Maine: Former Iranian refugee who died for ISIS
was on welfare in US, by Ann Corcoran, 8/19/16
That is the
headline, but what has the Leftwing media done in Maine? They are
attacking the governor because he released the information thus not respecting
the Islamic terrorist’s privacy in
death! Ahhhh!
By the way
Governor LePage is one of only a few governors who have had the guts to
criticize the UN/US State Department Refugee Admissions Program over the years.
Robyn Merrill
(left) speaking at the State House in support of continued state welfare for
the many refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Maine. Photo: http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/03/03/critics-turn-out-in-force-to-oppose-lepages-plan-for-general-assistance/gallery/
Here is the
news at Maine
Public Radio: Gov. Paul LePage
has pounced on the recent unsealing of court documents showing an Iranian
refugee who resettled in Maine and later joined the terror group ISIS.
But the governor’s eagerness to use Adnan
Fazeli’s radicalization here to rail against welfare benefits for refugees may
have led him to run afoul of a federal law designed to protect the identities
of welfare recipients and their families.
State officials
have not confirmed that Fazeli, or his family, received welfare benefits when
he lived in Maine between 2009 and 2013. According to federal laws governing
food stamps and cash assistance, they’re not supposed to.
“It’s concerning if that was indeed reported
by Maine officials because federal law is clear that people’s confidentiality
should be protected,” says Robyn Merrill, director for Maine Equal Justice
Partners, an advocacy group for the poor.
Merrill’s
concerns were raised by a report in the Boston Herald in which Maine state
officials are quoted as saying that Fazeli, and his family, received cash and
food stamp benefits. [Here is
one of several stories about the terrorist on welfare in Maine—ed]
Those benefits,
known also as SNAP and TANF, are federal programs, funded mostly with federal
tax dollars. According to federal rules, the identities of benefit recipients
are confidential — only law enforcement, immigration officials and state administrators
are allowed to know who receives the benefits.
Those same
officials, according to the law, “must adequately protect the information against
unauthorized disclosure.” The Herald story also contained an interview with
LePage, who told the newspaper that the Fazeli case prompted him to order a
review of all benefit programs for refugees.
Now how does
the claim by Maine Equal Justice Partners square with a law we told you about
in the
previous post where the
federal ‘Work
Opportunity Tax Credit’ is available to businesses that hire people
(refugees!) who are on welfare, including food stamps. If there is
supposed to be secrecy surrounding one’s status as a welfare recipient, how is
a company which wants to take advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit know which
welfare programs the refugee (the prospective employee) is receiving?
It seems everyone is
allowed to know who is on welfare, but you! the taxpayer paying for it all! For new readers, our Maine archive is here.
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/maine-former-iranian-refugee-who-died-for-isis-was-on-welfare-in-us/
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