With a decision on the number of refugees to let into the United States due on 1 October, the White House has quietly axed a report that found displaced people are positive for the US economy, the New York Times reports.
Originally commissioned by the Trump administration to help support its anti-immigration policies, officials believe the report was suppressed because it found that refugees “contributed an estimated $269.1 billion in tax revenues to all levels of government” between 2005 and 2014.
Overall, refugees brought in $63 billion over the 10-year period.
But White House officials say those estimates are illegitimate. Instead its final report states that the per-capita cost of a refugee is higher than a US citizen.
The Trump administration has already cut Barack Obama’s refugee quota from about 100,000 to about 50,000 people this year, and next year’s quota is expected to be the lowest in decades.
So much for the land of the free.
At least there’s this brilliant video here.
Oxfam America recently rented out Trump’s childhood home on Airbnb and invited a group of refugees to share why they deserve the American Dream. Perhaps Trump and his staff should watch it.
