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01-31-2020, 11:33 AM #1
Montana Mayor Apologizes for Signing onto Appeal for 95,000 Refugees for 2020
Montana Mayor Apologizes for Signing onto Appeal for 95,000 Refugees for 2020
01/31/2020 ~ Ann Corcoran
I guess he got an earful from Montana citizens!
You can see Mayor Kelly’s apology on Facebook, along with many comments here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?
story_fbid=1599690420155315&id=321698611287842
In case you are wondering, Mayor Bob Kelly didn’t send a letter to the US State Department in response to the President’s reform effort that we have been writing about almost daily, but had earlier joined a list (apparently still growing) of elected officials across 46 states which were demanding that the President admit 95,000 refugees in FY2020 before he actually set the ceiling at 18,000.
[Don’t forget, Democrat candidates for President are saying they want over 100,000. Biden says 125,000 and Warren says 175,000. Bernie is vague but does say he wants at least 50,000 climate refugees alone in his mix.]
However it seems that the list that I published here last September, which at the time had 361 officials requesting 95,000 refugees, is making the rounds and I saw it again a couple of days ago with 400 listed!
See Welcome Refugees!
Look around and see what jumps out at you.
There is no contact information to indicate who is behind the effort. I presume it is the nine federal refugee contractors or its lobbying arm—the Refugee Council USA—but no where is there any information that would guide elected officials when making a decision to sign on.
Even before I saw Mayor Kelly’s mea culpa I wondered who would be so irresponsible to sign this letter without any information on who is pushing it?
As I did in September, I am publishing the whole list below as a useful guide (in case it disappears) in helping you decide who to work to remove from office!
By the way, in 2017 there was much talk about China (yes, the country of China!) opening a meatpacking plant in Montana, but I have no idea if that played at all into the mayor’s thinking when he signed onto the letter in support of more refugees (more low-skilled laborers).
Here is the headline from the Great Falls Tribune:
Mayor apologizes after signing letter to Trump in support of refugees
Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly apologized Wednesday for a letter he signed last year asking President Donald Trump to support an increase in the number of refugees allowed to settle in the United States.Here we are, just what I wanted to know. The federal refugee contractors are behind the effort to ‘out’ supporters of more refugees for your towns and cities.
While Kelly said that he remains deeply concerned about displaced people in the world, including 25 million refugees, he apologized for using the mayor’s office to support the cause.
“I realize, however, that as mayor of our community, it may not be a concern you share,” Kelly wrote to residents in a post on his mayor’s Facebook page. “By implying your inclusion in my concern, I misrepresented you. For that, I am sorry. As mayor of our wonderful community, I try very hard to navigate only toward local issues or state issues that affect local communities. The national issues that currently divide us deserve little, if any role in our decision-making process at the local level.”
Soft Landing Missoula, which assists refugees in resettling in the western Montana community, asked Kelly to support the national effort.Soft Landing is a subcontractor of the International Rescue Committee.
Located in Missoula, Soft Landing is 165 miles from Great Falls which means that they have aspirations for expansion beyond their Missoula home base.
More here.
See my rather extensive Montana archive for more on what has been happening there on the contentious issue of refugees.
Did your elected officials sign on?
Go here and see that they (whoever they are!) say they plan to continue to update the list and reissue it as one more bit of news presumably with which to bash the President in advance of the 2020 Presidential contest.
LOL! Wait a few days, refresh the list, and see if Mayor Kelly’s name is removed.
You might want to compare lists, see the list I published in September. Is your elected official a newbie to the list?
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https://refugeeresettlementwatch.org/2020/01/31/montana-mayor-apologizes-for-signing-onto-appeal-for-95000-refugees-for-2020/Last edited by Beezer; 01-31-2020 at 11:37 AM.
ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE "BROKEN" OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM
DO NOT REWARD THEM - DEPORT THEM ALL
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01-31-2020, 11:38 AM #2
NO REFUGEES!!!
PUT THEM IN "SAFE ZONE" IN THEIR COUNTRY AND THEY CAN WORK AND SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS!!!ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE "BROKEN" OUR IMMIGRATION SYSTEM
DO NOT REWARD THEM - DEPORT THEM ALL
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01-31-2020, 12:51 PM #3
What a long list of counties signing up to transform their communities and burden taxpayers. In my opinion, adding third world foreign citizens who come from America hating countries is not a plus. We have seen the results in France, Germany, and other places.
Follow the money, follow those people and organizations pushing for more refugee resettlement. Democrats, globalists, and socialists rejoice. Republicans who join in the efforts do so for self interests.
Help others at home or in the vicinity of their home. We give so much money to other nations and still permit large numbers of their citizens to come here, legally and illegally.Matthew 19:26
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
____________________
Join our efforts to Secure America's Borders and End Illegal Immigration by Joining ALIPAC's E-Mail Alerts network (CLICK HERE)
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01-31-2020, 12:56 PM #4
(Link in article)
Mayor apologizes after signing letter to Trump in support of refugees
January
Karl Puckett| Great Falls Tribune
Great Falls Mayor Bob Kelly apologized Wednesday for a letter he signed last year asking President Donald Trump to support an increase in the number of refugees allowed to settle in the United States.
