Tavares, FL Sept. 1, 2016
MY US Congressman, Dan Webster, was just re-elected in the Aug. 30 Florida primaries into a newly drawn 11th District.
Here is what I sent him regarding Refugee Resettlement programs:
Congressman Webster,
Congratulations on winning your election.
Obama is planning to make a speech at a Sept. 20 meeting of the United Nations where he will announce a plan to request that Congress fund the importation of TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND REFUGEES starting in the Federal fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
HERE is the article providing an overview of Obama’s overreach, and here is a link to the letter sent to him by 40 NGO’s requesting that he double this year’s plan of 100,000 refugees to 200,000. The NGO’s are all salivating at getting double the income for handling the refugees.
The article also explains that Congress then will be asked to fund the increase in Refugees. Instead, Congress should DENY ALL FUNDING for refugees since the FBI says the ones from Syria cannot be vetted.
Transparency is needed over plans to transport new refugees to communities without transparency or public hearings
Additionally, Federally funded Refugee Resettlement bureaucrats AND contractors are refusing to provide transparency over plans to relocate new batches of refugees into smaller towns. A major conflict has risen in Rutland, VT where the state and local staff and officials refuse to provide a document called the “R&P Plan” (Relocation and Placement) that is provided to the Federal Government describing plans on suddenly bringing Syrian and other Refugees into the town. THIS Boston Globe article describes the community anger over the secret plan by some local officials to bring in 100 refugees into tiny Rutland, VT. This attitude of secrecy is practiced by the 9 Federal Contractors nationwide, and smaller towns that secretly arrange for new Refugees are not having public hearings or describing the terrible effects on local budgets for social services needed to “help” non-English speaking, uneducated and non-working refugees.
There is a similar lack of transparency over new refugee relocations in Florida. For example, I learned that there are plans to locate new refugees into Sanford, FL without public hearings.
I ask that Congressman Webster also ask the GAO to investigate the process of R&P Plans, their disclosure, and what is needed to mandate public hearings and public availability of plans so target communities have a warning and can discuss how to deal with the influx of refugees. This should at least be done in Florida. I recently called the head Florida Refugee Services coordinator for the Orlando area, and even he is not given the R&P plans to know where new refugees will be placed. HERE is the main webpage for the Florida Refugee Services program. This secrecy must stop.
Summary of my request for actions by Congressman Webster:
- Please reply to this request with a response on each issue.
- Act to ensure Congress denies ALL funding for refugee resettlement programs until they can be vetted.
- DENY funding of any unvetted refugees.
- DENY increased funding for Refugee Resettlement
- Request the GAO investigate the R&P Plan process, lack of visibility and transparency, full monthly cost per refugee, and lack of public hearings before new groups of refugees are brought into a community.
- Regarding Florida Refugees, request that the Federal Office of Refugee Services (ORR) ensure R&P Plans are published within 15 days of their deadline on the public website of the Federally Funded Florida Refugee Services Dept. AND on the pages for each regional Refugee Task Force (such as Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami & Tampa).
- Ensure each Florida office (not just the HQ) of the nine Federally funded VOLAGS (Volunteer Agencies) such as Lutheran and Catholic Charities (that cover Orlando) also publish EVERY community R&P Plan for the coming plan year as well as the prior five years.
- Ensure that every VOLAG operating in Florida, as well as the regional, Florida state administered Refugee Task Force offices have public hearings for each city or county where refugees are being imported BEFORE their transportation to those affected Florida cities or counties.
- Ensure that a competent, non-political Federal oversight group such as the FBI or GAO (not the State Dept) certify that each new refugee is vetted properly before transportation into Florida.
- Act to ensure Congress denies funding of ALL refugees and VOLAGS until the above actions are implemented.
Vance Jochim
FiscalRangers.com
Other References:
NY Times article and graphs where recent 10,000 Syrian Refugees were placed.
