Conservative Blogger
Saturday, April 30, 2016
US weighing under-the-radar routes for Syrian refugees?
The Obama administration appears to be bowing to international pressure and pursuing under-the-radar “alternative” ways to bring in more Syrian and other refugees -- as soon as this year.
The latest indication that the administration is preparing to take in more than the 10,000 Syrians this year it already has committed to follows a March 30 “high-level meeting” on Syrian refugee admission in Geneva, Switzerland -- convened by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
At the meeting, attended by State Department officials, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for countries to pursue “alternative avenues” for refugees – such as student and work visas, and expanded family reunification programs.
“These pathways can take many forms: not only resettlement, but also more flexible mechanisms for family reunification, including extended family members, [labor] mobility schemes, student visa and scholarships, as well as visa for medical reasons,” Grandi said. This followed an adviser suggesting the U.S. ask universities to offer scholarships to Syrian students, and help Syrian-Americans bring in their extended families outside the “time-consuming” refugee resettlement process.
The State Department immediately issued a media note reaffirming the “commitment to resettle at least 10,000 Syrians in FY 2016 and increase the total number of resettled refugees from around the world to 100,000 by the end of FY 2017.”
Additionally, in a wordy statement, the State Department appeared to agree with many of Grandi’s conclusions.
“The United States joins UNHCR in calling for new ways nations, civil society, the private sector, and individuals can together address the global refugee challenge. The United States encourages other countries to consider expanding resettlement and other forms of admissions for all refugee populations, ensuring that more of those in need have the opportunity to start their lives anew in safety and with dignity,” the note said.
Nayla Rush, senior researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies, said she thinks the administration is “100 percent” behind the idea.
“My fear is they aren’t really going to let anyone know about it,” Rush said.
Unclear is whether the refugees can be properly vetted, especially if they come in through an array of different visa programs. The Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for lower immigration levels, reported on the U.N. meeting earlier this week.
In its media note, the State Department said the U.S. “has created a program to allow U.S. citizens and permanent residents to file refugee applications for their Syrian family members.”
Rush believes this is a sign the Obama administration is already expanding the family reunification program.
“Why create a family reunification program for Syrian refugees when refugees in the U.S. are already entitled to ask for their spouse and unmarried children under 21 to join them? Unless of course, the aim is to widen family circles to include aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers,” Rush said in a blog post on the subject
The State Department did not say if it was looking at expanding the student visa or family reunification programs, but told FoxNews.com that Syrians being considered on non-immigrant and immigrant visa categories must be considered in accordance with U.S. immigration law.
The department has worked with the Syrian Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis since 2012 to help students and scholars impacted by the bloody civil war. A State Department official said this consortium includes U.S. colleges that have committed to hosting Syrian students and scholars. The official said “several immigrant visa options” are available to Syrians, including family-sponsored visas.
Shuffling potential refugees into other programs could prove problematic.
On one hand, standard immigration vetting often requires a higher degree of documentation, as officials are more likely to waive requirements for asylum-seekers or refugees who are assumed to have fled their homes quickly. However, the Obama administration repeatedly has heralded its two-year process for refugees as one of the most rigorous in existence. Standard immigration programs usually take much less time.
Any attempt to expand the process could encounter opposition from Congress. In November, the House passed a bill to enhance Syrian refugee screening, but the legislation stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition.
Last month, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who co-authored the bill, wrote in a FoxNews.com op-ed that the Syrian refugee crisis risked becoming a “terrorist Trojan horse.”
Senator seeks secret memo used as ‘loophole’ for Obama regs
The Obama administration is facing pressure from Congress to release a secret Reagan-era memo allegedly used to this day to shield a slew of executive actions and regulations from congressional scrutiny.
At issue is a 1983 memorandum of understanding (MOU) that permits the Treasury Department to “escape” a review of economic costs and benefits when it comes to IRS rules.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, says this has helped the administration pursue a range of unilateral changes – and he wants the memo made public.
