Then There Are "These" Refugee Costs - Granite Grok

Then There Are “These” Refugee Costs

“All institutions are prone to corruption and to the vices of their members.”  —Morris West

Beatrice Munyenyezi  has resided nearby here in Manchester since 2002 .  Like many others who have come  to the United States as Refugees, Munyenyezi came to raise her children, work and, essentially, “live the American Dream.”  But also unlike many other refugees, Munyenyezi presently stands accused of personally participating in the Rwandan genocide, as an extremist Hutu who not only killed, but had a hand in the rapes of untold Tutsi victims.

U.S. Immigration in its’ U.S. District Court complaint in Concord, accuses Munyenyezi of lying  to enter the United States to gain citizenship. Currently behind bars without bail, Munyenyezi  is slated to begin trial this Wednesday on fraud charges.

Munyenyezi’s present situation is hardly unique. For decades, American intelligence gave  “safe haven” in the States to Nazis and Nazi collaborators in the wake of World War II. In November of 2010, a 600-page report details how The U.S. Justice Department worked tirelessly to keep hidden from the public, details of decades of conflicts with other nations over the presence of war criminals here in the U.S. and abroad.  Like Munyenyezi, these criminals were accused of crimes against humanity, Nazi’s lived among us, living in nice homes, enjoying the American dream, while questions swirled about their background and past activities. But the similarity ends there. Beatrice Munyenyezi is charged with a crime the U.S. government alleges she committed here. 

Authorities assert she is not the innocent refugee claimed to be when she applied for a visa and citizenship in 1995. She has pleaded not guilty to two counts of lying to obtain U.S. citizenship on her  applications, further denying she had any role in the Rwanda genocide activities.

SO WHAT OF IT?  Is the indictment credible? Does the Government have a case? There is simply no way to sort it out from press accounts. Munyenyezi comes from a place (Rwanda) where everybody lies: The government and the people great and small…everybody or anybody with an agenda, an ax to grind, a score to settle, lies. It is part of that culture. Rwanda gained its independence in 1962 and a series of coups, civil wars and bloody insurgencies have consistently followed. One cannot know if some former compatriot is simply throwing Munyenyezi “under the bus” to save his or her own skin or for some other unknown gain because that is, “how they roll” in Rwanda.

In the immediate case, it is charged that she lied on her application.  Even if she is found not to have taken part in the heinous activities alleged, yet did lie on her application, she would still be subject to the appropriate penalties for that drime. That is the scope of  the U.S. case And because the Rwandan government cannot  be trusted for credibility, That is up to others to sort out.  The only thing we have to hang our hat on is the notion that our Government does not indict people unless credible evidence exists that a crime has been committed…and that is of no comfort at all.

Summarily, what price are we, the citizens paying for the government’s inefficiencies that would saddle the txpayer with these costs for detention, trial, lawyers, witness fees and related travel expenses? I personally think it is huge.

Beatrice Munyenyezi filed for bankruptcy in 2008, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt: a $222,000 mortgage, $14,125 in student loans, $4,198 in municipal taxes and fees, and $30,000 in credit card and other unsecured debt liabilities. It is believed that she lived in her home for nearly two years without paying the mortgage and it also appears she didn’t pay bills for at least two years.  And now there is this very high-profile trial to take place where defense lawyers had to go to Rwanda to interview witnesses and likely take depositions — on the U.S. taxpayer dime, of course.

How much money did we spend on Nazi’s or Serbs or others from the African continent where there are those who say the committed atrocities? The bottom line is this: The present policy is costly. It is a noble and righteous cause to take in the refugees and persecutees from other places but the reality is that we won’t be doing it if the nation goes broke.  Our own city of Manchester has felt the crush of taking in refugees and the concerns fall only on tin-eared bureaucrats.

 

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