Kansas Refugees: Business and Politics

Wichita

Wichita, Kansas has suffered many layoffs in the aerospace business sector for the past five years. That means many native Kansans are out of work and struggling while federal taxpayer dollars are used to feed, clothe, house, educate and employee refugees and immigrants.


January 17, 2015

Learjet layoffs deliver a blow to Wichita’s hopes for economic recovery

The layoffs announced last week by Bombardier Learjet made it feel a lot like 2009 again, or 2010 or 2011 or 2012 or 2013.

In 2012, Republican Governor Sam Brownback put a massive tax-cutting package into place while Kansas was in a small business boom. The business tax cuts were supposed to help the Kansas economy and encourage large corporations to move to Kansas, creating new jobs for the unemployed. However, many of the small businesses set themselves up as corporations to take advantage of the tax cut and who could blame them? The unintended outcome left the state treasury even more distressed.


In reality, the “tax break” cost the state between $160 and $165 million. Further, the lowered prices for farm commodities, oil and natural gas increased the budget shortfall to the $800 million dollar range for 2013.

May 31, 2015

Secretary of Revenue Nick Jordan told Senate Republicans on Sunday that Gov. Sam Brownback would veto any attempts to roll back tax break for business owners. The Legislature eliminated income taxes for the owners of limited liability corporations and S corporations in 2012 after Brownback championed the policy.


Some Republican leaders, including the Senate president and vice president, have floated ideas to tweak the tax break as part of a fix to the state’s $400 million budget hole.

Click here to read more


What was the legislators' brilliant solution? Increase sales tax for everyone else!


Effective July 1, 2015 - Sales Tax Rate for the entire state increased from 6.15% to 6.5%

While native Kansans are feeling the economic pinch on every level, the refugees and immigrants keep coming. On one hand, the immigrants provide a cheap labor supply to big businesses such as Tyson Meats. But how does that help the average tax payer when Tyson is not contributing to our state’s depressed economy since they get a tax break? And this scenario can apply to many other states and even the federal government. The taxpayer foundation is overburdened while the country sinks deeper and deeper in debt.


Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas. They are the second largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork. In 2001, Tyson acquired IBP, Inc., the largest beef packer and number two pork processor in the U.S. for over $3 billion. They have also acquired companies such as Hudson Foods Company, Garrett poultry, Washington Creamer, Franz Foods, Prospect Farms, Krispy Kitchens, Ocoma Foods, Cassady Broiler, Vantress Pedigree, Wilson Foods, Honeybear Foods, Mexican Original, Valmac Industries, Heritage Valley, Lane Processing, Cobb-Vantress, Holly Farms, Wright Brand Foods, Inc. and Don Julio Foods. In 2014, they made a $6.13 officer to acquire all the shares in Hillshire Brands. They won the bidding war against Pilgrim’s Corp.


They knowingly use immigrant workers – illegal or not. The result? The American employment rate drops, our meat prices go up and Tyson makes more money!


Tyson meatpacking facilities in Kansas are listed below:

· Emporia Emporia Freezer - Beef - Freezer

· Emporia Emporia PBX - Transportation

· Emporia Emporia Plant - Beef

· Holcomb Finney County Freezer - Beef - Freezer

· Holcomb Finney County Hides - Beef Hides

· Holcomb Finney County PBX - Transportation

· Holcomb Finney County Plant - Beef

· South Hutchinson Hutchinson Plant - Further Processing

· Hutchinson Hutchinson Plant (KPR) - Further Processing

· Holcomb Kansas Terminal 23 - Transportation

· Olathe Missouri Terminal 02 - Transportation

· Olathe Olathe Distribution Center - Warehouse

· Olathe Tynet Missouri Office - Administrative Office


American Security is jeopardized so Big Business can bring in cheap labor


Muslims are vocal about their rights and so are Americans. The only difference is that our government listens to the Muslims. Muslim employees in our country actively seek accommodations to wear hajibs, to set aside time or space for daily prayer, or to perform ablutions before prayers. In meatpacking plants they fight to abstain from handling pork.


Could these kinds of pressures on pork producers and processors affect this sector of our business? No doubt, they factored into Smithfield’s sale to China and to the fact that other meat processors ship meat overseas to be processed and then sent back to the U.S.


Read more:

Meatpackers. Refugee resettlement watch.


How China purchased a prime cut of America's pork industry


China lifts restrictions to US pork processing plants


Chinese purchase could impact our food industry


Politics

I am not singling out Republicans for the immigrant/refugee drain on America’s economy. Members of both parties are equally responsible for allowing this travesty.


