Refugee resettlement and national security

Report by Fred Elbel, Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform

In order to qualify as a refugee, a person must meet the following definition from Section 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act:

"any person who... is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion...."

A refugee enters the United States from abroad. An asylee is already in the U.S., either legally or illegally, when the application is made.

The Refugee Act of 1980 codified our present refugee policies. It was intended to address Cold War era persecution of repressive governments that actively prevented their citizens from emigrating. More than 2 million refugees have been resettled in the United States in the first 25 years after the Refugee Act was passed.

Today, refugee situations are the result of the breakdown of government control in countries around the world, which leaves a vacuum where religious fanaticism, ethnic separation, and crime flourish. Most notably, religious intolerance results in persecution of entire classes of people (e.g., Christians and Jews), who are forcefully encouraged to out-migrate.

Radical Islamic terrorism exists today on a scale unimagined in 1980. Freedom and openness of Western societies are readily exploited by those wishing to do us harm. As a consequence, the United States urgently needs to update its refugee laws in order to address serious national security concerns.

Refugee resettlement in Colorado

Refugee resettlement comprises 10 percent of legal immigration into the United States. However, refugees are disproportionately settled in metropolitan communities. In 2011, 1,878 refugees were resettled in Colorado. As of May, 2012, a total of 8,144 refugees had been resettled in Colorado. Denver ranked 24th in the number of refugees resettled from 1983 to 2004, with 15,848 refugees living in Denver even back in the year 2000.

Over a dozen years ago, Colorado recognized the importance of securely identifying its residents. In 2003, Colorado passed HB-1224 - the Colorado Secure and Verifiable Identity Document Act to ensure that only identification authorized specifically by United States government agencies will be acceptable in Colorado. Notwithstanding this concern, it is entirely likely that refugees resettled by the federal government in Colorado are not adequately vetted and identified.

Inappropriate resettlement

In November 2015 after the Paris Islamic terrorist attacks, President Obama redoubled effort on his commitment to bring 10,000 Syrian "refugees" into the United States. This raises several points:

• In actuality, a sizeable proportion of these "refugees" are not Syrian.
   
• Most of the "refugees" are young men of military age.
   
• It is not possible to adequately vet these "refugees" to ensure that they are not radical Islamic terrorists - or will become terrorists.
   
• These "refugees", and muslim tribal refugees in general, do not assimilate into American society.
   
• These "refugees" should more sensibly be placed in the middle East in areas near their home countries and in cultures to which they relate.

• Obama Recommits to Bring Syrian Refugees into U.S.
   
• Colorado won't block Syrian refugees
   
• FBI Has Nearly 1,000 Active ISIS Probes Inside U.S.
   
• 51% of America’s Muslims Want Sharia Law: An Islamic Fifth Column Builds Inside USA
   
• America's enemies within: How nearly SEVENTY have been arrested in America over ISIS plots in last 18 months - including refugees who had been given safe haven but turned to terror

The refugee resettlement racket

Refugee resettlement is a hugely profitable business. Voluntary agencies (VOLAGS) not only promote and encourage refugee in-migration, but receive staggering amounts of federal supporting grants.

The Social Contract Summer, 2013 issue exposed the Resettlement Racket in great detail.