By J.M. Phelps (One News Now)
Given the opportunity, more than 30 governors are telling President Donald Trump that their states will continue to accept refugees. But a well-respected blogger is speaking up on behalf of communities across America that are footing the millions it takes for resettlement.
On September 26, 2019, President Trump issued an executive order to allow state and local governments to opt out of resettling refugees. Executive Order 13888 requires governors to publicly state they will accept refugees. Willingly or not, state and local governments have been catapulted into immigration policy in full view of their constituency.
OneNewsNow spoke to Ann Corcoran, longtime editor of Refugee Resettlement Watch about the president’s order. She is convinced the president “is attempting to address one key concern – the concern that the federal government places refugees in states, cities, and towns in conjunction with nine unelected non-profit groups – or contractors – that are paid to place refugees on a per head basis.”
Corcoran says those contractors were hoping governors and county-elected officials would have their consent sent to the U.S. State Department by this past Christmas, but the deadline is actually January 21. The executive order requires the secretary of state to publicly list any written consent of states and localities to the resettlement of refugees.
The respected blogger explains that the guidance governing the executive order has “lots of wiggle room” and “the program will only be in place from June 2020 to end of September 2020 and then the whole permission process must be repeated – as presently written.”
As it stands, the current refugee resettlement system is “perverse” and doesn’t have a system of checks and balances, according to Corcoran. Contractors claim their work is humanitarian – but if truth be told, problems are arising, she says.
“[For example], schools are being overcrowded and refugees aren’t assimilating.” All the while, she says, “it’s costing local and state taxpayers millions of dollars to provide for myriad of social services.
“No matter what they say, ‘robust’ vetting simply isn’t possible when admitting people to the U.S. chosen by the U.N. from some of the most dangerous regions of the world,” she adds.
Corcoran contends Trump has made it clear that reducing the impact of resettlement on Americans is a priority for his administration. She notes that contractors have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to stop the process because “they do not want to do the work every year to get the approvals” and “for nearly 40 years, they have been allowed to call the shots on which communities will be shouldering the burden of refugee resettlement.”
Contrary to what contractors appear to believe, Corcoran goes on to say, “there is no requirement in U.S. law that we admit any refugees.” Even the Refugee Act of 1980 does not require any to be admitted, she adds.
The refugee resettlement expert has ideas on how to structure the program.
“Suffice it to say, the contractors which have become extremely partisan agitators cannot be part of the solution,” she states, quickly adding “it should be clear to all that our government cannot seriously vet all the refugees coming to the U.S. from failed states where there are no criminal records available – heck, we can’t even be sure if they are the people they claim on their paperwork.”
Corcoran shares her personal thoughts about the subject. “The truly compassionate Americans are the ones who travel to the Third World and help suffering people where they live – or as near as possible to their own cultural zone,” she states.
“Besides,” she adds, “Americans can be compassionate at home by helping the vulnerable, the homeless, and the needy in their own backyards.”
She then asks: “Why is it assumed that the only way to help suffering people is to bring them to America and drop them off in cities around the United States doing menial jobs and collecting welfare? Doesn’t sound compassionate to me!” she emphasizes.
Corcoran concludes by suggesting that via his executive order, President Trump is being compassionate to Americans. “[They] are being given an opportunity to not only witness who but also weigh-in on who we are inviting to our neighborhoods,” she tells OneNewsNow.
J.M. Phelps is a Christian activist and journalist based in the Southeastern U.S. He is also editor and publisher of the website Lantern of Liberty.
Originally published by One News Now on Tuesday, December 31, 2019.
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