The American Refugee Resettlement Scam
President Obama and his rancid leftist allies have subjected America to a blizzard of lies. Nothing that leaves his mouth even remotely parrots the truth, but typically stands truth on its head. The propaganda infrastructure spanning media, Hollywood, non-profit institutions and the halls of academia then erects a virtually impenetrable wall of disinformation to advance the lie.
They have just foisted on us a “deal” with Iran that threatens to create a holocaust, the likes of which America, and perhaps the world, has never seen. As Iran chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel,” this “deal” somehow skirted the advice and consent role reserved to the U.S. Senate. While we are afflicted with many feckless, incompetent and corrupt Republican Senators -- never mind the Democrats -- the “deal” could have never obtained the requisite approval of 2/3ds of senators. The lies about the “deal” are too numerous to catalog, and before the ink has even dried, Iran has suddenly “discovered” massive stockpiles of uranium it never knew it had!
Now the administration wants to use the refugee resettlement program to import a flood of Syrian immigrants into the U.S. It will virtually guarantee an opening for ISIS and other terrorists to establish bases in the U.S. legally with taxpayer dollars. Obama created his own 9-11 in Benghazi. Apparently that wasn’t enough. Now he wants one here.
The flood of Syrian “refugees” into Europe has been called an invasion. That is clearly an apt description. While there are certainly heart-rending stories, many coming to Europe are opportunists. 72 percent are men -- mostly of military age. Only 15 percent are children and 13 percent women, according to the U.N. Many are not destitute, paying thousands of dollars and embarking on long, expensive trips to reach Europe. Furthermore, half are not even Syrians but
come from Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Some of the crowds have shown themselves to be vile, vicious and ungrateful.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened her arms to these “migrants,” agreeing to take hundreds of thousands, but the German people are outraged. Why would Merkel do this to her own country? Is it that Merkel’s shady work for the East German Communist Party never stopped? Is Merkel assisting the Russians in their ambition to take over Europe? A biography written by two German journalists argues she has never abandoned the communism of her youth. This may explain her attitude toward the refugees now threatening to collapse the country.
Obama and the Left want the same thing here. Approximately 1,500 Syrians gained access to the U.S. this fiscal year. Obama intends to allow at least 10,000 more in FY 2016 -- which starts October 1. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Homeland Security Committee stated in an interview Thursday that Syrian refugees cannot be vetted for jihadist connections. “(I)t would be highly irresponsible to start bringing them in, when they could be potential terrorists, and provide a sort of a jihadist pipeline into the United States,” he said, adding, “We did this in Iraq when we had very good intelligence, and we brought in several that had already killed Americans.” McCaul joins the director of the FBI and even Obama’s Director of national intelligence James Clapper, who have both issued similar warnings.
In its recruitment documents, ISIS claims to seek “the end of the world.” ISIS has claimed 4,000 jihadis are already in Europe and it plans to similarly exploit weaknesses in the U.S. refugee program. On Sunday, an ISIS terrorist was arrested in Germany posing as a refugee. German customs has also seized 10,000 passports being smuggled into Germany, for possible use by terrorists in country. Finally, Merkel appears to have had a change of heart. Sunday afternoon Germany shut down the border, “for urgent security reasons.” All trains from Austria have been stopped.
In light of these hard facts, the Obama administration’s plan to bring in 10,000 Syrians is insane. But 10,000 is just the tip of the iceberg. In August, the administration said it would take between 5,000 and 8,000. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Brent McGurk said that 17,000 Syrians had applied with the U.N. for refugee status in the U.S. (Note: by law, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) chooses virtually all of America’s refugees). At the same time, the Obama administration signaled it may use an alternative “parole” procedure to grant entry to even more Syrians. Already, about 5,000 Syrians now in the U.S. have applied for “Temporary Protected Status,” a program for illegals fleeing war or natural disasters. Most TPS illegals simply reapply when the status expires -- de facto amnesty.