For those who remember, the Clinton administration had close ties with Tyson Foods who donated heavily to Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. Hillary was an attorney for Tyson Foods, Arkansas’s largest employer. As far back as 1978, when Bill Clinton was Attorney General and on the verge of being elected as Governor of Arkansas, Hillary was mentored by James Blair, friend, lawyer and outside counsel to Tyson Foods. She relied on insider information and entered the commodities markets.


Hillary has always supported immigration and it is no wonder she was appointed Secretary of the State by the Obama administration. Many of you already know about her dubious, “anti-American” history. I will provide a few links for further reading but be aware and be forewarned of her dangerous political views.


The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has launched a website tracking the 2016 presidential candidates’ positions on Islam, and so far it seems to have the fewest problems with Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican hopefuls New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)


http://www.ontheissues.org/celeb/Hillary_Clinton_Immigration.htm


http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/12/hillary-clinton-empathizing-americas-islamic-enemies-will-get-caliphate/


http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/patrick-goodenough/cair-puts-2016-presidential-hopefuls-under-its-islamophobia

Hillary Clinton White House Muslim brotherhood


http://shoebat.com/shoebat-foundation/huma-abedin/


I truly had hope in Bernie Sanders. The American people desperately need a voice in our government. I am referring to the everyday worker bee, taxpayer. But then I read Bernie’s platform regarding refugees and was dismayed. From his own campaign page:

As president, Senator Bernie Sanders will:

Sign comprehensive immigration reform into law to bring over 11 million undocumented workers out of the shadows. We cannot continue to run an economy where millions are made so vulnerable because of their undocumented status.


Oppose tying immigration reform to the building of a border fence. Undocumented workers come to the United States to escape economic hardship and political persecution. Tying reform to unrealistic and unwise border patrol proposals renders the promise illusory for millions seeking legal status.

Sign the DREAM Act into law to offer the opportunity of permanent residency and eventual citizenship to young people who were brought to the United States as children. We must recognize the young men and women who comprise the DREAMers for who they are – American kids who deserve the right to legally be in the country they know as home.


Expand President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to include the parents of citizens, parents of legal permanent residents, and the parents of DREAMERs. We need to pursue policies that unites families and does not tear them apart.

Authorize and substantially increase funding for the Legal Services Corporation to provide legal representation to guest workers who have been abused by their employers. Further, employers should be required to reimburse guest workers for housing, transportation expenses and workers’ compensation.

Substantially increase prevailing wages that employers are required to pay temporary guest workers. If there is a true labor shortage, employers should be offering higher, not lower wages.

Rewrite our trade policies to end the race to the bottom and lift the living standards of workers in this country and our trading partners. Not only have free trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA hurt U.S. workers, they have been a disaster for small farmers in Mexico and Central America.

The Present pro-Muslim, pro-Immigrant, pro-Refugee Administration

Most of you already know a great deal about the Obama Administration. If not, there are volumes of information on the internet and many books on the subject.


Briefly:

Obama and his Islam Roots


The Obama appointees, i.e. “czars”


The short list:

Jeffrey Zients

Brought in to fix Healthcare.gov (the website that didn’t work)


Director of National Economic Council

Richard Holbrooke, “Afghanistan-Pakistan Czar”

Holbrooke, a distinguished diplomat, had a long history in foreign affairs. Many thought he would have been secretary of the state if Hillary Clinton had won the 2008 election. He had the wrong history, personality and operating style to fit in with the Obama inner circle.


Cass Sunstein, “Regulatory Czar”

Sunstein—officially the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs—worked for the administration from 2009 to 2011 and was responsible for reviewing every economically significant regulation introduced by the government. He favored gun control and animal rights. His wife is Samantha Powers.


Samantha Power (wife of Cass Sunstein)

Current United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

She was a senior adviser to Senator Barack Obama until 2008. She resigned from his presidential campaign after apologizing for calling Senator Hillary Clinton a “monster.” Power focuses on issues such as LGBT rights, protection of religious minorities, the protection of refugees and promoting human rights for the Middle East, North Africa, Sudan and Burma.


Politics does make for strange bed fellows but the more we learn, the more we can expose the truth.

Kansas Refugee Services

KANSAS Voluntary Agency (VOLAGs)

Provides initial placement services to refugees arriving in the United States within the first 90 days.


