As Trump shrinks refugee program, twenty offices
will be closed, by Ann Corcoran 2/15/18
“We’ve never seen a cut
of this size and also a cut of this impact.” (Hans Van de Weerd an executive at the International Rescue Committee)
Warning! Although this is news you will find valuable, especially if you live
near one of the soon-to-be-closed resettlement sites, remember that this is
temporary and when Trump is no longer in the White House, the refugee industry
will go in to high gear to make up for what they will call the lost Trump
years! In order for that not to happen, CONGRESS must dump or
reform the Refugee Act of 1980!
Reuters is
reporting the impending closure of 20 offices.
Demonstrating
that elections have consequences, it was only in 2016 that the State Department
was on a high attempting to add about 47 offices to their roster of resettlement towns
and cities. Now this….
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Refugee resettlement agencies are preparing to
shutter more than 20 offices across the United States and cut back operations
in more than 40 others after the State Department told them to pare their
operations, according to plans seen by Reuters.
The slated closures, which are being reviewed by the State Department
for final approval, follow President Donald Trump’s decision to dramatically
reduce the number of refugees that will be allowed into the United States in
2018.
The
State Department has said the drop in refugee numbers, from the 110,000 ceiling
set by the Obama administration to 45,000 for 2018, means the country no longer
needs all of the 324 resettlement offices that were operating at the end of
2017. This year’s cap on refugees is the lowest since 1980.
The
offices, run by private non-profit agencies that contract with the U.S.
government, provide a range of services to refugees, from assisting them in
finding housing and jobs, to helping them navigate banking, medical care, school
enrollment and other complexities of life in America. [Complexities=getting their welfare!—ed]
Opponents of the resettlement program say it is more costly to resettle
refugees in the United States than it is to give aid to displaced people
overseas.
“The
changes will consolidate smaller affiliates, reduce costs and simplify
management structures to help the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program run in a way
that is fiscally responsible and sustainable in the long term,” State
Department spokeswoman Cheryl Harris said in an email.
“We’ve never seen a cut of this size and also a cut of this impact,”
said Hans Van de Weerd an executive at the International Rescue Committee, one
of the nine resettlement agencies. [Why isn’t newshound
Miliband quoted?—ed]
While the size of the U.S. refugee program has
fluctuated over the years, it has never seen an across-the-board cut to dozens
of offices in such a short period of time, he said.
Van de Weerd said the cuts could make it difficult for the United
States to ramp up refugee numbers in the future. “It took years to build
up this capacity,” he said. “Once you break it down it’s not easy to build it
up again.”
Below
is a screenshot of a portion of a very useful graphic Reuters has prepared. Click here to
see the entire page. (This shows closures and consolidations of these agencies
by State)
These
are the nine federal contractors which refer to themselves as VOLAGs (Voluntary
agencies, Ha! Ha!) which will lose some of their subcontractor offices (see list here before it is revised). The number in
parenthesis is the percentage of federal funding each gets to place refugees in
your towns. They
are paid by the refugee head thus the focus on Trump’s admission numbers.
Ethiopian
Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular)(93%)
International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular) (66.5%)
US
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular) (98%)
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/as-trump-shrinks-refugee-program-twenty-offices-will-be-closed/
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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