CNN&#8217;s Bianna Golodryga pressed the director of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/united-nations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UNRWA</a> (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) to address &#8220;two quite damning allegations&#8221; — namely that a UNRWA boxes were seen hiding piles of rockets and that an UNRWA teacher had held one of the hostages who has since been released back to Israel.
Golodryga posed the questions to Thomas White, Director of Affairs for the U.N. Palestinian refugee aid group, and he repeatedly pivoted to talk about the food and other necessary supplies that were being brought in on UNRWA trucks.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
CNN <a href="https://twitter.com/biannagolodryga?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@biannagolodryga</a>: Hamas hostage testified being held by <a href="https://twitter.com/UNRWA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UNRWA</a> teacher. What&#39;s your response?
UNRWA <a href="https://twitter.com/TomWhiteGaza?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TomWhiteGaza</a>: I can speak about the flour UNRWA delivers.
CNN: Does it bother you that UNRWA teacher held somebody hostage?
UNRWA: Every bag of flour is cross-referenced. <a href="https://t.co/QMPfvZKh22">pic.twitter.com/QMPfvZKh22</a>
&mdash; Elad Radson (@EladRadson) <a href="https://twitter.com/EladRadson/status/1731834210770469123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Thomas, Israel is citing security concerns with regards to the number of trucks that are going into Gaza. And on Saturday, the IDF said that it <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/troops-in-gaza-find-dozens-of-rockets-under-unrwa-boxes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found dozens</a> of rockets hidden under boxes marked with UNRWA’s insignia, in northern Gaza,&#8221; Golodryga asked first about the rockets, noting that they had been found hidden under UNRWA boxes — and that the question was whether or not UNRWA had smuggled those rockets in under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Golodryga went on to reference another report, saying that one of the hostages who was released back to Israel had told officials that he was being held by an UNRWA teacher.
&#8220;This teacher locked the victim away, barely provided food and neglected medical needs,&#8221; she said.
Golodryga noted that UNRWA had responded to the allegations by accusing those who reported them of potentially spreading &#8220;misinformation.&#8221;
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&#8220;How is UNRWA investigating or responding to these two quite damning allegations?&#8221; Golodryga asked, noting that at least in the case of the released hostage, they were talking about survivor testimony rather than &#8220;allegations.&#8221;
White made it clear that he had no interest in addressing the allegations — or the testimony of the former hostage — and instead listed several of the food items that UNRWA had brought into Gaza.
&#8220;So what I can speak to is our aid, essentially the aid that UNRWA is bringing in goes directly into the hands of the refugees. So on any given day here, we are distributing over 50,000 bags of flour to families so that they can provide for themselves. We account for that,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;Does it bother you then at all that some of these trucks may be bringing, secretly smuggling in rockets or that UNRWA teachers are hiding abductees allegedly?&#8221; Golodryga pressed again.
&#8220;Look, our trucks are not bringing in rockets,&#8221; White said, immediately pivoting back to his previous talking point. &#8220;Our trucks are bringing in wheat flour. They’re bringing in supplies that help families eke out a very basic existence. We have a very clear system of accountability. Every bag of flour that is provided is cross-referenced against people’s national identity number. And so, you know, there are now hundreds of thousands of bags, literally wheat bags, wheat flour bags in Gaza with the UNRWA logo on them. And they have all gone to families so that they can feed themselves.&#8221;

UNRWA distributed flour to Gazan people

UNRWA Director Responds To Accusations Of Holding Hostages, Delivering Rockets: ‘Our Trucks Are Bringing In Wheat Flour’

UNRWA Director Responds To Accusations Of Holding Hostages, Delivering Rockets: 'Our Trucks Are Bringing In Wheat Flour'

