Athens GA stopped Resettlement
They
demanded a Resettlement Plan that never came.
Athens,
GA mayor questioned resettlement proposal for the city, and so it
never materialized by Ann Corcoran on 4/27/16
The Jungle 2016!
I have been wondering for the last
year whatever happened to Athens, GA after the Democrat mayor there said, give
us a “formal refugee integration plan” to the International Rescue Committee (one of
the top nine federal
contractors) and the US State Department before
opening a direct resettlement site in Athens. Athens, GA mayor Nancy Denson:
Give me a plan first! https://athensclarkecounty.com/315/Mayor
Click here for several earlier posts on the controversy. In one,
the IRC representative in Georgia said the feds would send the refugees anyway!
But, apparently they haven’t.
Two lessons here for towns being
faced with new offices: the first is that mayors can “rebuff them” and keep
planned direct resettlement offices from opening, and secondly, apparently the
contractor and the feds DO NOT want to be in a position to prepare plans (set a
precedent?) on how the resettlement will work!
So, if they are coming to your town or city, make them give your town a
plan (with public hearings!). Here I see in
the Flagpole, that
nothing has moved forward (so far) on the office proposal.
This is one of those long stories
meant to play on your heart strings about the wonderful refugees (and I am sure
this family is very nice) who have arrived in the area (as secondary migrants)
to work in a chicken processing plant.
One of those gushing in this account is a local real estate agent who
has helped them buy homes (which they work 60 hours a week to pay for!). LOL! Gee sounds familiar! I’m re-reading Upton
Sinclair’s The Jungle in
preparation for a ‘Jungle’ revisited (100 years later!) fact finding tour this
summer. Although one big difference
these days is that the US State Department and supposedly ‘humanitarian’ NGOs
act as head hunters for BIG MEAT companies that are often foreign-owned!
So after wading through 24 warm and
gushy paragraphs about the stars of the story—a hardworking Burmese Christian
family—we come to the news I was looking for.
Apparently there is no movement
toward opening a direct resettlement site in Athens, GA (although this story
might have been placed as propaganda to begin the re-education of the community
on the subject).
From the Flagpole (emphasis
is mine): All of the adults in the family work at the
Pilgrim’s Pride poultry plant. Esther and her father work the night shift,
while her husband and mother work the day shift. They do it this way so someone
can always be home with the children.
Like some of the big beef processing
companies in America, Pilgrims Pride is a Brazilian-owned company (JBS Swift!)
which looks for cheap refugee labor in America. Some business model isn’t it
when taxpayers subsidize their wages with welfare! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim%27s_Pride
Most refugees living in Athens and Comer work at a poultry plant—the
industry that provides the most jobs for refugees in Georgia. It’s tedious work and physically hard, but the poultry
plants pay $10–11 an hour [Ha! wages
would be at least $15 and hour if they had to pay Americans!—ed], more
than you can get almost anywhere else for unskilled labor, and that makes it
hard to leave.
Esther stands on her feet for eight
hours, five or six nights a week, cutting chicken in the cold factory, moving
fast to keep up with the conveyer belts. One day she’d like to get a job that’s
not so hard, maybe in a retail store or daycare. “We don’t have much time to be
social,” says Esther, laughing, “because sometimes we work 60 hours a week. On
Sunday we go to church, and then the whole week is finished.” [Wow! The Jungle!—ed]
Last year the International Rescue Committee (a nonprofit refugee
resettlement agency) proposed setting up a small office in Athens and bringing
150 refugees here, but it was rebuffed by local government leaders. Subsequently, an ecumenical group composed of clergy
and other citizens formed Welcoming Athens, a group “working to nurture a
culture of welcome for all people in Athens and the surrounding area.” Among
other things, the group is advocating for the city to let the resettlement
office come.
The main reason Mayor Nancy Denson gave for not wanting IRC in Athens
was that resources are stretched thin, and her priority is “to take care of the
people who are already here,” citing issues with homelessness and panhandling. But some in the U.S. also resist taking refugees
because of a concern that some refugees coming in might be criminals, violent
radicals or unable to adjust successfully to American culture.
“That’s not why they’re coming
here,” says Drago, emphatically. “They’re coming here to work, to go to school
and have a better future. Now, after having been here awhile, they’re also
part of humanity, and some people do commit crimes, but no more than people
from any country. But
to say that people come here to sow discord and terrorism in our country,
absolutely not. They’re fleeing that! They’re coming here because they want to
live in a peaceful place. Read it all. Share this.
