Refugees settling in Columbus (Cleveland, Cincinnati: unemployed, neighborhoods, to live in)

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by motorman

As TomJones123 already mentioned, I'm not sure that it was ever a question about the total number of recent immigrants who have moved to Columbus, but why and how they got there--because the difference between inadvertently referring to a group of people as "immigrants" (when actually they were "refugees") can be terribly misleading. The Columbus Somali question is such a case, and that's why it being critically looked at here without the usual rose-colored booster eyeglasses.

Again, the majority of immigrants in Columbus are not refugees, and being a refugree does not equate to forced assignment into a specific city. I've personally known immigrants from places like Vietnam (immigrated in the late 1970s as a refugee) and Somalia, and none of them were assigned to Columbus. They were able to choose where they wanted to go.

[motorman]

Nobody is referring to the the majority of immigrants, but to those Somali, Myanmar, and other refugees who were assigned to Columbus--and as numerous sources (including the Dispatch) have clearly documented, that number has been considerable and the ensuing problems they've caused has long ago reached the crisis stage. Quite candidly, a huge influx of Somalians, like what descended upon Columbus, would be the absolutely the last thing any responsible Cincinnatian would ever wish for.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

I've personally known immigrants from places like Vietnam (immigrated in the late 1970s as a refugee) and Somalia, and none of them were assigned to Columbus.

And how many of the thousands of assigned refugees have you known?

Really, my joshing aside, Motorman has some good points.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by motorman

Nobody is referring to the the majority of immigrants, but to those Somali, Myanmar, and other refugees who were assigned to Columbus--and as numerous sources (including the Dispatch) have clearly documented, that number has been considerable and the ensuing problems they've caused has long ago reached the crisis stage. Quite candidly, a huge influx of Somalians, like what descended upon Columbus, would be the absolutely the last thing any responsible Cincinnatian would ever wish for.

You both were strongly implying that the reason Columbus was gaining large number of immigrants was because the government was assigning them there, so we absolutely were discussing the majority. Can you provide any links, like to the Dispatch, that says that the Somalian immigrants were assigned to Columbus in large numbers?

And you still have not proven that immigrants, let alone Somalians, are causing massive problems for Columbus. Certainly not in crime rates. And candidly, Cincinnati should be doing more to attract immigrants.

[TomJones123]

^^ You speak in extremes and absolutes when life is rarely that way and then you answer questions with questions. It all seems like an effort to muddy the waters. No one is claiming mass anything. Here, just a quick refresher.

Not true. In actuality, anyone who googles "Columbus & Somali crime" will quickly discover a plethora of articles, videos, and data on this increasing Central Ohio dilemma. Examples, gleaned in only minutes, included: (1) arson at the Masjid Salama mosque (10/19/09) where several Somali-owned businesses surrounding the mosque were heavily damaged in an attempt by another local Somali mosque, Masjid Ibn Tamiya to take over; (2) a summit focusing on the future of Somali youth (4/23/09) as extremism beckons, held at the Embassy Suites; (3) Columbus banks wanting no part of the Somali transfer of money for terrorism (8/21/11); (4) Somali women dealing with neighborhood crime at the Capital Parks Apts (3/7/12), where in one two-year period more than 600 crime calls were made to Columbus police; (5) Somali gangs moving into sex trafficking and fraud (2/7/11) in MSP, Nashville, and Columbus; (6) Somalis involved in an astronomical amount of traffic accidents where they pretend to speak no English, etc. This list was compiled in merely 20-minutes of elementary research--and includes much more than any alledged "anti-immigration sites." Needless to say, this "researcher" became exhausted and bored after reading only a few pages of this stuff, but the point about its easy availability needed to be made--and these sources extended for pages.

^^ These are very specific examples of what motorman was talking about. Not massive and not majority of anything. But certainly problematic in it's own right.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

^^ You speak in extremes and absolutes when life is rarely that way and then you answer questions with questions. It all seems like an effort to muddy the waters. No one is claiming mass anything. Here, just a quick refresher.

^^ These are very specific examples of what motorman was talking about. Not massive and not majority of anything. But certainly problematic in it's own right.

Then your point makes no sense. If we are really going to break crime down to individual events, we can come up with tons of them for any group of people. This doesn't prove anything other than that all types of people commit crime. This doesn't, however, support the argument that crime is higher with immigrants. All crime is a problem, that goes without saying, but if immigrants aren't committing crime at a higher rate and contributing to an overall more dangerous neighborhood or city, how can the argument really be made that immigrants are inherently bad?

[motorman]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

...And candidly, Cincinnati should be doing more to attract immigrants.

Very much agreed, but, if you don't mind, we'd like to politely sidestep the politically-charged dropping of unskilled and uneducated African refugees on our doorstep, as Columbus has chosen to do--after all, our city does not need another South Avondale, Winton Terrace, nor Walnut Hills. Our most valuable immigrants are presently trickling in from cities like Tel Aviv, Hyderabad, and Lille, as they migrate into and through highly-desired corporate settings such as P&G, GE Jet Engines, or the UC/Hospital District. It would be ideal if the city could attract many more Hispanics and Asians, as do the Far West and Sunbelt cities.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by motorman

Very much agreed, but, if you don't mind, we'd like to politely sidestep the politically-charged dropping of unskilled and uneducated African refugees on our doorstep, as Columbus has chosen to do--after all, our city does not need another South Avondale, Winton Terrace, nor Walnut Hills. Our most valuable immigrants are presently trickling in from cities like Tel Aviv, Hyderabad, and Lille, as they migrate into and through highly-desired corporate settings such as P&G, GE Jet Engines, or the UC/Hospital District. It would be ideal if the city could attract many more Hispanics and Asians, as do the Far West and Sunbelt cities.

Well, unfortunately for Cincinnati, if you have policies that attract immigrants, you attract them from everywhere, and they are all types of people. So either you attract them and take the chance that you get those that you personally find undesirable, or you don't attract them at all, at least not in any significant number.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Well, unfortunately for Cincinnati, if you have policies that attract immigrants, you attract them from everywhere

I can see it now. Scores of potential immigrants, huddled around a computer monitor, reviewing various city's policies to see which is more attractive before relocating.

People move for opportunity. If Columbus is providing opportunity on taxpayer dollars then what is the difference between that and any other government handout? Cincinnati, as noted earlier, does fine attracting foreigners with medical and other corporate opportunities.

[EVT]

I hope anyone relocating here, refugee or otherwise, can feel welcome and at home. Everyone needs a place where they can feel they belong. Maybe Columbus can be that place for these people.