Time to take fraud in US Refugee Program more
seriously; where is Congress? by Ann Corcoran, 5/30/18
A
former foreign service officer who worked in several capacities in the US
Refugee Admissions Program around the world speaks from first-hand experience
when she says it is past time—way past time—for Congress to investigate the
program.
After
outlining examples of fraud that have been identified, Mary Doetsch says this
at the Daily Caller: It’s
Time For Congress To Restore The Integrity Of The US Refugee Program
Perhaps
even more disturbing than the actual fraud is the fact that this type of
investigation is the exception rather than the norm. For decades, little heed
has been paid to program’s extensive fraud.
Doetsch doesn’t say it, but I will. As a
first step, let’s take the UN out of the process and if we are going to
resettle refugees, let’s use American experts to make the decisions. Will save
us a bundle of money too!
As a former refugee coordinator who served throughout the Middle East,
Africa, Russia and Cuba, I saw first-hand the flagrant abuses and scams that
permeate the refugee program. I witnessed widespread exploitation and misuse,
from identity fraud to marriage and family relation scams, and from private
individuals profiting from their involvement in USRAP to distortion of the
actual refugee definition to ensure greater numbers of people who are really
migrants are admitted as refugees.
During
my own time working in this program, I watched USRAP continue to expand
unchecked, seemingly without concern for whether it served the best interests
of its own citizens or the country.
While
refugee admissions have been declining under the Trump administration, there
has been almost no focus on programmatic fraud. Midway into the 2018 fiscal
year, just over a quarter of the 45,000 individuals proposed in the FY18
refugee ceiling had entered the country. This slow-down in admissions may
reduce some fraud, but without structural reform, it cannot be eliminated.
Too
many government officials, often under the guise of humanitarianism, have
continued to disregard both the external “pay-to-play bribery schemes” of the
UN along with the internal fraud within USRAP operations. The once admirable
refugee program has lost its integrity and must be reformed. The USRAP is in need of a complete overhaul
and it’s time for Congress to take the lead. Read it all here.
Good
luck trying to get Congress to do anything.
See
what Ms. Doetsch said back in February 2017 in response to Trump’s
announcement of restrictions to refugee resettlement from certain countries.
This
morning as I see CNN crowing about how Trey Gowdy says the FBI did no wrong in
planting someone in the Trump campaign, I am reminded of how the chicken! (yes Gowdy!) never lifted a
finger to try to get to the bottom of the problems with the USRAP when he was
chairman of the subcommittee responsible for overseeing the program.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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