Posted on November 10, 2015 by creeping
‘…it will be many years, if ever, before this population will cease to be a net fiscal drain on American taxpayers…’
It costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $65,000 to resettle one Middle Eastern refugee over the first five years, which is 12 times what it would cost to care for that same refugee in a neighboring country in the region, according to a new study.
The Center for Immigration Studies cites “heavy welfare use” as the main reason why refugees are so costly to resettle. This flies in the face of oft-quoted comments by U.S. mayors who claim refugees add to their tax base and promote economic growth, making for a more “culturally diverse” and “economically resilient” city.
The CIS study indicates they are more of a drain on the economy than a boost.
The $64,370 cost to U.S. taxpayers over five years is a “conservative estimate” presented in a new study released by CIS’ chief researcher and statistician.
If the U.S. takes in 35,000 refugees next year from countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, which is a reasonable estimate for fiscal 2016, it would cost the U.S. taxpayer $2.3 billion just in the first five years. This does not include the cost of refugees from non-Middle Eastern nations, which will be another 50,000 refugees costing at least another $2.5 billion.
The cost of resettlement includes heavy welfare use by Middle Eastern refugees, said the lead author of the study, Steven Camarota, the CIS’ director of research.
“Very heavy use of welfare programs by Middle Eastern refugees, and the fact that they have only 10.5 years of education on average, makes it likely that it will be many years, if ever, before this population will cease to be a net fiscal drain on public coffers – using more in public services than they pay in taxes,” he said.
As WND has reported numerous times, 91 percent of refugees from the Middle East receive food stamps, 68 percent receive cash assistance and 23 percent live in public housing. Costs also include processing refugees, cash assistance given to new refugees, and aid to refugee-receiving communities.
While the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement often claims that most refugees are self-sufficient within five years, that claim is deceiving.
The ORR defines “self-sufficiency” as any refugee that no longer receives cash welfare payments. A household is still considered “self-sufficient” if it is using any number of non-cash programs such as food stamps, public housing or Medicaid.
“So we have a pretty good idea of what refugees cost, and it’s a lot,” Camarota told WND. “This raises the question of what is the most effective way to help people, and it turns out helping them in their home country or in a neighboring country may be the most effective. You can’t just ignore that question. Right now the United Nations has a $2.5 billion deficit in helping refugees in the Middle East. Funding is limited.”
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