“This non-public MOU between the Treasury and White House further cloaks the regulatory process in secrecy and decreases regulatory transparency at a time when the Executive Branch is attempting to achieve a great deal of policy through regulatory measures generally and tax regulations specifically,” Hatch wrote to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
In the letter, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee argued the memo has been used by the Executive Branch to skirt congressional scrutiny for changes on everything from corporate taxes to ObamaCare. Committee sources told FoxNews.com the memo is a “loophole” being abused in order to reduce transparency.
According to Hatch, the 1983 guidance generally allows IRS rules to get around what’s known as the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
Under that law, Congress typically has the authority to review and rescind “major” federal regulations -- those with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more. If a rule is listed as “non-major,” the cost-benefit analysis is not required.
Here’s the rub: The 1983 memo, according to Hatch, generally describes IRS rules as not “major.”
This may have helped smooth the way for major regulations. In fact, neither the Employee Individual Health Care Mandate nor the Employee Health Care Mandate was listed as major by the administration or agencies.
Hatch said, given the sheer number of regulations, more scrutiny is needed by Congress. In his letter, he cited as an example a rule that controls the type of font companies can use for the word “turkey” when marketing “turkey ham.”
But it is larger issues that are of real concern. Committee sources note the memo takes on new importance in light of a host of new regulations issued by the Treasury Department aimed at tackling corporate inversions.
Hatch said he recognized why the IRS would want to issue new rules without undue interference from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but those justifications do not allay his concerns.
The letter was first reported by The Washington Times.
Sam Batkins, director of regulatory policy with the conservative American Action Forum (run by former Congressional Budget Office head Doug Holtz-Eakin), said the memo may have been originally used to let the IRS make “ministerial” changes to tax law that occur annually.
“If you were to tell the average person that the Congress has not been able to vote on any major tax proposed by the administration, I think they would be very surprised,” Batkins said.
The office learned of the memo through correspondence between the committee and the administration.
The Treasury Department has until May 12 to respond. A representative with the department did not respond to a FoxNews.com request for comment.
Trump brushes off protests to address Calif. GOP, likens arrival to ‘crossing the border’
Donald Trump brushed aside yet another protest Friday — even joking that "it was fun" — and told a gathering of California Republicans that he's winning "landslides" on the road to what he described as a record-setting performance in the GOP primaries.
Trump addressed the California GOP convention as part of a very visible push to win what could be a decisive primary in the state next month.
He only used the top of his speech to address the demonstrations that have followed him since he got to the state and that delayed Friday’s address by about an hour.
“That was not the easiest entrance I’ve ever made. … It felt like I was crossing the border actually,” Trump said.
But he said despite being told it would be easier to skip the speech, he couldn’t “let these people down.”
“It was fun. It was a little different,” Trump said, later adding he had to get through “dirt and mud and under fences” to get in, and would do the same to get out.
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The bulk of his speech was otherwise standard Trump fare, as the front-runner blasted what he called a “rigged” delegate system while mocking rival Ted Cruz as having “no path to victory.”
Cruz, earlier in the day, said "Donald is desperately trying to convince everyone that the race is over."
Before Trump even arrived on Friday, protesters packed the area outside the hotel venue in Burlingame, Calif. Protesters could be seen breaking through barricades, as well as picking them up and tossing them aside, as they moved toward the front of the hotel.
One Trump supporter told Fox News he was confronted by the protesters. “I got punched, beat up, eggs thrown [at] me. … I got spit on,” he said.
A dozen protesters also linked arms to block the road in front of the hotel near San Francisco International Airport, but no one was using the street because police had already closed it to traffic. Protesters also draped a large "Stop Hate" banner outside the hotel. At least one could be seen waving the Mexican flag.
In Southern California the night before, violent demonstrations led to 17 arrests as the Republican presidential contender brought his campaign to conservative Orange County on Thursday.