Back in June, 14 Democratic U.S. senators called for America to accept 65,000 Syrian refugees. They quickly earned the nickname “Jihad Caucus.” The UNHCR had called on Western nations to take 130,000 Syrians, and since the U.S. resettles half of all refugees recommended by the U.N. (yes we do -- more than all other resettlement countries combined), our magic number should be 65,000.
But it wasn’t even the senators who actually fronted that number. It originated with the Refugee Council USA, the lobbying arm of the out-of-control, serially corrupt U.S. refugee resettlement industry. And yes it is an industry. There are nine so-called “voluntary agencies” (VOLAGs) that contract with the federal government to resettle refugees. While they are classified as tax-exempt non-profits, this is a massive profit center -- earning them close to $1 billion in 2014. That comes out to almost $8,000 per-head. And since the current annual refugee cap is 70,000, double the refugees, double the income -- it’s simple math.
But the insanity does not stop there. The VOLAGs have screamed for many more. The Lutheran Immigrant Aid Society, which earns 97 percent of its income from taxpayers, has demanded the U.S. import 100,000 Syrians, and raise the overall refugee cap from its current 70,000 to 200,000. Cha ching!
But they were not even the first. Inexplicably, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society has suggested we may need to resettle 200,000 Syrians. Initially founded to resettle Jewish refugees, HIAS is now one of the largest Muslim resettlement agencies. Blatantly disregarding the safety of its fellow Jews and its own heritage, HIAS conveniently overlooks the fact that despite their refugee status, Syrians are not desperate enough to forget Israel, still calling it their number one enemy.
So not surprisingly, the VOLAGs are outraged that the administration is saying “only” 10,000 Syrians. Democratic legislators have carried the VOLAGs’ water, chiming in that 10,000 are “not enough.” The Pope, who has already shown his Marxist colors, is trying to convince Catholics to join the call for more. Now the entire radical leftist infrastructure has jumped on board. Moveon.org is demanding 100,000 Syrians, and a new, particularly evil organization called We Welcome Refugees appealed to churches to raise the issue with their congregations on Sunday, September 13. They provide sample scripts, videos and other information churches could use.
We Welcome Refugees is a project of World Relief, one of the VOLAGs. WR received $41.2 million in government grants in 2014, 75 percent of total revenues. Your tax dollars are being spent to lobby churches so World Relief can make more money. Is this not criminal activity? It is certainly illegal for World Relief to do so. Has the IRS investigated this “non-profit?” Will it ever?
All the outrage ginned up in this massive PR campaign is clearly tactical. Expect the Obama administration to “give in” and up the numbers dramatically. In FY 2015, 97 percent of Syrian refugees resettled in the U.S. were Muslim. Ask the VOLAGs how many Syrian Christians they intend to resettle. They cannot answer. Do you know why? Resettlement agencies are not allowed to ask! If they claim to seek Christian converts they lie. VOLAGs are prohibited from proselytizing.
None of the Gulf States are taking any refugees, despite the fact that they share a culture, religion and language with the Syrians, and have money to burn. China, Russia and all the countries of the former East Bloc, have refused to take any as well. Why should America take them? Under President Obama, do we not have enough problems of our own?
It is high time for Congress to call out the administration on the destructive, out-of-control refugee resettlement program. We have initiated a petition to demand changes. Please sign it. Congressman Brian Babin has proposed legislation (HR 3314) suspending the program. It needs companion legislation in the Senate and more Congressional support.
Now we need congressional hearings to reveal the refugee resettlement agenda for what it is. It has been flying under the radar for decades while our local communities are being transformed into unrecognizable third-world camps, where refugees overwhelm local governments with demands for social services while they join illegal immigrants in stealing our jobs. Call on your legislators stop the Syrian invasion and demand hearings!
Obama is the personification of the American radical Left -- a force of pure, malevolent evil intent on destroying our country. He is the Cloward Piven president. Refugee resettlement as currently structured is Cloward Piven on steroids. It is literally an agenda to erase America.
James Simpson is an economist, former White House budget analyst, businessman and investigative journalist. Follow Jim on Twitter & Facebook.