GAO: Huge numbers of Special Immigrant Visa holders
not finding work, by Ann Corcoran 3/23/18
Why the discrepancy in the numbers? I wondered if GAO is downplaying the numbers on purpose…. were they as shocked as we are to find these enormous numbers?
Why the discrepancy in the numbers? I wondered if GAO is downplaying the numbers on purpose…. were they as shocked as we are to find these enormous numbers?
But
a big problem, says the General
Accounting Office , is that neither the US State Department
or the Office of Refugee Resettlement in HHS are doing much to track the
outcomes of those admitted to the US from Iraq and Afghanistan who supposedly
worked for us as interpreters.
I
told you here recently that the number admitted to the US from
those two violent countries is pushing 70,000 in the last ten years.
As Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders
they are treated as full-fledged refugees with all the welfare benefits other
refugees receive.
We
have been told that the resettlement contractors are relying on these paying
clients to keep federal dollars flowing to their budgets as the refugee flow
they hoped for is not materializing.
Some
members of Congress must have requested this GAO study because problems are
obviously brewing with this portion of our ‘welcome’ to Middle Eastern
Muslims. I did not read the whole report, here, but it seems that there are some
pretty disillusioned SIVs who thought they would have good jobs and decent
housing when they got here.
Here
are a few snips from the
summary: Not
exactly a bombshell title: AFGHAN AND IRAQI SPECIAL
IMMIGRANTS: More Information on Their Resettlement
Outcomes Would Be Beneficial
What GAO Found…Since
fiscal year 2011, about [about?—ed] 13,000
Afghan and Iraqi nationals (excluding family members) have resettled in the
United States under special immigrant visas (SIV), but limited data on their
outcomes are available from the Department of State (State) and the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS). State collects data on SIV holders’
resettlement outcomes once—90 days after they arrive. GAO’s analysis of State’s
data from October 2010 through December 2016 showed that the majority of
principal SIV holders—those who worked for the U.S. government—were unemployed
at 90 days, including those reporting high levels of education and spoken English.
60%
of all Special Immigrant Visa holders were unemployed 90 days after
arrival. 58% could speak English and 65%
had post-secondary education says the GAO.
Very high unemployment rate at 90 days.
Why is 90 days important? That is when their resettlement contractor is done
with them and has moved on to the next batch of paying clients (aka
refugees). By 90 days the SIV is expected to be self-sufficient.
BTW, don’t you wonder who the 1,760 “interpreters” without “good spoken
English” are?
GAO
continues…Stakeholders [must be referring to the resettlement contractors—ed] GAO interviewed reported several
resettlement challenges, including capacity issues in handling large numbers of
SIV holders, difficulties finding skilled employment, and SIV holders’
high expectations.
Officials from local resettlement agencies in Northern Virginia
reported capacity challenges for their agencies and the community due to the
large increase of SIV holders. In almost all of GAO’s focus groups with
principal SIV holders, participants expressed frustration at the need to take
low-skilled jobs because they expected that their education and prior work
experience would lead to skilled work. [You can bet they aren’t going to
the slaughterhouse jobs where contractors like to place those in their
care.—-ed]
State
and HHS have taken steps to address some resettlement challenges. For example,
in 2017 State placed restrictions on where SIV holders could resettle and HHS announced a new grant to support career
development programs for SIV holders, refugees, and others.
In
addition, State provides information to prospective SIV holders about
resettlement. However,
the information is general, and lacks detail on key issues such as housing
affordability, employment, and available government assistance. Providing such
specifics could lead to more informed decisions by SIV holders on where to
resettle and help them more quickly adapt to potential challenges once in the
United States. [I don’t think that GAO knows
that the SIVs original resettlement location is not chosen by the refugees, but
by the State Department in conjunction with contractors as they bid for bodies
(aka paying clients).—ed]
In light of so many disillusioned and unemployed SIVs, I sure hope that
someone is reporting that news to others in the pipeline on their way to
America!
In
the summary, GAO talks about 13,000 SIVs since 2011, excluding family members,
but in the full report they describe the real numbers we have placed in your
towns and cities.
And,
rather than saying “over 60,000”, they could have said closer to 70,000!
As I reported early this month, using data readily available at the
State Department’s Refugee
Processing
Center (Wrapsnet),
we admitted from FY2008-right up to my post on March 8th, the numbers as
follows:
Iraq:
18,084, Afghanistan: 49,358, Total to March 8th: 67,442
When
I went to the full report they
say this (below) on Page 1, but once again use the word “about.” They do
clarify one point: “about 20,000” are the people who worked for us
or on behalf of us, the remaining, over
40,000 are their family members.
Afghan
and Iraqi nationals who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in
Afghanistan or Iraq and have experienced ongoing serious threats as a
consequence of such employment, or who worked directly with the U.S. Armed
Forces or under chief of mission authority as a translator or interpreter, may
apply for a special immigrant visa (SIV) to the United States.
Upon
securing a visa, the principal SIV holder and his or her eligible dependents
may resettle in the United States and are granted lawful permanent resident
status upon admission into the United States. Since fiscal year 2008, over 60,000
individuals—about 20,000 principal SIV holders and their families—have
been admitted under SIVs and received federal resettlement assistance upon
arrival.
SIV holders are authorized to receive resettlement assistance from
the Departments of State (State) and Health and Human Services (HHS),
as well as federal public benefits, to the same extent and for the
same periods of time as refugees.
These
are the nine federal contractors working with the US State Department to place
the SIVs and their families. Although GAO seems to have been fixated on how
poorly the State Department and ORR are keeping track of the SIVs and their
progress toward assimilation, it seems to me that the contractors should come
in for more blame if their charges are doing so poorly.
The
number in parenthesis is the percentage of the nine VOLAGs’ income paid by you (the taxpayer) to place the refugees, line
them up with jobs, and get them signed up for their services! From
most recent accounting, here.
Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) (secular) (93%)
International Rescue Committee (IRC) (secular) (66.5%)
US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) (secular) (98%)
Comments
The
refugees are given jobs reserved for them by crony companies for 90 days and
then they go on welfare that needs to be cut, so the liberal media can complain
that we are heartless.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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