The Brian Mudd Show

The Brian Mudd Show

There are two sides to stories and one side to facts. That's Brian's mantra and what drives him to get beyond the headlines.Full Bio

 

Cheat Sheet Q&A: Who pays for refugees to resettle to the US & how long do we support them?

Cheat Sheet Q&A: Who pays for refugees to resettle to the US & how long do we support them?

Today's entry: Who is paying for these refugees to resettle. If it's us, how long do we support them?

Bottom Line: This is a topic I've tackled on a couple of occasions in bits and pieces but often specific to Syrian refugees. With regard to middle-eastern refugees settled into the United States, here's the information pertaining to your question...

  • We (taxpayers) pay to bring refugees into the United States.
  • According to the Center for Immigration studies the typical immigrant relies on government assistance for five years
  • The average five year cost per refugee is $64,370
  • 84,995 refugees were brought into the United States in 2016

So what happens when we bring refugees into the US?  At best they immediately end up with government assistance, placing further strain on welfare and related assistance programs and at best are successfully employed within a short period of time. Part of the issue with regard to costs and government reliance. Aside from cultural, and often language barriers, education is a huge issue. The average adult refugee is educated, in their own culture, at the equivalent of about a 10th grade level. How's the employment market for a 10th grade education these days? What types of jobs are refugees most commonly occupying? Entry level work right? Where is the unemployment rate highest?  It's with the youngest workers attempting to access the job market. So now we have refugees competing for employment with young Americans trying to break into the job market - and that's the best case outcome. 

So yes, this gets back to a country that's $20 trillion in debt, paying more than $64,000 per person to bring in people that then compete for resources with those that are struggling most in our society and that doesn't even account for any of the potential risk factors that might result from not being able to properly vet many of these refugees. It shouldn't be controversial to suggest that we should halt refugee programs until we're able to pay our own debt obligations and rehabilitate the inner cities in places like Detroit and Chicago.

If you have a topic or question you'd like me to address email me: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com


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