Gaza

Hamas

Palestinians

Refugee

Terrorism

United Nations

World

I regret to inform you the Anglos are attacking the Irish way of life again. Though the threat is not from Cromwell nor the Crown, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meads-happy-st-patricks-day-except-to-joe-biden-the-phony-irishman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Emerald Isle</a> has been infected with an American brand of progressivism that seeks to indoctrinate the rest of the world.
Worse, it seems plenty of the Irish are all too happy to go along with this 21st-century colonization. From how it handles social issues to the refugee crisis to placing its own citizens last, Ireland seems hellbent on adopting all the Woke the West has to offer.
If you have been paying even a modicum of attention, you know that the influence of the Roman Catholic Church has been decimated in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-story-of-saint-patrick-how-a-former-slave-brought-christianity-to-ireland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">land of St.Patrick</a>. As a result, fundamental changes to its society have taken place in a dramatically short period of time. For example, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ireland-votes-overwhelmingly-overturn-8th-frank-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion was legalized in 2018</a> for the first time ever, which was shocking and a true sign of the times. The usual arguments spewed by anti-life American politicians and activists were uttered by abortion advocates in Ireland.
&#8220;It&#8217;s a woman&#8217;s right!&#8221; many supporters argued. But they, too, have trouble defining what a woman is.
In 2021, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irelands-rose-of-tralee-contest-for-young-women-invites-transgender-individuals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">international Rose of Tralee</a> let it be known that lads around the globe are welcome in the competition — so long as they identify as a &#8220;woman.&#8221; The organizers of the decades-old competition not only welcome such men, but encourage them to join.
Keep in mind these ladies compete for the title of the “Rose” and are judged based on the maiden who embodies the virtues found in a 19th-century ballad about a rich Protestant who falls in love with a Catholic woman named Mary who lives in Kerry.
The two most prominent virtues are &#8220;lovely and fair.&#8221; Suffice it to say the contest has since strayed from those values.
To make matters worse, Ireland&#8217;s official St. Patrick&#8217;s Day Celebration was cannibalized by those who used the Christian holiday to promote all things drag and tout the hallmark of American neoliberal values.
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The St. Patrick&#8217;s Day Festival 2023 featured a litany of drag queens and drag-themed events. Ireland&#8217;s Arts Minister Catherine Martin previously told the press that the purpose of this year&#8217;s event was to promote two planks of diversity and inclusion.
“The theme ‘We Are One’ is about inclusivity and there’s no better time than St Patrick’s Day to have that welcoming message, that cead míle fáilte, that we are one as a people and to celebrate diversity too,&#8221; Martin <a href="https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/inclusivity-takes-centre-stage-at-we-are-one-st-patricks-festival-2023-with-hopes-for-500000-people-to-attend-parade-42320050.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Had she mentioned equity, she would have earned a perfect 10 on the DEI scorecard in the game of Critical Race Theory.
Not to be outdone by the Biden administration&#8217;s willingness to open its borders, the Irish government is also intent on winning the race to puts its own citizens last. Over the past year, a number of protests have popped up in defiance of waves of refugees and asylum seekers coming ashore amid a housing crisis, inflationary woes, and other economic issues.
“It’s not about racism. There is no room for them,” one individual <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/22/anti-immigration-protesters-march-dublin-ireland-refugees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Guardian at a recent anti-refugee protest. “Why should migrants skip Irish people on the housing list? I won’t accept it.”
Since the start of the Russian-Ukraine war, Ireland has accepted more than 65,000 migrants from around the globe. Per The Guardian, the government was housing 73,000 migrants comprised of 54,000 Ukrainians and 19,000 international protection applicants as of January 2023. Last year, that figure was 7,500, the British newspaper reported.
Those who oppose such migration are vilified as racists or white supremacists. However, internal government documents <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/01/04/dealing-with-refugee-crisis-likely-to-become-more-challenging-in-2023-briefings-warn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicate that the nation&#8217;s social support system</a> is indeed teetering on the edge of disaster due to the heavy influx of foreign nationals.
If this all sounds familiar, it is because these are some of the same problems Americans are facing in the United States.
The irony is that in the West&#8217;s push for ideological homogeneity, we&#8217;re ruining &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hero-elon-musk-blasts-one-world-government-at-world-government-summithttps://www.dailywire.com/news/hero-elon-musk-blasts-one-world-government-at-world-government-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">civilizational diversity</a>&#8221; to borrow a phrase from Elon Musk. The &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-fires-the-woke-mind-virus-is-either-defeated-or-nothing-else-matters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woke Mind Virus</a>,&#8221; as he has called it, is infecting and destroying other nations, just as it is here in America.
That virus is a new form of imperialism, this time not advanced by the British, but by the U.S. It starts on college campuses, perhaps before, and then gets promoted throughout the world. It seems evident that when people like the aforementioned Martin say, &#8220;We are one,&#8221; they don&#8217;t mean an Ireland with its unique heritage and borders, language, and culture, rather they want to be part of &#8220;one&#8221; global government of sorts, built on the foundations of American Leftism.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-american-values-biden-admin-funding-ecuadorian-drag-shows-for-diversity-and-inclusion-efforts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New American Values: Biden Admin. Funding Ecuadorian Drag Shows For ‘Diversity And Inclusion’ Efforts</a>

