South Carolina State Senator makes some of the most
important statements of entire refugee debate, Posted
by Ann Corcoran on April 19, 2016
Most of you are probably aware that
a bill is working its way through the South Carolina legislature that would put
responsibility on those agencies which resettle refugees for acts of a criminal
nature that might be perpetrated by refugees they place in the state.
SC Senator Kevin Bryant exposes
‘church’ refugee resettlement agencies as federal contractors with no special
religious freedom protections for the agency itself. “My role in the government
is to protect South Carolinians.”
Mother Jones (of course) takes a whack at the “anti-refugee” bill,
but in the course of reporting on it, they inadvertently allow a State Senator
to scoff at one of the most important arguments ‘religious’ resettlement
contractors use to promote their role (as middlemen) in the UN/US State
Department Refugee Admissions Program—that they do it out of religious
conviction and not as paid federal contractors.
To set the stage, here are some of
the opening paragraphs, emphasis is mine (hat tip: Joanne): A South Carolina
bill that would create a registry of refugees and would hold their sponsors
liable for any crimes they commit has sparked a debate over religious liberty
in South Carolina.
The bill, which would require all recently resettled refugees to register
with local law enforcement, would also hold each refugee’s sponsors liable if
he or she commits a violent crime or an act of terrorism. “We are protecting
South Carolina citizens’ safety,” State Senator Kevin Bryant, one of the bill’s
lead sponsors, told members of the local press.
“And if we have to do something that would de-incentivize the
sponsoring of refugees, well, we’ve got to choose our own citizens over those
that are not citizens of this country.”
The contracting agencies say the
bill violates their religious freedom:
Some religious groups have denounced the bill as a violation of their
First Amendment freedoms because it infringes their belief in caring for those
in need. “We’re a Christian
organization,” says Ted Goins, the president of Lutheran Services Carolinas,
one of the state’s two main sponsors of refugee resettlement. “We get our
marching orders from a Biblical perspective [as if there is no government cash involved!—ed]. It says
we’re to love our neighbors as ourselves. Refugees are our neighbors.” [A bit of irony here as several “Lutheran”
agencies around the country have dropped the word Lutheran from their
names, see Michigan earlier this month.—ed]
As the anti-refugee bill makes its
way through the legislature, more religious leaders have publicly condemned it.
A coalition of bishops from four different denominations sent a joint letter to
Gov. Haley and lawmakers criticizing it.
Blah, blah, blah from the coalition
of bishops, then see what Senator Bryant said. But first know that the US
State Department strictly forbids any of its contractors (Catholics,
Protestants, Evangelicals, Jews and Lutherans) from proselytizing! Go here to see what duties
the contractors must perform in order to be paid for their work (or have their
contract yanked). This is just one small portion of the State
Department rules:
The Department of State has cooperative agreements with nine domestic
resettlement agencies to resettle refugees. While some of the agencies have
religious affiliations, they are not allowed to proselytize. The
standard cooperative agreement between the Department of State and each of the
domestic resettlement agencies specifies the services that the agency must
provide to each refugee. [This is effectively a contract since the federal government follows up
with audits to assure compliance.—ed]
Continue reading to learn what else is required of them. They
might use the phrase “cooperative agreement,” but there is no doubt this is a
contract for services.
Now, this is what Senator Bryant says: “As a Christian, I would never put myself in a contract that prohibited
me from sharing the Gospel,” Sen. Bryant says in an interview. The
Republican from Anderson County says that because the bill holds resettlement
groups, not individuals, liable, it does not infringe on religious liberty. He says
because resettlement groups sign a contract with the federal government in
which they agree not to proselytize to refugees—more or less promising to act
in a nondenominational capacity—they have given up all claims to religious
liberty.
Bryant separates church and state
and it’s about time the ‘religious’ resettlement contractors who are paid
millions of your tax dollars every year to resettle refugees (payment by the
head) did the same! (I repeat for the umpteenth time—where is the ACLU?)
Bryant, a born-again Christian, says
he has been able to separate his faith from his work on this bill. He says he
would rather donate to organizations who help refugees in the Middle East and
North Africa. “My role in the government is to protect South Carolinians. My
role as a Christian is to personally support different ministries that reach
out to refugees,” he says. “I think we need to separate the commands of Christ
from the role of government.”
Confusion works against the taxpayer!
I believe that much of the reason
the Refugee Admissions Program has escaped scrutiny for over 30 years is the
confusion that was created when the federal government hired ‘church’ groups to be
federal refugee contractors. Most people who hear about the program for
the first time are shocked to learn that ‘Christian’ (and one Jewish group) are
being PAID taxpayer dollars to do their supposed charitable work.
Comments
The
Georgia legislature needs to pass a Refugee Register bill like this one in
SC. They also need to pass a bill that
bans Sharia and any other foreign laws like TPP would accept.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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