Refugees in America

There are 25.4 million people who were forced to flee to other countries as refugees (Huber and Reid). Many refugees struggle to find a safe place to live after they are exiled from their country. Not all places welcome refugees; therefore, they are at risk. In the debate over the refugee crisis, one controversial issue has been that refugees should be allowed to seek refuge in America. On the other hand, many conservatives contend that they should not be permitted to come to America at all. Whereas the others are extreme, some even maintain the idea to help refugees, but by setting up camps in their countries, instead of moving them to new places. Everyone in America is trying to protect someone. Whether it is conservatives, liberals, politically moderates, or lawmakers, they all agree that they need to provide safety for others. However, they have different beliefs on who has the right to be protected by the United States government. There are several positions on whether or not refugees should be able to seek refuge in America.

The refugee crisis has recently been a major topic in the U.S. immigration court of law. On September 17, 2018, Trump announced that they would only be allowing 25,000 refugees into America, when in the previous year it was 45,000 (Davis). With this being such a broad topic, many different groups have their opinions. Some of the groups are the refugees, the federal government, and the political parties such as conservatives, liberals, and moderates. Many believe that allowing refugees into America will cause problems for the citizens there. While the others who are the complete opposite believe that refugees will benefit the economy and help the unfortunate refugees. The ones in the middle find a way to compromise. They want to provide aid to the refugees, just not in America in their own countries. Each position is doing what they think is just, however, in order to figure that out, one must be mindful of all solutions, while being unbiased.

Most liberals support the idea that refugees should be allowed into America because it is morally right. With refugees coming to America, they provide more job opportunities, which benefits the economy. Statistics show that most refugees pursue the career of an entrepreneur. By starting their own companies, they can hire more American citizens. In 2015, 180,000 refugees were entrepreneurs (From Struggle to Resilience). These new companies open up a great number of jobs. The main reason that many people support this idea is because the refugees are under constant surveillance, therefore, there is low security risk. With the refugees, there is no need to fear them, since the government has taken action to make sure the refugees do not harm the citizens of America. They have set up specific laws that allow them to keep a careful eye on the refugees (Park and Buchanan). The refugees must go through a very difficult vetting process that allows them to be thoroughly searched. In addition, the refugees pay taxes, which evens out what it cost in order for them to get to America and stay there. Multiple charts show that after eight years of paying taxes, refugees end up matching the amount that it cost to get them into the country and their living expenses. The total cost for them to stay in America is $107,000 and they end up paying $129,000 in taxes, which leaves the government $22,000 profit (Bondarenko). Not only does the government practically loses nothing, they also gain extra money that can go towards benefiting refugees or American citizens.

A majority of extremist conservatives believe that the United States should not allow refugees to receive care in their country. The major problem that some people have with refugees is that when they come into the country, crime and violence are increased. In 2015 through 2016, violent crime rose by about ten percent and more than 90% of the crimes were committed by young male refugees (Alkousaa). Violence is brought out by either the citizens lashing out at the refugees or vice versa. If two types of people do not want to be in the same area, then thing can end up going bad. Secondly, bringing refugees over to America is very expensive. Statistics show that it costs nearly $15,000 to bring in the refugees and give them background checks. It costs and extra $92,000 to provide them with insurance and what they need to survive (Bondarenko). Lastly, the government usually requires the refugees to maintain a job in order to stay in the country (Rush). In order to do that, many of them take available jobs that were originally set up for American citizens. Most conservatives have a problem with this.

The people in between the two extreme parties' claim that the best option is to help the refugees, but by setting up camps in their countries. Most refugees want to stay in their countries so that they are close to home, because they usually end up going back when their country is safe again. About two out of three refugees end up going back to their home countries when the violence is over (Huber, Reid, and Koenig). Another important factor is that it would cost less if Americans were to set up camps rather than paying for transportation to the U.S. research shows that it costs $3,000 per refugee to set up a camp in Jordan, when in America it would cost over $30,000 per refugee (Williams). This would cost almost ten times less than it would if helping the refugees in America. Ten times a number is a big difference, so it would save the United States a large amount of money. The last reason is that the majority of refugees feel more comfortable staying in their own country. There are multiple accounts of refugees who do not know how to speak English and would rather be taken care of in what they are familiar with. Being in a place where they feel safe allows them to cope with having to be exiled (Shearlaw). They are forced to leave their countries, which makes most refugees fearful. Research shows that most refugees, if given the choice, would like to stay in their countries, than rather go far away (Swanson). To best help them, people should want to make the refugees as content as possible.

While there are many valid positions on where refugees should find protection, the most just solution is to provide camps in the countries of the refugees because it seems to make all people happy. The conservatives are happy because they do not have any foreign refugees coming into their country, the liberals get to contribute to sheltering them, and the refugees get to stay in their comfortable country. Since no one can prove whether refugees benefit or hurt the economy, the best thing to do is to find the in between option. This solution finds the common ground between most everyone related to this topic. Why fight over something that can easily be fixed by choosing the middle position? It is most often the correct one too. In order to be able to choose which side is best, people need to know what each position stands for. They need background information and will need to decide which option is more just for them, but only after, they hear what each side has to say.

Works Cited

Alkousaa, Riham. Violent Crime Rises in Germany and Is Attributed to Refugees. Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 3 Jan. 2018, www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-crime/violent-crime-rises-in-germany-and-is-attributed-to-refugees-idUSKBN1ES16J.

Bondarenko, Veronika. Study Finds Refugees Actually Pay the US Government Thousands More than They Get from It. Business Insider, Business Insider, 13 June 2017, www.businessinsider.com/how-much-do-refugees-cost-us-taxpayers-2017-6.

Davis, Julie Hirschfeld. White House Weighs Another Reduction in Refugees Admitted to U.S. The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Aug. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/08/01/us/politics/trump-refugees-reduction.html.

Fleming, Melissa. 3 Real Stories from Refugees. World Economic Forum, 17 Dec. 2015, www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/12/3-real-stories-from-refugees/.

From Struggle to Resilience: The Economic Impact of Refugees in America. New American Economy, research.newamericaneconomy.org/report/from-struggle-to-resilience-the-economic-impact-of-refugees-in-america/.

Huber, Chris, and Kathryn Reid. Forced to Flee: Top Countries Refugees Are Coming From. World Vision, World Vision Inc., 26 June 2018, www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/forced-to-flee-top-countries-refugees-coming-from.

Huber, Chris, et al. Syrian Refugee Crisis: Facts, FAQs, and How to Help. World Vision, 10 Sept. 2018, www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/syrian-refugee-crisis-facts.

Park, Haeyoun, and Larry Buchanan. Refugees Entering the U.S. Already Face a Rigorous Vetting Process. The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Jan. 2017, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/29/us/refugee-vetting-process.html.

Rush, Nayla. Fact-Checking a Fact Sheet On Refugee Resettlement. Center For Immigration Studies, Nov. 2015, cis.org/sites/default/files/rush-refugees-mpi.pdf.

Shearlaw, Maeve. Are Refugee Camps the Best Solution for People Fleeing a Crisis? | Maeve Shearlaw. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 25 July 2013, www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/jul/25/refugee-camps-solution-people-fleeing-crisis.

Swanson, Ana. The Big Myth about Refugees. The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Sept. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/09/10/the-big-myth-about-refugees/.

Williams, Rob. This Is the One Thing Britain Got Right about the Refugee Crisis. The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 14 Mar. 2016, www.independent.co.uk/voices/syrian-refugees-will-cost-ten-times-more-to-care-for-in-europe-than-in-neighboring-countries-a6928676.html.

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