Catholic Charites of NE Kansas
2220 Central Kansas
Kansas City, KS 66102
(913) 621-1504
www.catholiccharitiesks.org

Catholic Charities, Inc.
437 North Topeka
Wichita Kansas 6720202413
Federal EIN 48-0543703

Catholic Diocese of Wichita Immigration Services
David Osio, Director
437 North Topeka Street
Wichita, Kansas 67202-2413
Phone: (316) 264-0282
Toll Free Phone: 888-415-2806
Fax: (316) 264-4442


Catholic Diocese of Wichita
424 N. Broadway
Wichita, KS 67202
EIN 48-0543780

USCCB, Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Kansas City
Northeastern Kansas (Kansas City area)
http://www.catholiccharitiesks.org/page.aspx?pid=510

Refugee Employment Service
Paul Hancock phancock@catholiccharitiesks.org
Bruce Workman
913.906.8999

Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas seeks committed volunteer for their refugee resettlement program to assist with English Language Learner courses and Job Readiness Program. See the Rockhurst Career Services. http://ww2.rockhurst.edu/career-services (a Jesuit college in Kansas City, MO. Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO are separated by a river but each are easily accessed by the other)

USCCB,Catholic Agency for Migration & Refugee Services
Garden City, KS


EMM,Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministry (EWARM)
Central Kansas
401 N. Emporia St.
Wichita, KS 67202
316-977-9276

Episcopal Migration Ministries-Wichita
401 N. Emporia Street
Wichita, Kansas 67202
United States
316-977-9276
Contact: Marla Schmidt
Email: mschmidt@episcopalchurch.org
http://www.episcopalmigrationministries.org/where_we_work/wichita.aspx

Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministry (EWARM) began resettling refugees in July of 2012. We are an ecumenical non-profit 501(c)3 organization located in Wichita, Kansas, and an affiliate of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas in partnership with Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), a ministry of the National Episcopal Church of the United States. We are currently housed in a building on the campus of St. John's Episcopal Church, which put up the initial seed-grant that made opening our doors possible.

Our partnership with faith groups such as Reformation Lutheran Church, Christ Lutheran Church, St. James Episcopal Church, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, and Sunrise Christian Academy/Milk and Honey Ministry make this work possible.


EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT
815 SECOND AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10017-0000
FEDERAL EIN 73-1635264
Expiration Date: 06/30/2015
Gross Contributions: $21,694,879.00
*Fundraising Expenses: $1,935,481.00
Amt. to Charitable Org.: $19,759,398.00
% to Charitable Org.: 91%
Does not include general operating expenses. For a full list of all expenses incurred by the charity, consult the financial information on file with the Secretary of State's office.

IRC, International Rescue Committee
122 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10168-1287
FEDERAL EIN 13-5660870
WichitaOffice
1530 S. Oliver, Suite 270
Wichita, KS 67218
United States
Tel: +1 316 351-5495

Garden City, KS
302 N. Fleming Street
Suite 8E
Garden City, KS 67846
United States

New Roots for Refugees
Meredith Walrafren – Program Assistant and CSA Coordinator
Catholic Charities
2220 Central Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66102
(913) 906-8930

New Roots for Refugees is a sustainable urban farm designed to empower refugee women from Africa and Asia. With 16 different farmers selling at 11 different area markers, produce is available for sale at Farmers Markets throughout the Kansas City metro area.
http://www.newrootsforrefugees.org

MISC SERVICES

English as a Second Language
Don Bosco Center
526 Campbell
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 691-2832

English as a second language is offered through a partnership with Don Bosco Center and Penn Valley Community College. Students are tested at registration to determine their level of proficiency, and then enrolled into an appropriate class. The curriculum is designed to not only teach the language, but also aspects of American daily life, culture and traditions.

http://www.donbosco.org

Found in the Kansas Secretary of State Charity and Business files:

American NearEast Refugee Aid (ANERA)
1111 14th Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC  2005-000

AmericanRefugee Committee
615 First Avenue NE
Suite 500
Minneapolis, MN  55413-000
EIN 36-3241033
Kansas No. 2312304


Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Inc.
700 Light Street
Baltimore, MD 21230-000
EIN 13-2574854


U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Inc.
2231 Crystal Drive
Suite 350
Arlington, VA  22202-000
EIN 13-1878704


Southern Poverty Law Center, Inc.
400 Washington Ave
Montgomery, AL  36104-000
EIN 6300598743


Immigrant Connection, Inc.
15320 S. Ridgeview Rd.
Olathe, KS  66062
KS No. 4775987


Immigrant Heritage Scholarship Fund
Kansas No. 8030603
700 N. Market Street Lower Level
Wichita, KS  67214-3530
Registered Agent: Sandrine Lisk, Esq.