While Trump held a rally at a fairgrounds amphitheater, dozens waved anti-Trump signs outside in what were initially mostly peaceful protests and traded insults with masses of the candidate's supporters who had lined up to see him. Later in the evening, however, the protests swelled and grew rowdy and spilled into the streets.
One Trump supporter had his face bloodied in a scuffle as he tried to drive out of the arena. One man jumped on a police car, leaving its front and rear windows smashed and the top dented and other protesters sprayed graffiti on a police car and the Pacific Amphitheatre's marquee.
Dozens of cars -- including those of Trump supporters trying to leave -- were stuck in the street as several hundred demonstrators blocked the road, waved Mexican flags and posed for selfies. Some protesters badgered Trump's fans as they walked to their cars in the parking lot.
Police in riot gear and on horseback pushed the crowd back and away from the venue. There were no major injuries and police did not use any force. The crowd began dispersing about three hours after the speech ended.
Seventeen people were arrested, Costa Mesa police Sgt. Mike Manson said.
Trump has drawn large crowds across the country, with some of his events marred by protests and scuffles. The Pacific Amphitheatre was filled to its capacity of about 8,000 and a couple thousand more were turned away, Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Stichter said.
Earlier this week, a Trump rally in nearby Anaheim turned contentious when his supporters and protesters clashed, and several people were hit by pepper spray. Trump was not present.
Cruz says Indiana will decide GOP race
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declared Friday that the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination will be decided next week in Indiana – making clear he's staking his underdog bid on a strong performance there.
“It gives me great comfort that this primary is going to be decided by the Midwestern common sense of the Hoosier State,” Cruz said during a one-hour Fox News-hosted town hall in downtown Indianapolis.
Cruz, speaking with anchor Sean Hannity, did not say definitively whether he would drop out if he loses Indiana on Tuesday, but described the "heartland" state as critical.
Cruz trails front-runner Donald Trump by hundreds of delegates. Currently, the delegate count has Trump leading with 994, Cruz in second with 566 and Ohio Gov. John Kasich in third with 153. Cruz, at this point, cannot reach the requisite 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination before the July convention.
But Cruz said, “Here’s the simple reality – I believe nobody is going to get to 1,237.”
Cruz told the crowd Trump is one of the “greatest frauds in modern electoral history” and is “pretending to be an outsider.”
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“Those comments reveal everything you need to know about Washington,” Cruz said. “Listen, we don’t have two parties in Washington. We have one corrupt bipartisan mess in Washington.”
Cruz called Boehner’s comments “striking,” adding the former house speaker was “letting out his inner-Trump.”
“He praised Hillary Clinton and he praised Donald Trump. He said, Donald is my friend, we go texting, we go golfing, he’s my buddy,” Cruz said.
He added, “I don’t know Boehner. I don’t think we’ve said 50 words to each other in our lives.”
Cruz gave “credit” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, saying “he is an honest socialist. He actually says what he believes.”
Former HP businesswoman Carly Fiorina, whom Cruz tapped earlier this week to be his running mate, also joined him at the event. Fiorina had been a GOP White House contender before dropping out of the race.
Fiorina kept up the attack on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, and Trump.
“Donald Trump’s contributed seven times to Hillary Clinton,” Fiorina said. “I’m sorry, it is not a choice or a contrast when Donald Trump agrees with Hillary Clinton on so many positions.”
Fiorina said that both Trump and Clinton are both “the ultimate insiders.”
“When Ted Cruz is the president of the United States, I suspect Hillary Clinton will be prosecuted.”
She added, “How long have Republicans and conservatives said we can only win by presenting a clear contrast, so here it is – people of Indiana, Cruz-Fiorina, Trump-Clinton.”
At a separate address in California, though, Trump mocked Cruz's decision to announce Fiorina as his running mate. "I like Carly, but when she left she had no votes," he said.
Speaking to California Republicans, Trump said of Cruz: "He has no path to victory."
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