Resettlement information

The Basics of Refugee Resettlement in the Upstate (Including Common Sense Solutions)
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It is widely reported that Christians in the Middle East avoid United Nations refugee camps due to persecution, so it’s possible that we won’t be helping many Christians.
We are not a “Wilson-Fish” state, which means that for UN refugees to be placed here, the Governor has to agree to it, which she has.  Her phone # is 803-734-2100.
Other concerns include the following:
SECURITY
– According to Mr. Michael Steinback, Assistant Director for the FBI, it’s not possible to vet these refugees. He recently testified at a House Homeland Security hearing that the process isn’t even close to being under their control.
–  Refugees are in our state for up to 90 days before they are required to have a medical examination.
–  Terrorist organizations have publicly stated they are exploiting the refugee program to travel to the west.
–  The 5 richest Gulf States have said that THEY WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY OF THESE REFUGEES due to the security threat.
–  The Greenville sheriff was unaware that his county has already received 16 refugees.
FINANCIAL
–  They receive a social security number as soon as they arrive.
–  They are eligible for Medicaid as soon as they arrive.
–  We are told that refugees quickly become “self-sustaining”, which should not be equated with self-sufficient. Self-sustaining simply means that aid to these refugees is no longer provided by the local contractor. However, the taxpayer is still responsible for the benefits offered to these refugees.
–  They receive CASH and social services for 8 months, but then what?
–  Our already taxed system then faces unfunded mandates on the state and local levels for social services, law enforcement, schools, health care, etc.
–  How are our most vulnerable citizens in South Carolina impacted by the benefits offered to refugees?
–  In the state of Virginia, evidence shows that years later, refugees’ wages are less than half of the average Virginian, while refugees are 17.2 times more likely to be on public assistance.
–  They can get a green card within a year.
POTENTIAL FOR CORRUPTION
–  The program has become a cash cow (tens of millions of dollars) for various “religious” organizations and other contractors who employ teams of lobbyists.
–  Contractors are paid per person, and are thereby incentivized to get refugees here.
–  The UN chooses which refugees we get.  This was never the original intent of the program.
–  This program has not been re-evaluated since it began in the 1970s.
–  The program is not at all transparent and seems intentionally convoluted.
–  Hired contractors such as “Welcoming America” are utilized to marginalize or silence “pockets of resistance in the local community.
SOCIAL/CULTURAL
–  Rather than encouraging assimilation into our culture, the program stresses that communities must adapt to the newcomers.
–  Citizens in the communities where refugees are placed have little to no input.
–  The US has historically accepted more refugees than all other countries combined.
COMMON SENSE REFORMS
–  Every effort should be made to safely keep them as close to their native countries as possible.  We can help 200 refugees overseas for the $20,000 – $30,000 spent to care for just one refugee here.
–  The United Nations should have no role in choosing refugees for the United States. There are other organizations (Samaritan’s Purse, RUN Ministries, Nazarene Fund, among others) currently working in the Middle East that could help these refugees.  These organizations are on the ground and know which Christians are truly being persecuted.
–  The federal refugee program has become a bloated, billion dollar State Department program. It should return to its original intent, where refugees are cared for by churches and paid for privately with financial sponsors.
–  Communities should be included in the process when their neighborhoods are targeted to place refugees. Residents should receive full disclosure about the social and economic impact a certain group of refugees will have on a city or town. This information should be presented in a public forum with the local citizenry having the option to reject the proposal.
–  There should be an accurate, easy to access tracking system designed to gather required data such as dependence on welfare, food stamps, cash assistance, employment status, use of health care resources/ funding, etc.
–  Finally, there should be a mechanism for refugees to permanently return to their homeland in the future if they wish.  Some who have come have ended up miserably unhappy, but have been unable to obtain the funds to go home.