The Irish national flag and the rainbow flag seen at The Custom House in Dublin. On Thursday, 10 June 2021, in Dublin, Ireland.

News Is Bleak From The Emerald Isle This St. Paddy’s Day

News Is Bleak From The Emerald Isle This St. Paddy's Day

Europe

General

Ireland

United States

A federal jury has convicted an Afghan refugee of sexually abusing a 3-year-old girl at a military base in Virginia.
&#8220;According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Mohammed Tariq, 24, engaged in sexual contact with the victim while both the victim and Tariq were housed at Camp Upshur, on Marine Corps Base Quantico, following evacuation from Afghanistan. United States Marines observed the defendant inappropriately touching the victim over her clothing, on her chest, genitals, and buttocks,&#8221; the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/man-convicted-abusive-sexual-contact-minor-quantico">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;The victim and Tariq were unrelated, however, both Tariq and the victim and her family had recently been evacuated from Afghanistan and brought to the United States.&#8221;
The statement said that Tariq faces up to life in prison when sentenced in late April.
“This case is indicative of law enforcement’s commitment to ensure the safety of immigrant and refugee members of our community,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “People who come to our country seeking haven from tyranny and terrorism deserve to live here in safety. I want to thank the Marines and the FBI for their commitment to upholding that ideal. It is the resilience and courage of the victim and her family in speaking out against this offender that is truly emblematic of the contributions refugees and immigrants make to our country.”
This is a developing news story; refresh the page for updates.

US-SHOOTING-MARINES

Afghan Refugee Convicted Of Sexually Abusing 3-Year-Old Girl In Virginia, Faces Life In Prison