While Kelly said that he remains deeply concerned about displaced people in the world, including 25 million refugees, he apologized for using the mayor's office to support the cause.
“I realize, however, that as mayor of our community, it may not be a concern you share,” Kelly wrote to residents in a post on his mayor’s Facebook page. “By implying your inclusion in my concern, I misrepresented you. For that, I am sorry. As mayor of our wonderful community, I try very hard to navigate only toward local issues or state issues that affect local communities. The national issues that currently divide us deserve little, if any role in our decision-making process at the local level.”
The apology came Wednesday after a story about Kelly’s signature on the letterwas reported in E-City Beat, an online news blog.
“Regardless of one’s position on immigration, it would be one thing for Bob Kelly, as a private citizen, to participate in this sort of liberal advocacy,” Philip Faccenda writes in a piece on the letter. “It is quite another, however, for Kelly to invoke his title as the Mayor of Great Falls, and to put words into his constituents’ mouths without first checking to see if they are actually true.
Kelly should have brought a resolution before the City Commission and conducted a public hearing on the matter, Faccenda wrote.
"Refugee settlement is a complex and apparently divisive issue that each community must consider in its own way," Kelly said in his apology. “It requires community input and consideration. I now realize that by using my title of Mayor alongside my signature, I implied a larger sense of community support than I intended.”
Kelly, who was elected in November to a second two-year term as mayor running unopposed, said he felt a need to respond to the community regarding concerns about potential refugee resettlement in Great Falls, which he says isn't going to happen.
“I’ve gotten a dozen or so emails from people who are quite upset and see no need to have refuges come here ever,” Kelly told the Tribune, adding he's also received telephone calls.
Kelly joined 408 local and state elected officials in 46 states in signing an Oct. 4, 2019, letter to Trump that was sent by a conglomeration of refugee support organizations.
The letter expressed support for refugees and asked the president to set the next refugee admissions goal at 95,000 in 2020. Federally vetted refugees allowed into the country dropped from 110,000 in 2016 to a proposed 17,000 in 2020, the letter says.
Soft Landing Missoula, which assists refugees in resettling in the western Montana community, asked Kelly to support the national effort.
“So I think the letter was just a statement saying this is a value we hold dear, to be able to provide refuge to families fleeing war and conflict,” Mary Poole, executive director of Soft Landing, told the Tribune. “It’s something our country has done, I mean gosh, since the beginning of our country.”
Kelly was one of 14 mayors and state lawmakers in Montana to sign it.
“While I stand by this support of the group in Missoula, I must at the same time apologize to those in Great Falls who felt that I was making a commitment to house refugees in Great Falls without consulting the community,” Kelly said in his Facebook post.
Kelly’s apology sparked criticism and support in the comments.
“Bob, you make it sound like those of us concerned about taking refugees are not as compassionate as you!” commented Angie Seabury. “Maybe we would like to see some compassion for homeless, the abused children, the drug addicts, those of us affected by the crime in our wonderful community. Did you consult the police department? Did you consult with housing authority? This resettlement will affect all of us in the community. It’s not just a bandage on your bleeding heart.”
Rachel Weckworth Bohannon wrote Kelly showed common sense and compassion.
“Great Falls is a community I love because most of the folks here are warm and giving folks who understand treating others the way you would want to be treated no matter the color of your skin, your religious beliefs, or where you are from is important," Weckworth Bohannon wrote. "Ignore the hateful ones and continue to do what you do! You’ll always have my vote Mayor Kelly!”
His intent in signing the letter was to show support for the work of Missoula's Soft Landing, not to petition the president to gain status for Great Falls as a “receiving community” for refugees, Kelly said.
Soft Landing has helped almost 300 people over the last three years “become contributing workers, taxpayers and community members,” Kelly said, and there are a limited number of communities able to receive refugees.
Reduced federal funding and strict geographic restrictions on which communities can participate in the resettlement process preclude Great Falls from becoming a receiving center, Kelly said.
"For those concerned about refugee resettlement in our community, especially in light of our current housing challenges, increasing crime rates, and potential drain on government resources, you can rest easy.," Kelly said. "Great Falls will NOT be receiving any refugees in the foreseeable future."
Soft Landing is a not-for-profit that helps support refugee families in coming to Missoula, including Belarusians, Ukrainians and Hmong.
It is not a resettlement agency, Poole said.
“A lot of people get that mixed up,” she said.
The International Rescue Committee in Missoula has a contract with the State Department to operate a resettlement agency, she said. It provides 60 to 90 days of core services to refugees.
Soft Landing, on the other hand, is a community engagement organization working with volunteers to provide distinct programming that includes education and outreach and English tutoring. It also runs a community resource center that brings Missoulians and refugees together.
“Signing a letter doesn’t mean refugees are going to come to your city,” Poole said. “It’s a long, thorough, highly regulated process.”
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...es/2855059001/Last edited by GeorgiaPeach; 01-31-2020 at 12:59 PM.
Matthew 19:26
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
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