Burmese Refugee Community of Southwest Kansas, Inc.
Kansas No. 4339610

Friends of Refugees, Inc.
Kansas No. 1800721

Interested Citizens Association for Refugees
Kansas No. 0627802

Lawrence Latin American Refugee Committee, Inc. (llarc)
Kansas No. 1689868

Open Door Refugee Ministries Inc.
Kansas No. 6942049

Refugee Center, Inc.
Kansas No. 1806850

Refugee Empowerment Center, Inc.
Kansas Nol. 6670376

Kansas Land and Immigrant Association
Kansas No. 1276693


Kansas Immigrant Union
Kansas No. 1274786

About Kansas Refugees

1996-2015 Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Curtis State Office Building, 1000 SW Jackson, Topeka, Kansas 66612

http://www.kdheks.gov/olrh/RefugeePop.htm

Each year, the Kansas resettles approximately 350 refugees annually. The majority of refugees being resettled currently include people from three main groups. They are Iraqis, Bhutanese and Burmese. Somali refugees are coming to Kansas in secondary resettlement, primarily to work in the meatpacking industry. For the current and past fiscal year refugee admissions to the United States go to http://www.culturalorientation.net/learning/arrivals. Following is cultural and historical information that may be helpful in providing services to these refugees.

Bhutanese

The Bhutanese refugees are coming from refugee camps in Nepal. They are almost all ethnic Nepalis from Southern Bhutan who have been living in the camps for more than 16 years since being expelled from Bhutan. Despite living in Bhutan since the 1800s they retained their Nepali language, culture and religions. Nearly all speak Nepali as a first or second language and about 35% have a functional knowledge of English. Sixty percent are Hindu, 27% are Buddhists and 10% are Kirate, an indigenous religion similar to animism. The percentage of Christians varies from 1-7%. The Nepalis divide themselves into a caste system which separates people into different social levels and influence the choice of marriage and other social relationships. For more information go to
http://www.culturalorientation.net/content/download/1332/7801/version/2/file/backgrounder_bhutanese.pdf.

Burmese

Burma, also called Myanmar, is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the World with more than 130 distinctive subgroups. The largest ethnic group is the Burmans or Bamar at about 68% of the population. They tend to be valley dwelling people who are Buddhists and mostly literate. The remaining other ethnic groups include Chin, Kachin, Karen and many others. They are mostly hill people who are largely non literate spirit worshippers or animist. . Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962 and has more than half a million refugees in their neighboring countries of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Thailand. Around 150,000 people, mostly Karen and Karenni are living in designated camps in Thailand, some for more that two decades. Another 22,000 are in camps in Bangladesh that date back to 1992. The United States is resettling Karen and Burmans from refugee camps in Thailand and Chin from Malaysia. For more information refer to  

http://www.culturalorientation.net/learning/populations/burmese.
Burmese Refugees Powerpoint (.pdf)
Keeping Track of Refugees from Burma Powerpoint (.pdf)

Iraqi

The United States have begun to resettle refugees that the UNHCR has determined are at greatest risk for returning to Iraqi due to the Iraq War. The new Iraqi arrivals join previous groups of Iraqi refugees resettled in the Unites state after the 1991 Gulf War and the 1996 Iraqis linked to the U.S. sponsored coup attempt. Iraq includes a number of diverse ethnic groups, religions and languages. Iraq’s population is approximately 75-80% Arab, and 15-20% Kurd, with smaller numbers of Armenians, Assyrians and Turk omen. Islam is the predominant religion, practiced by 97% of the population. Of the Iraqi Muslims, 60-65% are Shi’i Arabs and 32-37% are Sunni Arabs or Kurds. A small number of Iraqis are syncretic Muslims. Christians make up 3% or the population. Arabic, the national language, is spoken with some level of proficiency by all Iraqis. For more in-depth information regarding people from Iraq go to http://www.culturalorientation.net/learning/populations/iraq

Somali

Somali’s population is mostly rural. Nearly 80% of people are agriculturalists or pastoralist or camels, cattle, sheep and goats. The nomadic way of life is celebrated. Most of the population is urban dwellers especially in the past few years as civil war and famine have led hundreds of thousands have poured into the cities seeking sanctuary and relief. Ethnically and cultural, Somalia is one of the most homogeneous countries in Africa, though the people Bantu from the south and Arabs from the costal cities are important minority groups. The great majority of the people is ethnic Somali and they speak dialects of the same language and practice Islam. Clans are the heart of Somali society and people often have greater allegiance to this lineage than to the nation. See http://www.culturalorientation.net/content/download/2093/12077/version/1/file/The+Somalis+Cultural+Profile.pdf For more information about Somali refugees.

