Somalis arrested in Clarkston, Georgia a long-time
haven for refugee diversity, by
Ann Corcoran 4/14/17
President Trump may be admitting new
Somalis to the US every day, but at least the Administration is arresting those
here illegally. No time to say much about it, but want readers to see this story from Georgia (hat tip: Joanne):
Federal immigration authorities have started arresting Somali nationals
in parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties that have long been havens for
newcomers, including in Clarkston, according to African advocacy groups.
The arrests came after Somalia’s
U.S. ambassador recently told Voice of America his embassy has learned that
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to deport about 4,000 of
his countrymen. ICE confirmed that, as of last week, there were 4,801 Somalis
in the U.S. who have been ordered removed. The vast majority of them are not
being detained.
Until about a year ago, according to ICE, U.S. authorities could not
get travel documents to deport people to Somalia, which has endured persistent
deprivation and violence. Since Oct. 1, ICE has deported 237 Somalis, according
to federal figures through April 1.
Omar Shekhey, the executive director
for the Somali American Community Center in Clarkston, said as many as 10
Somalis have been arrested in Clarkston, Stone Mountain and in Gwinnett this
week alone. He worries they could be deported to Somalia, which is
now in the grips of a deadly drought. Those who have been arrested have been in
the U.S. for many years, Shekhey said.
Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry said he is
looking into ICE’s activities in his city, adding he is worried how the arrests
could impact the relationships between immigrants and refugees and local
police. See my previous post on Somali deportations, here.
Reader: Why isn’t Trump sending them all
to Hawaii? by Ann Corcoran 4/14/17
That made me laugh and I said I would
have a look at the numbers! If you are new to the issue, the joke is that when
Hawaiian judge, and Obama pal, Derrick Watson put a halt to Trump’s last
Executive Order one month ago, we pointed out rightly that Hawaii has only
taken a handful of refugees for decades, see here and here.
I checked Wrapsnet just now. As of today Trump is at 40,671 refugees for this fiscal year which is
way ahead of either George W. Bush or Barack Obama for this point in the fiscal
year (see chart below).
2,565 refugees have been admitted to the US in the past 4 weeks when there was
supposed to be a ‘moratorium’ on resettlement.
Hawaii? (Drum roll!) Hawaii has taken ZERO
refugees in those 4 weeks and only 3 Burmese in the whole of this fiscal year
(out of the 40,671). We should launch a campaign and call it ‘Send
them all to Hawaii!’ Trump presiding over largest number of refugees admitted
by mid-April in last ten years!
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2017/04/14/reader-why-isnt-trump-sending-them-all-to-hawaii/
No comments:
Post a Comment