Child Sex Abuse

Department of Justice

On Friday, President Joe Biden was slammed by critics after he decided not to raise Trump’s “historically low cap” of 15,000 refugees for this year.
Despite <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-refugees-trump-increase-policy-b1797856.html">promising</a> in early February to “bolster US refugee admissions after four years of deep cuts” by raising “the annual admissions cap to 125,000 people,” the focus of Biden’s policy now rests on the definition of refugee status, with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-middle-east-africa-central-america-e692d180232fdd3cc2125bdb9cc1278f">The Associated Press</a> reporting, “A senior administration official said Biden’s new allocations could result in speedier admissions of already screened and vetted refugees in a manner of days. The new allocations provide more slots for refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Central America and lift Trump’s restrictions on resettlements from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.”
Critics were quick to point out that Biden’s policy is a failure to deliver on one of his campaign promises regarding the expansion of refugee admissions.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) described the policy as “Completely and utterly unacceptable.”
“Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Upholding the xenophobic and racist policies of the Trump admin, incl the historically low + plummeted refugee cap, is flat out wrong.”
“Keep your promise,” she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Completely and utterly unacceptable. Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise.
Upholding the xenophobic and racist policies of the Trump admin, incl the historically low + plummeted refugee cap, is flat out wrong.
Keep your promise. <a href="https://t.co/A82xYf1XpR">https://t.co/A82xYf1XpR</a>
&mdash; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1383120325454467072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said, “There are simply no excuses for today’s disgraceful decision.”
“It goes directly against our values and risks the lives of little boys and girls huddled in refugee camps around the world,” Omar continued, adding, “I know, because I was one.”
Omar then shared a video of Biden&#8217;s prior call to admit additional refugees, saying that &#8220;This was the Joe Biden people campaigned and voted for.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
*This* was the <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeBiden</a> people campaigned and voted for. <a href="https://t.co/e2ObFc2XCO">pic.twitter.com/e2ObFc2XCO</a>
&mdash; Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1383124643943489536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Axios’ Jonathan Swan tweeted, “Biden keeps the Trump / Stephen Miller refugee cap. Genuinely curious to hear Biden allies explain how what was ‘racist’ and ‘cruel’ under Trump is now enlightened and humane.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden keeps the Trump / Stephen Miller refugee cap. Genuinely curious to hear Biden allies explain how what was “racist” and “cruel” under Trump is now enlightened and humane. <a href="https://t.co/1kRFNqbiqg">https://t.co/1kRFNqbiqg</a>
&mdash; Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) <a href="https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/1383129238337912833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer tweeted, “Biden maintaining Stephen Miller’s refugee policy is not something anyone should defend. It’s a disgrace.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden maintaining Stephen Miller’s refugee policy is not something anyone should defend. It’s a disgrace. <a href="https://t.co/XFwlrAVjBO">https://t.co/XFwlrAVjBO</a>
&mdash; Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSerwer/status/1383104339225374725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Ezra Klein shared an excerpt from Serwer’s piece, describing it&#8217;s content as “righteous anger.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Righteous anger from <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSerwer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AdamSerwer</a> on Biden&#39;s refugee policy, and correctly so: <a href="https://t.co/6lEY7c3TAT">https://t.co/6lEY7c3TAT</a> <a href="https://t.co/8iK5636vh0">pic.twitter.com/8iK5636vh0</a>
&mdash; Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) <a href="https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1383167732925943808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor tweeted, “Confirmed from a WH official on refugee cap: President Biden will keep the refugee cap number at 15,000. He is going to be changing the regional allocation of those refugees.”
“Note: This is Biden is [sic] walking back an earlier pledge to welcome more than 60,000 refugees into the U.S.,” she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Confirmed from a WH official on refugee cap: President Biden will keep the refugee cap number at 15,000. He is going to be changing the regional allocation of those refugees.
Note: This is Biden is walking back an earlier pledge to welcome more than 60,000 refugees into the U.S.
&mdash; Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) <a href="https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1383098766207635463?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The blowback from critics was so severe that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki immediately walked back Biden’s announcement, saying that Biden would be setting a &#8220;final, increased refugee cap&#8221; by May 15.
NPR reported, “The White House is walking back its announcement that it will keep the Trump-era refugee cap of 15,000,” adding that “White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden would ‘set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.’”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
NEW: The White House is walking back its announcement that it will keep the Trump-era refugee cap of 15,000.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden would “set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15.”
&mdash; NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) <a href="https://twitter.com/nprpolitics/status/1383160025380749317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;While finalizing that determination, the president was urged to take immediate action to reverse the Trump policy that banned refugees from many key regions, to enable flights from those regions to begin within days; today’s order did that. With that done, we expect the president to set a final, increased refugee cap for the remainder of this fiscal year by May 15,&#8221; White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/16/statement-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-on-the-emergency-presidential-determination-on-refugee-admissions-for-fiscal-year-2021/">statement</a>, claiming that &#8220;The President’s directive today has been the subject of some confusion.&#8221;
Psaki&#8217;s latest reversal adds another layer to the ongoing migrant crisis, with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/31/politics/migrants-us-southern-border/index.html">CNN</a> estimating that the U.S. is on track to encounter a &#8220;record 2 million migrants on the southern border&#8221; by the end of the fiscal year.

