Looks like even in a bastion of American Socialism like Vermont, people are wakening up. In the sleepy town of Rutland Vt., Mayor Christopher Louras lost to City Councilor David Allaire. A Six term Mayor, Louras last spring announced his plan to bring up to 100 refugees annually from Syria and Iraq to the city of about 16,500 residents. The citizen's response: I don't Think So!
Councilor Allaire had criticized the way Louras rolled out the program, announcing it last April without getting input from the public and city officials. When he announced his candidacy, Allaire said the main issue was with the secrecy of the program.
The city of Rutland was chosen as the site to place refugees by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), one of the nine major federally-funded refugee resettlement contractors or voluntary agencies. According to Ann Corcoran of Refugee Resettlement Watch, once a site is chosen for resettlement, the agency submits an annual resettlement plan to the State Department in order to receive federal funding of nearly $2,000 per refugee sponsored in addition to federal grants of up to $2,200 per refugee sponsored.
Refugee resettlement has become a billion dollar industry, according to investigative journalist James Simpson, a former economist and budget examiner for the White House Office of Management and Budget. The VRRP had not openly disclosed its proposed resettlement abstract to Rutland. Such abstracts list the targeted town’s available facilities and amenities, such as subsidized housing, mental health facilities, and public schooling, for the refugees. Exposing the contents of the abstract prior to resettling or “seeding” refugees (a term coined by a resettlement agency) was a cause of great concern for the agency, as it would shake some sense into the citizens of Rutland and most likely prevent refugee resettlement.
One month after arrival, refugees are provided with taxpayer-funded services such as Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, public housing assistance, child care, food stamps, and much more, costing billions of dollars a year. However, after a couple of months, government funding runs out, and it becomes incumbent upon the community to take over and provide. Given the rising number of Rutland’s low-income citizens in desperate need of assistance, city officials should be leading efforts to develop ways to take care of their own first, including war veterans, seniors, drug addicts, and the homeless.
Many refugees in the U.S. today are supported by lifetime cash assistance programs, while Americans are being pushed off time-limited welfare programs. According to Corcoran, refugees are treated as U.S. citizens in that they qualify for all federal, state, and local welfare programs after one month. This raises the refugee resettlement costs to billions of dollars a year.
[The Olympian.com.] Thank You MJA for the Linkage!
[American Thinker]