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/athens-ga-mayor-questioned-resettlement-proposal-for-the-city-and-so-it-never-materialized/
Gain
Control of Refugee Issues
Advice
from a reader in-the-know! by
Ann Corcoran on 4/27/16
‘Is yours to be a “welcoming” refugee community?’ Athens, GA mayor questioned resettlement proposal for
the city, and so it never materialized
Editor:
This is another in our series of ‘comments worth noting’ and was posted by
‘jdelaney3‘ to our post yesterday, I assure you that this
reader knows what he is talking about!
Get organized! (from ‘jdelaney3’)
I urge folks to deluge local resettlement agency offices with phone
calls to determine what refugees and in what numbers they plan to accept for
resettlement during the remainder of the year. Put them on notice that you and
many others will be watching.
If any of those refugees the agency
is planning to resettle are, from all reports, improperly vetted, urge them NOT
to “assure” (accept) them.
Keep your eye on these
volags/ngos/gov’t contractors and call with regularity for updated information
as to what refugees have arrived and what refugees are expected to arrive.
I would also contact City Hall and
the County Executive to intercede as well in this regard.
Also, reach out to community
organizations, many of which should welcome the opportunity to keep tabs on the
refugee influx as well.
If the agency is a
Catholic-supervised operation, e.g. Migration & Refugee Services–USCCB,
also touch base with the Diocese as often as appropriate. Let them all
know they’re being monitored.
It’s all about pressure and oversight which these refugee resettlement
operations are terrified of.
Finally, if you know folks who have firsthand familiarity with the
local resettlement office staff and operation, ask them to keep you posted. Not
all who work for or volunteer for these agencies are lackeys.
So how do you find your local
resettlement agency offices? Click here and if you live near one of these offices know that they can
resettle refugees in nearby towns—up to 100 miles or about a two hour drive
away.
But, here is step 2! You have
got to get what you learn out beyond your own little circle! Write a blog
or website, write letters-to-the-editor, develop a social media network, make
youtube videos, whatever it takes! Use your free speech while you’ve got it! Share this.
Kansas Failed
Kansas governor withdraws state from federal
Refugee Admissions Program by
Ann Corcoran 4/27/16, but, but, but!
But, it simply means that the US
State Department/Health and Human Services and their NGO contractors will
resettle refugees there anyway as they do in 12 other so-called Wilson Fish States. See Tennessee lawsuit.
Hold the applause! The real test for
the Governor will be if he brings a states’ rights lawsuit against the feds,
which he can do now that he has withdrawn the state from the program. (AP
Photo/Orlin Wagner)
But, will he explain why he
vigorously supported the resettlement of third worlders to the country while he
was a US Senator (see 2003 VDAREarticle), and even as recently as 2014 when he signed a letter with Grover
Norquist and others to the GOP to encourage more refugee
resettlement for America.
But, here is the true test for the governor—will he take the Thomas More Law Center’s
offer of free legal work and file a states’
rights case against the feds once they resettle refugees in the state
(expending state money in the process) against the express wishes of the
governor.
Kansas citizens need to get to work —
no praise for the governor (who helped get America into the fix it is in with
refugees) until he takes this final step to redeem himself! It does not
require the state legislature to act as the plaintiff (TN was a special case
with a refugee-supporting governor).
Don’t let him get away with saying
this withdrawal is all he can do!
Governor Sam Brownback
could be the plaintiff in the most important case ever to determine whether the
federal government has the right to place a financial burden on state taxpayers
by dropping needy third-worlders into its towns and cities.
Here is the news from the Kansas City Star from yesterday (hat tip: Joanne): Gov. Sam Brownback
said Tuesday he is withdrawing Kansas from the federal government’s refugee
relocation program because of security concerns. Despite the state’s
withdrawal, refugees will continue to be resettled in Kansas, federal officials
said. Brownback had already issued executive orders barring state agencies from
assisting in the resettlement of refugees from Syria and other countries that
posed a safety risk. The decision announced Tuesday removes the state from the
program completely.
Feds to Brownback: we will shove it
down your throats anyway (“welcoming” or not)! But federal officials told Brownback that if
the state withdrew, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement would work
directly with local refugee resettlement organizations and refugees would
continue to come to the state.
“If the state were to cease
participating in the refugee resettlement program, it would have no effect on
the placement of refugees by the State Department in Kansas, or the ORR-funded
benefits they can receive,” wrote Mark Greenberg with the federal
Administration for Children and Families in an April 13 letter to Brownback.
Click here for our Kansas archive where we have reported on some
big problems in Kansas with refugees, esp. with overload in schools systems.
And, go here to
the handy list and see who the feds have hired for the seeding of Kansas. And one more thing…..The US State Department is taking
testimony right now for the FY2017 RAP program (Obama’s last refugee
importation plan) and there is no reason that state officials, including this
governor, couldn’t send in testimony as well!
Share this.
https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/kansas-governor-withdraws-state-from-federal-refugee-admissions-program/
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