Jen Psaki

Reacting To Furious Leftist Backlash, Psaki Blames Reaction To Biden’s Refugee Policy On ‘Confusion’

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ilhan Omar

Joe Biden

Refugees

On Friday, President Joe Biden decided not to raise former President Trump’s “historically low cap” of 15,000 refugees for this year. Biden&#8217;s announcement reverses his stance on the issue, having recently promised to raise the cap to 125,000 refugees for the year.
Instead, Biden removed the restrictions put in place by the Trump administration on which “types” of refugees qualify under the cap of 15,000.
In “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/16/memorandum-for-the-secretary-of-state-on-the-emergency-presidential-determination-on-refugee-admissions-for-fiscal-year-2021/">Memorandum for the Secretary of State on the Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021</a>,” the order reads, “The admission of up to 15,000 refugees remains justified by humanitarian concerns and is otherwise in the national interest.  Should 15,000 admissions under the revised allocations for FY 2021 be reached prior to the end of the fiscal year and the emergency refugee situation persists, a subsequent Presidential Determination may be issued to increase admissions, as appropriate.”
In early February, the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-refugees-trump-increase-policy-b1797856.html">Independent</a> reported that “President Joe Biden said during a speech at the State Department on Thursday he would bolster US refugee admissions after four years of deep cuts, seeking to raise the annual admissions cap to 125,000 people. That&#8217;s a more than 700 per cent increase from the Trump administration’s previous targets for the year.”
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-to-keep-refugee-limit-at-record-low-but-scrap-restrictions-set-by-trump-11618591787">The Wall Street Journal</a>, the Biden administration hasn’t ruled out “revisiting” this issue if the 15,000 cap is reached.
The focus of Biden’s policy now rests on the definition of refugee status. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-middle-east-africa-central-america-e692d180232fdd3cc2125bdb9cc1278f">Associated Press</a> reported, “A senior administration official said Biden’s new allocations could result in speedier admissions of already screened and vetted refugees in a manner of days. The new allocations provide more slots for refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Central America and lift Trump’s restrictions on resettlements from Somalia, Syria and Yemen.”
The Associated Press added that “Refugee resettlement agencies were disheartened Biden did not touch Trump’s cap, the lowest since the program began 41 years ago.”
“It sends an important message to make it higher and now Biden will still be presiding over and has essentially put his stamp of approval on the lowest refugee admissions cap in history at a time of global crisis,” said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a Maryland-based Jewish nonprofit that is one of nine agencies that resettles refugees in the U.S.
Responding to Biden’s decision, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described the policy as “completely and utterly unacceptable.”
“Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Upholding the xenophobic and racist policies of the Trump admin, incl the historically low + plummeted refugee cap, is flat out wrong.”
“Keep your promise,” she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Completely and utterly unacceptable. Biden promised to welcome immigrants, and people voted for him based on that promise.
Upholding the xenophobic and racist policies of the Trump admin, incl the historically low + plummeted refugee cap, is flat out wrong.
Keep your promise. <a href="https://t.co/A82xYf1XpR">https://t.co/A82xYf1XpR</a>
&mdash; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1383120325454467072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rep. Ilhan Omar also condemned the policy, saying “There are simply no excuses for today’s disgraceful decision.”
“It goes directly against our values and risks the lives of little boys and girls huddled in refugee camps around the world,” Omar continued, adding, “I know, because I was one.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
There are simply no excuses for today’s disgraceful decision.
It goes directly against our values and risks the lives of little boys and girls huddled in refugee camps around the world. 
I know, because I was one.
&mdash; Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1383124395015684098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

‘Completely And Utterly Unacceptable’: AOC Slams Biden For Breaking Campaign Promise, Keeping Trump-Era Refugee Cap

