means are basically on their own.  That is why there is such an interest in declaring someone a refugee.