Twin Falls, Idaho update: The refugee program is aok as long as they are “transparent”
Apparently Idaho citizens have been expressing concerns (good for you!) about the on-going refugee resettlement program located at the College of Southern Idaho perhaps in response to our reporting, here, and that of World Net Daily here.
Every official involved is playing down concerns that the soon-to-arrive Syrian refugees will be thoroughly screened. I guess they haven’t heard that the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul, calls the resettlement a “jihadi pipeline” to America.
Rep. Stephen Hartgen who represents Twin Falls must now obtain the R & P Abstract prepared by the resettlement agency each year and make it public to the community, that is, if they aren’t just blowing smoke about the need for transparency.
The article is your basic admonition to calm down, move along, nothing to see here.
However, the State’s Attorney General’s comment that the refugee contractor should be transparent really jumped out at me because in fact the resettlement agency contractors have been told that they must not give out any information, especially the R & P Abstract they prepare every year for the federal government in order to get paid (by you) for their work.
I will bet no local elected official has ever seen the Abstract for Twin Falls/Magic Valley in which the resettlement agency lays out the capacity of the community to handle a certain number of refugees from certain countries, but more importantly it tells what amenities the town is offering the refugees.
Learn more about Abstracts and see what one looks like, here.
Here is a bit of MagicValley.com’s news (emphasis is mine):
TWIN FALLS • Four Magic Valley legislators have sent written opinions to the College of Southern Idaho about its Refugee Center program.
The college didn’t request the opinions, but has received positive feedback, CSI President Jeff Fox said.
Questions have been swirling since late April, though, when the center announced it will likely receive 300 refugees – possibly from Syria — starting in October.
“I think legislators have been getting calls from constituents and doing their due diligence to find out what the facts are,” Fox said.
Some community members are worried about Syrian refugees coming from a war-torn part of the Arab world.
[….]
Six Magic Valley residents expressed concerns at a CSI board meeting May 18 about an expected influx of Syrian refugees.
Rick Martin asked for a future agenda item to consider phasing out the Refugee Center program within six months, saying there’s not enough money to support it.
“This program is giving the college a bad rap,” he said. “Let someone else take it over.”
[….]
Rep. Steve Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, has heard concerns from individual community members, at meetings, via comments on news stories and on Facebook.
He asked the Idaho Attorney General’s Office for an opinion about what role Idaho plays in immigration issues, if any. The response stated that role is specifically reserved for the federal government under the U.S. Constitution, Hartgen said. [The Attorney General apparently has no idea how the refugee program is run in Idaho. There could be a state role, but Idaho has left it to the feds and the contractors to run most of the show.—ed]
He passed along information to Fox with a note, saying he thinks the college should be prudent and cautious, take concerns into account, andbe transparent in making information available.
Test their ‘transparency!’
By the way, since Idaho is a Wilson-Fish state, the state legislature has very little say in what goes on with the program. That should be the first step for those concerned—the state of Idaho should attempt to regain some control over the program.
But, first, all involved should call up the resettlement office and ask for their recent R & P Abstracts. I think you will be amazed at what you will find! Let’s see how transparent they are willing to be!
Everyone: In addition to finding the College of Southern Idaho Refugee program listed here, find your local contractor office (or one near you) and ask for their most recent R & P Abstracts because you have every right to know what they are planning for your town!
P.S. Didn’t our dear leader say the watchword of his administration would be transparency! Was he lying?
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