America has a long tradition of being open to those fleeing oppression. That tradition has been slowed by the Trump administration, and this issue has been absorbed into the big-picture battle on immigration issues as a whole.
It makes sense to crack down on fraud, but not at the expense of those fleeing communism and religious oppression.
The people of the world experiencing oppression for being Christian and those in the last remaining communist countries who are oppressed for merely having a religion are in need of the United States to resume its traditional role of being the country that will take them in.
The Trump administration needs to fix the refugee resettlement program to make sure that people with a good faith claim of refugee status can seek refuge in the United States. A Presidential Determination announcement on the number of refugees the U.S. will accept for the next year is coming soon. The President has an opportunity to lead the global fight against religious persecution and individuals fleeing communism and other oppressive regimes.
President Donald J. Trump used the American peoples&#8217; heartburn over immigration to launch his campaign to the White House, and he is politically smart to keep his promises on that issue. But it is not going to hurt the President&#8217;s reelection effort — and it may help him with Cuban refugees in Florida — to open the doors to those oppressed by other governments for their religion. Politico reported in July of last year that the Trump administration considered slashing refugee admissions to zero. When you see the chaos in Hong Kong today, I think most Americans would agree that the American tradition of allowing good faith refugees from Hong Kong makes sense.
Our nation was founded by refugees. The first refugees who hit our shores 400 years ago were the Pilgrims who fled religious persecution in England. The 1965 immigration bill was a means to give preference to people fleeing communism from Vietnam, Cambodia, Cuba and Soviet bloc nations and served as a tool to fight communism. Trump could use the refugee system to fight China by allowing refugees of the Chinese so-called national security law in Hong Kong to seek refuge here in the U.S.
The Trump administration&#8217;s fight against socialism should contain the same tools the U.S. used to defeat Soviet communism, including a refugee program that allows those targeted by communist governments to be safe here. Former Republican Rep. from Wisconsin Reid Ribble writes in The Wall Street Journal, &#8220;While President Trump has rightly critiqued the autocratic tendencies of socialism, on his administration&#8217;s watch the U.S. has increasingly turned away victims of communism and religious persecution.&#8221; He cites numbers showing a refugee admittance number coming down from 85,000 in 2016 to 18,000 this fiscal year, putting the country on track for a 90% decline in refugees.
Ribble cites one number that stands out. Only seven Cuban refugees have been resettled in the U.S. since the beginning of 2018. Think about the stories of Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to see two children of refugees from communist dictatorships that have gone on to be leaders of the Republican Party and role models for young Latinos. The past Trump administration position makes one worry about future leaders from Venezuela, Cuba and Hong Kong who will not be let in under the status quo.
The Refugee Council USA sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on July 13 making the case that the Hong Kong situation should be addressed through &#8220;utilizing the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) to resettle those who are in harm&#8217;s way and do not have other options for protection.&#8221; An upcoming Presidential Determination for next year could solve these problems, if the Trump administration can address fraud directly and restore some reasonable numbers of refugees to let in next year.
Let&#8217;s not abandon the least of these who need our help, and there are many across the globe who need a place to seek refuge from truly evil governments.
To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Statue of Liberty

