Those Who Question Wisdom of Bringing Afghan Refugees Have Valid Concerns
This is not only about terrorists or criminals getting on board flights but there are other valid concerns as well. Here is an article written by somebody who has worked with refugees much of her life. It is from 2017.
Quote:In 2014, when waves of refugees began flooding into western Europe, citizens and officials alike responded with generosity and openness. Exhausted refugees spilled out of trains and buses to be met by crowds bearing gifts of clothing and food, and holding up placards that read “Welcome Refugees.”
This was a honeymoon that could not last. Some of the upcoming difficulties had been anticipated: that the newcomers did not speak the local languages, might be traumatized, would probably take a long time to find their footing, and had brought their ethnic, religious and sectarian conflicts with them, causing them to get into battles with each other. All of these things happened but—as Angela Merkel promised—were manageable. “Wir schaffen das.”
But there was one development that had not been expected, and was not tolerable: the large and growing incidence of sexual assaults committed by refugees against local women. These were not of the cultural-misunderstanding-date-rape sort, but were vicious, no-preamble attacks on random girls and women, often committed by gangs or packs of young men. At first, the incidents were downplayed or hushed up—no one wanted to provide the right wing with fodder for nationalist agitation, and the hope was that these were isolated instances caused by a small problem group of outliers. As the incidents increased, and because many of them took place in public or because the public became involved either in stopping the attack or in aiding the victim afterwards, and because the courts began issuing sentences as the cases came to trial, the matter could no longer be swept under the carpet of political correctness. And with the official acknowledgment and public reporting, a weird and puzzling footnote emerged. Most of the assaults were being committed by refugees of one particular nationality: by Afghans.
I remember reading the horror stories and how the German government was covering it up until the problem got so bad they couldn't lie about it any more.
My feeling is that they need to be vetted as best as can be done, but most of them should be settled in Islamic countries.
Quote:President Joe Biden’s federal agencies, with the help of refugee contractors, plan to resettle Afghans across a multitude of swing states.
As Breitbart News has reported, thousands of Afghans are being flown to Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, where they are then dispersed throughout the United States. Many thousands are heading to swing states.
Just this past week, 11 flights of Afghans were taken to Wisconsin while hundreds of others are being resettled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More are going to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In addition, Afghans are being resettled throughout West Texas, areas of Arizona, the suburbs of Virginia, as well as Akron, Ohio, and Jacksonville, Florida, while refugee contractors in North Carolina hope to resettle Afghans in the state.
While the Biden administration has been unclear about the total number of Afghans it is seeking to resettle across the U.S., refugee contractors are expecting tens of thousands and potentially hundreds of thousands when the operation is completed.
Afghans with Special Immigrant Visa (SIVs), a minority of the Afghans arriving, have green cards and can apply for naturalized American citizenship after living in the U.S. for five years.
Afghans arriving on refugee status can apply for a green card after living in the U.S. for a year. After obtaining their green card, they can then apply for naturalized American citizenship after five years of living in the U.S.
For the tens of thousands of Afghans that the Biden administration is giving humanitarian parole to come to the U.S., they must adjust status to secure green cards after two years. Later, they too could eventually get naturalized American citizenship.
Over the last 20 years, nearly a million refugees have been resettled in the nation — more than double that of residents living in Miami, Florida, and it would be the equivalent of annually adding the population of Pensacola, Florida.
Refugee resettlement costs American taxpayers nearly $9 billion every five years, according to research, and each refugee costs taxpayers about $133,000 over the course of their lifetime. Within five years, an estimated 16 percent of all refugees admitted will need housing assistance paid for by taxpayers.
RE: Those Who Question Wisdom of Bringing Afghan Refugees Have Valid Concerns
Ive always wondered if the polling on ending the war in Afghanistan would look differently if the question was---"Now that our troops no longer directly engage the Taliban and are now largely out of harms way in isolated Bagram Air Base---would you still want to pull our troops out if you knew it meant Afghanistan would return to Taliban rule and 125,000 poorly vetted Afghan refugees would be relocated to the US mainland?"
(This post was last modified: 08-30-2021 10:46 PM by Attackcoog.)
Quote:The Biden administration told refugee organizations to prepare for the arrival of up to 50,000 Afghans without visas, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Nine State Department-contracted nonprofits that resettle refugees in the U.S. are trying to recruit more staff and volunteers to help process arriving Afghans, according to the WSJ. Some of the organizations said they haven’t been told how many refugees to expect or when they might arrive.
“We’re going to make it work, no matter how difficult, but I’d be lying to you if I said we aren’t concerned,” HIAS nonprofit President Mark Hetfield told the WSJ.
The Biden administration reportedly told nonprofits to expect around 50,000 Afghans arriving in the U.S. without visas, according to the WSJ. The organizations said they scaled back operations under former President Donald Trump because a record low number of refugees were being admitted to the U.S.