City by City; Town by Town

This information is taken from Ann Corcoran’s Refugee Resettlement website. The facts are organized and to the point – and the good way to begin this blog.

From City to City, Town to Town

Top Down

The first decision to import refugees, in most cases, begins with the United Nations. Iraqis, Burmese, Congolese, Somalis and Bhutanese are being relocated to our country. The UN is pressuring the US to take a large number of Syrians. To say that these people are anti-American is an understatement. Yet, they flood into our country without our consent. These people are not only culturally different than Americans – but also from each other.

Usually the United States State Department chooses a resettlement contractor for your town. The names sound benign and often administrate under a church name. They are being paid by the federal treasury (your tax dollars) to bring refuges to your town.

The nine major contractors are listed below. They have 350 subcontractors working for them, headquartered in over 180 cities – maybe more.

· Church World Service (CWS)

· Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC)

· Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)

· Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)

· International Rescue Committee (IRC)

· US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)

· Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)

· United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

· World Relief Corporation (WR)

The contractors obtain tax payer funded services for each refugee in the form of subsidized housing, welfare, food stamps, health care, school and job training. The contractors often work closely with big business and the local Chamber of Commerce which need cheap labor.

After several months, the contractor’s job ends as a new batch of refugee/immigrants enter the community. The earlier refugees are still struggling and left in the care of social services departments.

Be warned that you will suffer the system’s own brand of hate crime (against its own citizens) if you fight this constant influx of immigrants and refugees into your town. They will call you many names and label your groups as “pockets of resistance.”

The local school system will be the first victim followed by a lack of housing. A school system may end up with 50 or more languages in the student population.

Shockingly, refugees are permitted entry into our country with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and many other medical problems. Our local health departments will be overburdened.

Due to a Clinton era Executive order, the local government is responsible for providing interpreters, health systems and criminal justice.

Even though refugees often work at minimum wage jobs, they still benefit form many welfare programs. Elder refugees are eligible for SSI. Furthermore, they can obtain citizenship quickly.

What Can We Do???
Bottom Up – The Need for Informed Citizen Groups

Kansas Resettlement 101

I began to research this topic in earnest very recently and was alarmed by the information I found. I also discovered that my state brings in thousands of immigrants and refugees yearly. Kansas is not a wealthy state to begin with. Our employment is low while our sales taxes have been raised. Though this is a Republican-leaning state, the native grass roots constituents are not being served - and I might add, by either party.

This recent news article raised so many questions, so I decided to dig deeper. I was dismayed by what I found. The objective of this blog is to put all the information in one place for other people who are interested in this issue.

Earlier this year, Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback in an attempt to balance a massive state deficit caused by his economic policy, cut nearly $45 million for public schools and higher education.

More than half of the money was be taken from funding for K-12 schools. The cut also affected Kansas colleges and universities.

Brownback spent his first term slashing taxes for the rich, promising it would lead to boom times for everyone else. Instead a higher sales tax was imposed on everyone else.

Teachers left our state and many schools were permanently closed. Still others cut their hours.

But then, about a week ago, Brownback's administration approved spending $4.2 million for school districts to cover "extraordinary needs." What kind of needs? As an example - $366,804 to help Wichita schools absorb an influx of refugee children. The State Finance Council had originally asked for $980,00 to cover the costs of refugees (additional teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors and specialized English language specialists).

Wichita is seeing more of an influx of refugees, primarily from war-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East, because there are two social service agencies there that work specifically to relocate refugee populations.

The two agencies are the Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministries and the International Rescue Committee in Wichita. Both received allocations and are actively relocating refugees to Wichita.

So, Kansas will receive money for refugee children and their families..... while native children and students are shunted aside? And where will all that extra sales tax money go anyway. I have lots of questions.

The first thing I learned during my research was that Sam Brownback was active in pro-immigration legislation while in the U.S. Senate. In 2005, Brownback broke with many of his Republican allies by voting for a bill that gives a path to citizenship to 11 million undocumented people living in the United States. He was one of just four Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to join Democrats in supporting the measure.

From Wikipedia: "Brownback has a voting record that has tended to support higher legal immigration levels and strong refugee protection. Brownback was cosponsor of a 2005 bill of Ted Kennedy and John McCain, which would have created a legal path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. On June 26, 2007, Brownback voted in favor of S. 1639, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act.

Curiouser and curiouser....

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/local/education/article31344761.html#storylink=cpy