ERICKSON: Helping The Persecuted

Donald Trump

According to a letter sent today to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that was just obtained by The Daily Wire, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has announced Texas&#8217;s refusal to accept any additional refugees for fiscal year (FY) 2020. The letter was prompted by <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-enhancing-state-local-involvement-refugee-resettlement/">Executive Order 13888</a>, on &#8220;Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement,&#8221; which was issued by President Donald Trump on September 26, 2019.
According to the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-enhancing-state-local-involvement-refugee-resettlement/">text</a> of the September executive order, &#8220;[t]he Federal Government consults with State and local governments &#8230; to be respectful of those communities that may not be able to accommodate refugee resettlement.&#8221; Furthermore, &#8220;if either a State or locality has not provided consent to receive refugees under the Program, then refugees should not be resettled within that State or locality,&#8221; and &#8220;the Secretary shall notify the President of such decision.&#8221;
Today, Greg Abbott, governor of the nation&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hammer-at-texas-scorecard-texas-is-a-less-business-friendly-environment-than-you-might-think-its-time-to-fix-that">most iconic red state</a>, has made clear that Texas does not consent.
&#8220;Texas is one of the most welcoming states for refugees seeking to escape dangers abroad,&#8221; Abbott begins. &#8220;Since FY 2010, more refugees have been received in Texas than in any other state. In fact, over that decade, roughly 10% of all refugees resettled in the United States have been placed in Texas. Even today, the process of resettling continues for many of these refugees.&#8221;
&#8220;In addition to accepting refugees all these years, Texas has been left by Congress to deal with disproportionate migration issues resulting from a broken federal immigration system,&#8221; the governor continues. &#8220;In May 2019, for example, around 100,000 migrants were apprehended crossing this state&#8217;s southern border. In June 2019, individuals from 52 different countries were apprehended here. And in FY 2018, the apprehensions included citizens from disparate countries like China, Iran, Kenya, Russia, and Tonga. Texas continues to have to deal with the consequences of an immigration system that Congress has failed to fix.&#8221;
&#8220;At this time, the state and non-profit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, including refugees, migrants, and the homeless — indeed, all Texans,&#8221; the Republican writes in his denouement. &#8220;As a result, Texas cannot consent to initial refugee resettlement for FY2020. This decision does not deny any refugee access to the United States. Nor does it preclude a refugee from later coming to Texas after initially settling in another state.&#8221;
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&#8220;Texas has carried more than its share in assisting the refugee resettlement process and appreciates that other states are available to help with these efforts,&#8221; Abbott concludes.
Abbott&#8217;s bold stand will please immigration hawks, who have long sounded the alarm on America&#8217;s shoddy, loophole-ridden refugee system and our wholly inadequate vetting capabilities for prospective refugees. As the Center for Immigration Studies&#8217; investigative journalist extraordinaire Todd Bensman <a href="https://cis.org/Bensman/Idiot-Lights-Blinking-Vetting-Failures-Still-Favor-Lying-Terrorist-Migrants">wrote</a> last April: &#8220;Few outside of intelligence and law enforcement circles — and perhaps not even those inside the circles — really know the actual extent of vetting failures that grant legal status to those hiding terrorism involvement. <a href="https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/extreme-vetting-immigrants-estimating-terrorism-vetting-failures" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">One tally</a> found an entirely unacceptable 13 cases of vetting failures involving actual terrorists caught or killed between 9/11 and April 2018. But the numbers are undoubtedly higher, accounting for cases where the liars just haven&#8217;t been made public yet or there was strong terrorism intelligence rather than some sort of conviction under terrorism statutes or attack.&#8221;
Abbott&#8217;s move also follows closely on the heels of at least 15 separate Republican governors who have all affirmatively signed onto more refugee resettlement in their states in the aftermath of Executive Order 13888. Immigration hawk Daniel Horowitz recently <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/news/15-gop-governors-asking-refugee-resettlement-red-states/">excoriated</a> these governors at Conservative Review: &#8220;Except for New England, these are all states carried by Trump, some of them by a very wide margin. Trump won every single county in West Virginia and Oklahoma, for example. Why are conservatives with platforms not talking about this? &#8230; Who needs George Soros when you have GOP governors endorsed by Trump doing his bidding, along with the help of so-called evangelical groups?&#8221;
Governor Abbott will take no shortage of heat for this move, even within the still-reliably Republican Lone Star State. But he should rest well at night, for he has done the right thing for his state.
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott

