November 16, 2008
Shelbyville Times Gazette at the forefront of reporting on recent government revelation about tens of thousands of illegal Somalis in US
Once again, the award-winning Tennessee newspaper, the Times Gazette, is leading the mainstream media in reporting on a critical issue involving our flawed legal immigration system and its impact on national security. Last week the US State Department quietly released in fact sheet' format a bombshell admission-tens of thousands of Somali refugees are in the US illegally. (also see Resettlement Watch website)
Focusing on Tennessee Somali and other African refugees, the Times Gazette interviewed leaders of the refugee industry who dismissed the importance of the State Department's fact sheet, saying the fraud was not happening in Tennessee. (SEE ARTICLE)
Holly Johnson, State Refugee Coordinator for the Tennessee Office for Refugees said Friday that to her knowledge, the suspension "has not had a significant impact on the local program."
"It will impact refugees nationwide who have submitted a non-fraudulent application for a parent, spouse, or minor child because they will be separated from their family indefinitely," she said.
Johnson said all resettlement agencies "are under strict guidelines regarding the reporting of suspected fraud in refugee families, and we are no different."
"I take it very seriously," Johnson told the Times-Gazette. "Of the hundreds of resettlement cases that I have handled in the ten years that I have worked in the local resettlement program, there were only two cases (in the state) where I suspected the possibility of fraud."
Dear Ms. Johnson, we hear Tennessee is actually a hotbed for Somali immigration fraud.
Read the Times Gazette story here.
An afterthought--> The State Dept. has admitted that 80% of Somali family reunification cases involve fraud, but you gotta laugh, you watch, every state will say it's not our Somalis who are illegally in the US.
