Testimony to the US State Department from Laurel
in Illinois. Posted by Ann
Corcoran on May 30, 2016
Editor: Here comes another
one! I am still
sorting my e-mail in search of the testimony you sent to the US State
Department in response to the DOS request for public comment on the “size and
scope” of the UN/US Refugee Admissions Program for FY2017.
The day before
the deadline for submission of testimony I noticed (maybe you were all ahead of
me and noticed!) that the dates were wrong in the Federal Register. I
happened to see a comment sent by lawyers to the DOS asking that the comment
period be re-opened because citizens, who might like to have testified, didn’t
think the notice was for a comment period this year, but for last year. See here.
So far no sign
that the State Department is re-opening the comment period. Have any of
you seen a new notice?
From Laurel who is most concerned about the
impact on her local school system (including costs!) with the sudden arrival of
large numbers of refugee children in need of special help.
Ms. Anne C. Richard U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population,
Refugees, and Migration
Dear Ms. Richard:
The refugee resettlement program is a secretive, expensive and
potentially dangerous program that needs to be immediately halted, and probably
scrapped. What once began as a well-intentioned means to help asylees has now
evolved into a complex “people importing” business with many players, most of
all the VOLAGS, which are essentially government agencies disguised as
charities. A good example is Lutheran Immigration and Social Services, which
professes to be “faith based” but in reality has no affiliation to any church
(Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 2015).
“We [LCMS] are not connected to the refugee
work of Lutheran World Relief at this time, and our relationship with, and
support for, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services is limited. LIRS is not
a Synod organization, not a Recognized Service Organization and is not
officially tied to any church body” (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, 2015).
Unfortunately, the people most directly impacted by “importing”
refugees – i.e. local schools, state taxpayers, community residents, medical
facilities, social service agencies – are not involved when refugees are
placed, yet they are stuck with the costs and problems. A good example is
Evanston, Illinois where school districts 65 and 202 have seen a sudden surge
of refugee students. (Gavin, 2015). Administrators were not informed.
“Dr. Witherspoon added, ‘I don’t have a real handle on why we’re seeing
such a big increase in Evanston.’ He added he would be interested to see if
this was a one-time increase, or if it is going to continue” (Gavin, 2015).
Student refugees often have learning and language issues and require
the hiring of additional staff. “Many of the
children have not had any formal education, so it is unclear what grade they
should be placed in. Language is a barrier, as most of the refugee students
speak French, Arabic, Turkish or Swahili. They also require vaccinations and
medical care…Evanston Township High School has hired staff to address the needs
of these children (Gavin, 2015).
Refugees place enormous costs on the host communities. In September
2015, Center for Immigration Studies released a study estimating that each
Middle Eastern refugee costs taxpayers almost $65,000 for the first five years
(Zeigler & Camarota, 2015). A more recent study published this month finds
that “[the] average immigrant household consumes 33 percent more cash welfare,
57 percent more food assistance, and 44 percent more Medicaid dollars than the
average native household (Richwine, 2016).
Illinois (my state) ranks as one of the
highest tax states in the nation (Kiernan, 2016). In some cases, property taxes
equal or exceed the owner’s mortgage payment. Since refugees impose high costs
to state and local residents, why are communities not given the option to say
“no?” This amounts to taxation without representation.
The refugee resettlement program has become a “cash cow” to be milked
by many players. It is now a $1 billion industry that operates without any
oversight or regard for the taxpayers who are funding it. The United States
cannot afford to import hundreds of thousands of individuals who will be a net
drain on our resources.
Works Cited
Gavin, L. (2015, November 4). Refugees Arrive at School Districts 65
and 202. Retrieved March 4, 2016, from Evanston Roundtable: http://evanstonroundtable.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=11143&SectionID=16&SubSectio
nID=27&S=1
Kiernan, J. A. (2016, April 30). 2016’s States with the Highest &
Lowest Tax Rates. Retrieved May 18, 2016, from WalletHub: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416/
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. (2015). Refugee – FAQ. Retrieved
October 13, 2015, from Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=3766
Richwine, J. (2016, May). The Cost of Welfare Use By Immigrant and
Native Households. Retrieved May 18, 2016, from Center for Immigration Studies:
http://cis.org/Cost-Welfare-Immigrant-NativeHouseholds
Zeigler, K., & Camarota, S. A. (2015, September). The High Cost of
Resettling Middle Eastern Refugees. Retrieved May 18, 2016, from Center for
Immigration Studies: http://cis.org/High-Cost-ofResettling-Middle-Eastern-Refugees
This is the
nineteenth testimony in our series leading up to the deadline for comments to
the Dept. of State on May 19th. Go here for where they are archived to see what
your fellow citizens have said.
I intend to
keep posting testimonies, a few a day, until I have exhausted my long list! I
had no idea so many of you would respond to my offer! But, thank you for
your hard work!
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