From WND By Leo
Hohmann
South Carolina has been at the
forefront of the battle against President Obama’s refugee resettlement
plans for nearly a year, with grassroots activists fighting not only the
White House but their own Republican Gov. Nikki Haley.
Since that
time, it has become apparent to South Carolina conservatives, including
many who voted for Haley, that she is a supporter of Obama’s drive to
convert millions of recent immigrants into “new Americans” by the time
he leaves office, using not only the United Nations refugee pipeline but
also a steady influx of illegal immigrants from Central America.
Haley has supported the president’s plan to bring in refugees from
jihadist hotspots like Syria and Iraq, the activists say, while also
quietly embracing Obama’s resettlement of illegal Central American
children in their state, using the family courts to secretly place them
in communities without their knowledge or approval.
So now they’re taking their
battle against Haley into the courtroom, filing a lawsuit against the
governor, the State Department of Social Services, and two church-based
organizations that help the government transplant refugees not only in
South Carolina but dozens of cities and towns across America.
The
suit seeks to halt all resettlement of refugees in South Carolina “until
a full accounting of any and all federal money used in this program and
specifically where it was allocated and how allocated (and) in which
counties.”
South Carolina’s brouhaha over refugees erupted in
March 2015 when a local newspaper ran an article “announcing” that World
Relief Corp. planned to partner with churches and resettle about a
dozen Syrians in the Spartanburg area. Secretary of State John Kerry
dispatched his top refugee overseer, Assistant Secretary of State Anne
Richard, to the Palmetto state to calm nerves.
Thus far no Syrians have been sent to Spartanburg and only three have been placed in the state, near Columbia.
The plaintiff in the civil case is Brian Bilbro, a husband and father
of two young girls who lives near Columbia in Richland County and works
in medical sales. He says he and other South Carolina families have not
had their concerns addressed, or even taken seriously, by Haley’s
administration or the state legislature.
“I’m not a part of any
right wing groups, not involved with the NRA, just a normal taxpaying
citizen who is concerned for the safety of his family,” Bilbro told WND.
“Over
the past year I’ve really become aware and concerned about what’s going
on in our world and our country and the fact that the Muslim states
have really taken it up a notch toward Christians and people like
myself,” Bilbro added. “I’m not an Islamophobe but I’m just observing
and if anyone can’t look at Europe and see what’s happening there then
they have their heads in the sand. These people are getting very
aggressive and I look at my daughters not as people they can do what
they want with. I want to protect them. I just said, somebody’s got to
stand up and make a stand, so really I did it for our children and the
children of our state.”
Bilbro attended a legislative committee
hearing on refugees in Columbia last month but didn’t feel like his
concerns were taken seriously by the lawmakers.
“One senator said
it’s just the way the world is now, that we live in a more dangerous
world, and tough luck. He didn’t care that 26 citizens had expressed
their concerns,” Bilbro said.
Haley endorses ‘amnesty’ candidate Rubio
Even
though South Carolina is a heavily Republican state, with a key
presidential primary looming on Saturday, it remains under the control
of the establishment wing of the party, a fact that is borne out by the
string of recent endorsements: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has
endorsed Jeb Bush for president, while the state’s other senator, Tim
Scott, has endorsed Marco Rubio, and Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., has
endorsed Rubio.
But tea party-type activists say the most stunning
betrayal has come from Haley. After first saying she would not endorse a
candidate prior to the March 1 primary, Haley announced Wednesday she
is falling in line with the other state Republican leaders and backing
Rubio, author of the 2013 Gang of Eight immigration bill that
conservatives called “amnesty.”
Just last month, Haley was quoted in the Washington Post saying:
“Marco Rubio believes in amnesty, which I don’t.” She later walked back
the comments when it was clear she had caused problems for the Rubio
campaign in South Carolina.
The rise of Donald Trump in this state
illustrates just how far from their base the one-time tea party
darlings – Haley, Gowdy and Scott – have strayed.
According to the
latest CNN/ORC poll, Trump is running away from the GOP pack in South
Carolina while beating the drum against illegal immigration, Muslim
immigration, and refugee resettlement.
Conservative firebrand and Trump supporter Ann Coulter on Wednesday heaped scorn on Haley for endorsing Rubio.
No comments:
Post a Comment