Spartanburg County Council dodges and weaves, wants no responsibility in refugee controversy
Spartanburg County Council: Leave us out of this mess! We don’t want to stick our necks out or make difficult decisions!
http://www.co.spartanburg.sc.us/govt/depts/cc/
For new readers: this is an update of the two-month-old controversy about the secretive decision to place refugees in Spartanburg, SC. See all of our previous coverage by clicking here. We are all waiting to see what Rep. Trey Gowdy, who represents the district and just so happens to chair the House subcommittee responsible for the Refugee Admissions Program, will do.
In the meantime, the Spartanburg County Council is obviously trying desperately to get out of any responsibility for this all important decision for the future of the community. If they had a little backbone, they could help, not only themselves, but every town in America facing (or soon facing) an edict from the federal government to “welcome” needy third-worlders to town without any local government involvement or community input.
This is the crux of the problem:
Local communities MUST have a discussion and some decision-making authority and not leave decisions about refugee resettlement to the UN, the US State Department and a bunch of government contractors masquerading as non-profit “religious” charities!
Here is the news (at GoUpstate.com) about Monday night’s meeting of the Spartanburg County Council:
Spartanburg County Council announced it plans to take no action on a proposal to bring refugees to Spartanburg and is holding steady for U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy’s findings concerning the resettlement program.
World Relief, a faith-based organization, plans to bring 60 refugees to Spartanburg this year to assimilate into the community, as part of a U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. [The reporter apparently doesn’t know that the word “assimilate” is now a forbidden word among those working to seed American towns with migrants!—ed]
After several people spoke on the issue during a Monday evening council meeting, Chairman Jeff Horton said the County Council had no involvement in the matter and urged residents to be patient until all of the information has been gathered.
He pointed out that the state Senate adopted an amendment in its budget prohibiting state funds from being used for the refugee program until the county council approves the resettlement. The legislation originally stated that it was a decision for the legislative delegation, not the county council.
Horton said the amendment is wrong and should be “stricken immediately.” [In other words, he says, we don’t want this hot potato!—ed]
Christina Jeffrey, a citizen activist who spoke before the County Council on Monday, is concerned about security and wants public involvement in decisions about refugee resettlement.
[….]
In April, Gowdy announced he had 17 questions about the program and asked Secretary of State John Kerry to put refugee resettlement plans on hold until questions are answered. Some of those questions revolved around security, education, funding and health care issues.
[….]
Christina Jeffrey, a former candidate for Congress, has voiced opposition to refugees resettling in Spartanburg and said during Monday’s council meeting that refugees cannot be adequately screened. She said the resettlement of refugees in the U.S. is a disservice to taxpayers, the education system, the job market and the safety of people.
She said the department of homeland security cannot ensure safety since screening is difficult, particularly for those coming from countries such as Syria and Iraq.
World Relief local director Jason Lee also attended the meeting and said the refugee resettlement program has traditionally not been a county council issue.
This last statement by Lee is telling. The US State Department and their cabal of contractors DO NOT WANT ANY LOCAL GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE!
We must work to change that ‘tradition’ by making it the law to include local citizens and local governments in the decision-making process that involves adding more poverty and potentially changing a town’s culture forever.
It is too bad that the Spartanburg County Council apparently doesn’t have the spine necessary to look at the bigger picture.
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