Barack Obama greatly expanded America’s refugee resettlement program in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Obama set a target of 10,000 refugees, which is actually quite small relative to the number that some European countries took in (such as Germany and Sweden). Despite being a relatively minor endeavor, the costs were anything but minor. In addition to the resettlement costs incurred in bringing over refugees, there’s also the costs of performing extensive background checks (a mistake our European friends made in foregoing), and largest of all, the cost of government assistance throughout the lifetime of those resettled.
Keep in mind, many of those admitted don’t speak English, and given how poor of a country Syria is, it’s a guarantee that many are low-skilled and will toil in low-paying jobs, thus qualifying for assistance. Attorney General Jeff Sessions (then senator) estimated in 2015 that the lifetime cost of Obama’s Syrian refugee resettlement program would be a hefty $55 billion. Given that the costs of resettling Syrian refugees in countries bordering Syria is roughly one tenth the cost of resettling one in the West, one would think that if we were intent on helping refugees, we’d resettle ten times as many in countries where they can actually speak the language and share the culture.
By 2016, a record number of Muslim refugees had entered the U.S. Obama had a record number of Muslim refugees in 2016 (38,901), making up roughly half the refugee population admitted last year. Muslims refugees from Syria were admitted far out of proportion to their share of Syria’s population. Just 64 Christian Syrian refugees were admitted to the U.S. in 2016, or about 0.5 percent in a country where 10 percent are Christian.
Donald Trump just announced massive changes to Obama’s refugee program, and it cuts admissions across the board. According to the Washington Times, “Trump has succeeded in upending U.S. refugee policy, cutting by more than half the 110,000-refugee target that the Obama administration had bequeathed him.”
Not only has President Trump cut the amount of refugees coming to our country, he also ended Obama’s preference for Muslims. The number of Christian refugees being welcomed to the country has increased exponentially.
Do you agree with Trump’s actions here? Should we be allowing more refugees into our country? Tell us your thoughts below and share this story on Facebook now!