It’s unclear how many Afghan refugees will have Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) allowing them several benefits, including food assistance and healthcare, the WSJ reported. SIVs are available to Afghans involved in U.S. operations for at least a year and who are fleeing a credible threat of danger, according to the State Department.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas reportedly said the agency would cooperate with the nonprofits and heard concerns from organization leaders during a call on Sunday, two people on the call told the WSJ.
The federal government pays the nonprofits for the number of refugees they take in, according to the WSJ. Around a third of their U.S. offices closed during the Trump administration and relationships between the agencies and landlords willing to house refugees and businesses who would hire them suffered.
The organizations say everyday Americans have stepped up and donated time, resources and housing for Afghan refugees, the WSJ reported.
Quote:Around 20,000 Afghan refugees are staying at eight military bases across the U.S., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said during a Wednesday press conference.
Evacuees from Afghanistan are screened for medical and security issues before arriving in the U.S. in accordance with Department of Homeland Security guidelines, according to Milley. The last U.S. plane left Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday signaling the completion of the U.S. forces’ withdrawal from the country.
“Currently, there’s approximately 20,000 evacuees in seven staging bases in five countries in Central Command, another 23,000 in seven staging bases in four countries in Europe,” Milley said. “And as of this morning, there are approximately 20,000 Afghans who arrived at eight different military bases in the continental United States.”
WATCH:
More than 124,000 people were evacuated from Afghanistan since July, according to CBS News. An unknown number of U.S. citizens and Afghan allies were left in the country and it’s unclear whether American forces will assist them in leaving.
The Department of Defense prepared for the arrival of up to 30,000 Afghan refugees who applied for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) at Army bases in the U.S. The SIV applicants were expected to be housed at U.S. bases including Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.
The Biden administration this week warned refugee nonprofit organizations of the expected arrival of some 50,000 Afghan refugees without visas. It was unclear how many Afghan refugees were expected to arrive in the U.S. on SIVs.
At least 30 Afghan children had arrived in the U.S. without their parents as of Friday, CBS News reported. The unaccompanied children were taken into federal custody where officials will work to match them with sponsors in the U.S., including other family members or friends.
Quote:The federal government has some helpful advice for Afghan refugees trying to start a new life in America: for the love of God, do not try to rent an apartment in California.
Many of the Afghans who have been airlifted out of their country in the wake of the Taliban's takeover will be able to come to America under the U.S. State Department's Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which provides visas to translators who worked with U.S. forces and helps place them in a new city once they get to America.
SIV participants who opt to receive resettlement benefits can also choose to be relocated to one of 19 cities identified as having "reasonable cost of living, housing availability, supportive services, and welcoming communities with volunteers and resources."
These cities include several in Texas (Houston, Austin, and Dallas), the Mountain West (Salt Lake City and Denver), the Southeast (Raleigh-Durham and Atlanta), and a couple of lower-cost cities in the Mid-Atlantic (Philadelphia and Baltimore).
Noticeably absent from the list are any cities in California.
Indeed, the State Department's website explicitly warns arriving Afghans against trying to move there, saying that "some cities in California are very expensive places to live, and it can be difficult to find reasonable housing and employment. Any resettlement benefits you receive may not comfortably cover the cost of living in these areas."
Six out of the 10 most expensive cities to rent a one-bedroom apartment are located in California, according to an August report from rental listing website Zumper.
The Washington D.C. metro area—which was ranked the sixth most expensive city in the Zumper report—is also singled out by the State Department as a particularly expensive place that incoming migrants should avoid unless they have friends or family who will be able to assist them financially.
Ultra-expensive New York City—the traditional entry point for past waves of immigrants coming to America—is also left off the State Department's list. The much more affordable area of Northern New Jersey, in contrast, is a recommended destination for Afghan refugees.
One reason for that is that northern New Jersey is much friendlier to new housing development. The Big Apple has added about one unit of housing for every 3.6 jobs from 2009 to 2018, according to one city report. Northern New Jersey, meanwhile, has managed to add more housing units than jobs.
The State Department's list of refugee-friendly cities is mostly dominated by high-growth sunbelt cities with high rates of housing construction, including places like Houston, Dallas, Raleigh-Durham that have both added a new unit of housing for every job over the past decade.
This de facto list of most welcoming cities for incoming Afghan refugees has some important lessons for both the left and right wings of American politics.
Folks on the right, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have argued that America shouldn't admit Afghan refugees because the country just doesn't have enough housing for them. That's simply not true for many fast-growing cities that are adding more than enough housing to accommodate newcomers, whether they're coming from Kandahar or Kansas City.
It's also not true of low-growth, low-cost cities like Baltimore, Maryland, and Buffalo, New York, which also made the State Department's list. If anything, these cities have too much vacant housing, and could really benefit from the revitalizing effects of new immigrants.
