OPINION:
Taxpayers in the United States are shelling out a reported $867 million each year to support refugees who’ve been resettled in this country and make sure they have adequate food and clothing and the like.
In the overall federal budgeting scheme, that’s maybe small potatoes. But at the same time, if we’re talking welfare — and we are — then it would seem the more American thing to pay for those already in-country, already legal citizens, before paying for those who are simply visitors.
After all, tax dollars aren’t born from government labors. They come from the taxpayers — they come from the legal citizens. First dibs rightly belong to the citizens.
Yes?
Yes.
But for $867 million each year, that’s not what’s happening.
Instead, what’s happening is the taxpayers are simply shelling out money to these unfortunates without receiving much of anything in terms of national benefit in return. Politicians may get to pat themselves on the back for a job well done — meaning, they spent money they don’t own and didn’t earn on social programs they can point to as evidence of their kind hearts. But at least economically speaking, these refugees don’t seem to be paying their fair shares — a phrase the liberals like to throw about when they whine for higher taxes.
“A new study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reveals that annually, foreign refugees are being given about $867 million in welfare benefits that U.S. taxpayers pay for,” Breitbart wrote. “Every year, taxpayers are billed about $1.8 billion for the full cost of resettling foreign refugees, and after five years, American taxpayers will have spent about $8.8 billion on resettling foreign refugees.”
More than half of the refugees resettled in America — 54 percent — will spend their first five years here working jobs that pay less than $11 per hour. And that means they can’t pay their housing costs, so once again, the taxpayer picks it up. Roughly 15.7 percent of all refugees need housing assistance, the report found.
By the numbers, by 2014 cost-of-living figures, that means all households in America pay out $7,600 to help shelter these refugees.
It’s one thing to be compassionate. It’s another to be frivolous with taxpayer dollars.
Not saying these refugees may not need the assistance — or even be worthy of the aid. But at the expense of citizens already in the United States? Never.
That’s not fair; that’s not just.
And one need only walk down the streets of any inner-city housing area to see there are plenty of citizens here already who could’ve used $867 million.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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