Letters

Refugees: Americans should care for own

By Janet Walters, Missoulian

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I have followed the issue of refugee resettlement with great interest and concern, and observed the effect it has had in Europe as well as in major cities across the United States. Unlike legal immigration of the past, where immigrants have properly assimilated and contributed to American culture and way of life, the current wave of refugees do not.

While safety and security are important issues, the financial burden on local communities that accept refugees is significant. An analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies in November 2015 states, “…each Middle Eastern refugee creates a cost of $64,370 in the first five years on average. Per-refugee costs include $9,230 spent by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). They also include $55,140 in expenditures on welfare and education for the first five years. While the costs for ORR and PRM are only in the first year, welfare and education costs persist for many years. At the household level, the five-year cost is $257,481. It should be clear that what drives these costs are the initial expenditures by ORR and PRM and the very high use of welfare by Middle Eastern refugees” (http://cis.org/High-Cost-of-Resettling-Middle-Eastern-Refugees) .

Many Americans are presently in need of support through taxpayer-subsidized social programs – the same programs upon which refugees become dependent when they arrive in our communities. To expand American entitlement programs to include support for refugees from other nations could push many taxpaying American families to the breaking point financially. Just as the United States cannot police the world, we are similarly unable to provide social assistance to the world. As Americans, I believe we ought to take care of our own citizens first.

Janet Walters,

Lakeside

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