On the other hand, liberal-leaning residents of America's bluest cities should probably do some soul searching about the fact their communities, while rhetorically accepting of immigrants, are also so expensive that new arrivals are being actively warned to not try to resettle there.
By ditching restrictions on new development, these cities could make themselves more welcoming to refugees. Leaving excessive red tape in place, meanwhile, would prove that many progressives' messages about accepting refugees aren't worth the multi-lingual yard signs they're printed on.
Quote:The New York Times published a report Friday that completely refutes the Biden administration’s claims that its evacuation operation out of Kabul, Afghanistan, last week was a raging success.
According to the paper, internal dispatches sent by State Department officials describe a much different scenario than the one being publicly portrayed by President Biden himself as well as his various spokespersons and surrogates.
In Doha, Qatar, for instance, the Times noted that nearly 15,000 Afghan refugees were stuffed into hangers and “wedding-style tents” on Al Udeid Air Base, which is home to the U.S. Air Force’s 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, as well as Camp As Sayliyah, the U.S. Army’s biggest base in the Middle East.
The paper noted:
Tensions in the temporary shelters had “flared,” the report said, “due to prolonged stays and unpredictable exit dates.” At the Army base, “single males, including former Afghan military” had become unruly “and contraband weapons have been confiscated.” Overwhelmed, neither base was testing Afghan evacuees for the coronavirus.
The reports were daily distillations of the complexity, chaos and humanity behind the largest air evacuation in U.S. history, as scores of diplomats, troops, health workers, security officials and others scattered across the globe sought to rescue tens of thousands of refugees. Whatever plans the Biden administration had for an orderly evacuation unraveled when Kabul fell in a matter of days, setting off a frenzied, last-minute global mobilization.
“Refugees pushed their way onto airplanes. Hundreds of children were separated from their parents. Rogue flights landed without manifests. Security vetting of refugees was done in hours or days, rather than months or years,” the Times added.
In general, the paper said, emails and other communications from the State Department, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Defense Departments all indicate a chaotic, dangerous situation regarding the evacuation that, for the record, did not include getting all American citizens out of the country as well as Afghans who helped U.S. military forces during the 20-year conflict.
Shortly after Biden’s Aug. 31 speech signaling all is well, a private charter aircraft that took off from Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan’s fourth-largest city, landed in Doha, which is one of several way stations in eight countries. The plane landed without any notice, there were no American citizens aboard, and was charted by an ex-Marine’s law firm.
What’s more, there was no information about whether the all-Afghan passenger load contained individuals who had a right to come to the U.S.
“There are multiple other ‘rogue’ flights that are seeking the same permissions” to land, said emails from State Department officials sent that day. “We have 300 people in Doha now who are basically stateless. Most have no papers.”
In addition, hundreds of unaccompanied minors have also been arriving at various way stations, the Times reported, as they became separated from parents in the mad dash to get on board flights.
Biden has said that as many as 120,000 Afghanis were evacuated; more than 40,000 have been relocated to the United States, according to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The U.S. can expect at least 17,000 more people by the end of next week, officials said.
And it’s a certainty that virtually none of them have been properly vetted, American officials are reporting.
Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell told Fox News on Friday night that the vetting process under Biden was “a disaster,” citing multiple sources within DHS and the U.S. Embassy in Germany, where he was once the ambassador.
“The Biden administration team is asking career officials to put these people through quickly, when there is a lack of information, when they don’t have documentation,” he said.
“They’re being told to use a hunch. Use your own internal mechanism to know whether or not these individuals should come to the United States,” Grenell noted further, adding he’s “very nervous” about the lack of proper vetting.
Quote:A federal agency has named Phoenix the ideal location for Afghan refugees to resettle.
The U.S. government is assisting thousands of Afghans in finding new homes after they fled what’s now a Taliban-controlled country. Governors and mayors from New York to California expressed their desire to help these refugees.
Gov. Doug Ducey and House Speaker Rusty Bowers released a joint statement Aug. 19, saying the refugees had a home in Arizona.
“Despite the President’s poor response to growing tensions in the Middle East, Arizona recognizes the service of thousands of Afghans over the last 20 years,” the statement said. “As refugees come and find homes in states across the nation, we welcome them to our state full of opportunity and choice, and we’re working closely with federal and state officials to offer them safety in Arizona.”
Ducey and Bowers said the Arizona Office of Refugee Resettlement would “work with refugees to secure housing and employment, enroll in English classes if needed, connect them with health care resources, and their children – including their daughters who would be denied an education under the Taliban – will be enrolled in school.”
Although other states, namely California and New York, have higher concentrations of Afghan communities, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs lists the Phoenix as the most opportune place in the country for those seeking to resettle.
The list of 19 cities is sorted by “reasonable cost of living, housing availability, employment opportunities, and strong resettlement services and support.”