BREAKING: Texas Governor Abbott Boldly Rejects Additional Refugee Resettlement

Greg Abbott

Immigration

Mike Pompeo

State Department

Texas

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump approved a new annual refugee cap of 18,000, the lowest since the U.S. program began in 1980. The reduction follows news that America took a pause last month and refused to admit any new refugees. On economic, public safety and national security grounds, this is a very good thing for the 325 million people already in our country. But you wouldn&#8217;t know it from the grim headlines and hysterical condemnations by globalist zealots and media sympathizers.
CNN International led the open borders funeral procession last week, with a report decrying, &#8220;No refugees will be resettled in the US in October, leaving hundreds in limbo around the world.&#8221; U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) hyperventilated that &#8220;Donald Trump is trying to destroy the very heart of this nation. I won&#8217;t let him.&#8221; Social justice group CARE bemoaned this &#8220;dark moment in our nation&#8217;s history.&#8221; Human Rights First complained that Trump&#8217;s proposal is &#8220;crippling the United States&#8217; status as a global leader in refugee resettlement.&#8221;
Heaven forbid citizens in a sovereign nation have an effective say in who comes here, from where and how many. Is one refugee-less month in America such a catastrophe? Calm down, Chicken Littles. Get some perspective.
It is most certainly true that America has a legacy of embracing people from around the world fleeing persecution and war. After World War II, the U.S. helped lead efforts to assist 650,000 displaced Europeans who had fled in fear, were expelled and were victims of Nazi crimes and terror. Congress passed the 1948 Displaced Persons Act to accommodate them. Five years later, the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 aided refugees from Italy and East Germany escaping Communist regimes, adding another 250,000 refugees over four years. In the 1950s and 1960s, we welcomed Hungarians, Cubans and Czechoslovakians also escaping Communist oppression. In the 1970s, we opened our doors to an estimated 300,000 political refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The Refugee Act of 1980 created the Office of Refugee Resettlement and office of U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs and raised the annual ceiling of admissions to 50,000.
Under Obama, that number soared to nearly 100,000 annually. The idea that we&#8217;ve abandoned our humanitarian leadership role because of this refugee resettlement reduction is ludicrous. Overall, since 1975, the U.S. has resettled more than 3 million refugees. Under Trump, the U.S. still accepted more refugees than any other country in both 2017 and 2018. On top of that, America forked over nearly $1.6 billion to support the U.N.&#8217;s refugee resettlement campaign. Moreover, America remains the largest single country provider of humanitarian assistance worldwide. Total U.S. humanitarian assistance was more than $8 billion in fiscal year 2017, covering food, shelter, health care and access to clean water for millions.
That&#8217;s enough.
Past refugee admissions don&#8217;t lock America into those same levels now or in the future. America&#8217;s constitutional duty is to Americans first (&#8220;ourselves and our posterity&#8221;). The truth is that we&#8217;ve been generous to a ruinous, open borders fault. Last year, the Federation for American Immigration Reform tallied refugee resettlement costs to taxpayers at nearly $9 billion over five years.
In my adopted home state of Colorado, a new University of Colorado Boulder study acknowledged that refugees are often &#8220;trapped in chronic poverty&#8221; after resettlement subsidies dry up and are unable to lift themselves out of dependency on government aid such as public housing, Medicaid and food stamps. Federal statistics show that nearly half of all refugee households receive cash welfare. Chain migration perpetuates the cycle of poverty.
A tiny cabal of government contractors, mostly religious groups cloaking their profit-seeking in compassion and Scripture, perpetuates the refugee resettlement racket. Openly hostile to American sovereignty, these people spread their tax-subsidized syndicate&#8217;s wealth to a vast network of subcontractors, often tied to billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Foundations, which promote global governance and unfettered migration espoused by the United Nations, European Union and Vatican. These special interests have systematically blurred the lines between legitimate refugees seeking asylum from oppression and economic migrants from Central America clamoring for higher wages or better welfare benefits. They&#8217;re indifferent to the national security risks of absorbing large numbers of Muslims whose adherence to repressive sharia and religious jihad is utterly incompatible with our constitutional principles.
Mass migration champions have stretched the definition of refugee so thin that &#8220;climate change refugees&#8221; seeking relief from uninhabitable environments are now a phenomenon. Nuts. Doesn&#8217;t America have enough residents in need of shelter and support? If we let in millions of &#8220;climate change refugees,&#8221; where do Americans seek refuge when they render our climate uninhabitable?
Only a complete moratorium on immigration would give America the break it needs to regain control of our system. Trump&#8217;s refugee reduction is not an apocalypse. It&#8217;s a long overdue respite from the world&#8217;s wretched refuse that deserves cheers, not jeers.
Michelle Malkin&#8217;s email address is MichelleMalkinInvestigates@protonmail.com. To find out more about Michelle Malkin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Passport.

MALKIN: Three Cheers For Refugee Reduction

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