Posted by Ann Corcoran on September 1, 2015
This is your typical warm and fuzzy story about refugees ‘melting’ into America.
In fact it is one of those stories that drives me to tell you about the welfare moochers, murderers, rapists and terrorists in the refugee stream—you know to give balance to the news!
I’m skipping all the heartwarming information about one refugee’s successful resettlement in Houston, described as in the top four places in the world for refugee resettlement, to get to the bit of information I found revealing.
The US State Department does not choose which towns and cities will ‘welcome’ new resettlement seed communities—the nine federal non-governmental contractors*** do!
Bartlett is Asst. Sec. of State Anne Richard’s right hand man. Are the contractors leading the State Department by the nose?
We knew they played a huge role, but who knew they were calling the shots. That means that no elected official at any level of government is deciding the future of your community—a bunch of left-leaning non-profit groups are in charge!
Here is what Larry Bartlett, director of refugee admissions at the US State Department, told the Houston Chronicle:
A trend stands out in Harris County refugee data. The vast majority of Houston’s refugees came from warm climates: Cuba, Iraq, Congo and Somalia. But the resettlement agencies don’t place people based on a preference for a hot, steamy climate.
“We don’t consider climate a major driver,” said Larry Bartlett, director of refugee admissions at the State Department, which oversees the resettlement process.
But assigning refugees to cities in the United States does not fall to the State Department. Those decisions are made by a consortium of nine national nongovernmental organizations.
There ought to be a law!
Then this: more than half of the refugee flow to your town or city is from family reunification!
I mentioned that here in a post about Twin Falls, Idaho. So that means once your town has become an established seed community there is virtually no stopping it as the contractors are immediately filing applications for the extended family to come on in!
The Houston Chronicle story continued:
In a 2012 press briefing, Bartlett said that the refugee resettlement process prioritizes family reunification. He explained in a recent telephone interview that refugees indicate on their application whether they have a relative or friend in the United States. It does not help their chances, but it can help decide their resettlement location.
“Over half of our refugees are joining family members or other U.S. ties,” Bartlett said. This statistic likely applies in Houston; many refugees are placed here to join family or friends already living in this cosmopolitan melting pot.
Ultimately, the nine national organizations propose a number for each city each year, he said. Houston welcomes more refugees than any other American city because its nonprofit sector has the capacity to assist them.
The organizations consult with local refugee services agencies and elected officials to decide that number. Houston has a significant resettlement infrastructure: six of the nine national organizations operate in Houston, where they partner with five local refugee services agencies. “It’s a very successful site,” Bartlett said.
From my own experience I know that “consultation” with local elected officials is often not much more than a few minutes of briefing where the contractor tells the local elected government that they have no choice in the matter.
If there were any Members of Congress (besides Texas Rep. Brian Babin) or Senators with a backbone willing to begin at least amending the Refugee Act of 1980, one important fix would be to strip the CONTRACTORS of their power to target towns and cities for colonization! It is outrageous—no one elected them!
Sign the petition, demand a local role in the process! It might not be a perfect solution, but at least you have a shot at choosing through the election process officials you can trust. There are 1,358 signatures on the petition to date representing all 50 states!
Texas is the number one resettlement state in the nation, please see our Texas archive, here. ...
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