Refugees working with the bureau are given $1,100 in a monthly stipend for the first three months once they arrive in the country.
Even though California has communities such as Fremont’s Little Kabul that’s known as the largest concentration of Afghan residents in the country, the bureau discourages settlement there.
“Please be aware that the cost of living and the availability of housing can vary significantly in different locations across the United States,” the bureau said. “The Washington, DC metro area including northern Virginia and some cities in California are very expensive places to live, and it can be difficult to find reasonable housing and employment. Any resettlement benefits you receive may not comfortably cover the cost of living in these areas.”
Quote:The U.S. State Department is warning refugees from Afghanistan that certain areas of America may be too expensive to resettle.
The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs tells Afghans and Iraqis who are coming to the U.S. on special immigrant visas that they have two options when they come to the states. They can either let a resettlement agency find a place for them based “on biographical information about you and your family, as well as considering the need for a reasonable cost of living, housing availability, employment opportunities, and strong resettlement services and support.” Or, if they prefer, the immigrant can name someone they know whom they would like to live near.
If the immigrant goes with the second option, the State Department warns that they should “be aware of the cost of living and housing availability” in the area where there friend or family member lives.
“Please be aware that the cost of living and the availability of housing can vary significantly in different locations across the United States. The Washington, DC metro area including northern Virginia and some cities in California are very expensive places to live, and it can be difficult to find reasonable housing and employment. Any resettlement benefits you receive may not comfortably cover the cost of living in these areas. Unless you have close relatives or friends in these areas who are able to provide financial support and housing until you find employment that covers your living expenses, it is best to allow a resettlement agency to choose a suitable location for you,” the Bureau says on its website.
NBC-affiliate WMTV provided a list of 19 cities the State Department recommended for Afghan and Iraqi immigrants, all with sprawling metropolitan areas. Those cities are:
Phoenix
Denver
Jacksonville
Atlanta
Chicago
Baltimore
St. Louis
Raleigh-Durham
Northern New Jersey (to include Elizabethland Highland Park)
Las Vegas
Buffalo
Cleveland
Portland
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Austin
Dallas-Fort Worth
Houston
Salt Lake City
Some might question why high-crime cities like Baltimore, Chicago, or St. Louis were on the list or why crime didn’t seem to factor into the State Department’s suggestions for immigrants.
The Center Square reported that California was left of the list even though Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) welcomed refugees.
“We’re a state of refuge,” Newsom said in mid-August just after the U.S. announced it would resettle Afghan refugees in the U.S. “I’m proud of the fact that, over the last decade, California’s taken in more refugees than any other state in America, and I’m proud of the fact a disproportionate number of Afghani refugees are here in Northern California, not just here in the south, but also up in Sacramento County.”
The outlet added that California’s cost of living would likely be too high for refugees, noting that refugees “receive a $1,100 stipend for three months after arriving in the country,” yet the median rent in Fremont, California is more than $2,400 a month. For comparison, the average cost of rent in Sacramento, California is about $1,600, according to RENTCafe.
The Center Square added that “California is home to an estimated 45% of the nation’s Afghan population.”
Quote:Some 44 Afghan refugees who were brought to the U.S. were flagged as potential national security threats in the last two weeks, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
Over 60,000 Afghans have been evacuated to the U.S. and around 13 of them are waiting to go through additional counterterrorism screening measures in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody, according to the Post. Fifteen others were transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and returned to processing stations in Europe and the Middle East or allowed to enter the U.S. after further screening.
Another 16 Afghans are waiting to see whether they’ll be cleared for travel at U.S. processing sites in countries overseas, the Post reported. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents reportedly show officials raised concerns about multiple refugees for potential ties to terror organizations including suspicious information on their electronic devices.
Two of the 44 Afghans who were flagged for security concerns were deported from the U.S. after felony convictions including sexual assault and armed robbery, according to an official who was not authorized to speak on the matter, the Post reported. Another Afghan, 25-year-old Muhamed Haroon Bahaduri, could be deported after he was charged with grand larceny in connection with an incident at an Army base holding evacuees.
Around 95,000 Afghans are expected to resettle across the country this week and the Biden administration asked Congress to allocate $6.4 billion in emergency funding for the resettlement efforts, according to the Post.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas hasn’t disclosed the number of Afghans who didn’t clear security screening or who weren’t allowed to come to the U.S., the Post reported. He’s only said the number of people who weren’t allowed to relocate is “extraordinarily de minimis,” or a minimal amount.
Around 400 DHS officials were sent to processing sites in the Middle East and Europe to help screen evacuees for relocation to the U.S., according to the Post. Once they arrive in the U.S., DHS officials inspect the evacuees phones and electronics which can raise concerns about their affiliations.
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Those Who Question Wisdom of Bringing Afghan Refugees Have Valid Concerns
