Numbers Don’t Lie: Turns Out Refugees Are Good for the Economy

A newly released report shows an overwhelming positive fiscal impact from refugees and asylees living in the United States, generating more tax revenue than it costs for the government to resettle them across the country.

The Fiscal Impact of Refugees and Asylees at the Federal, State, and Local Levels From 2005-2019 by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “compellingly demonstrates the positive fiscal and cultural impact of the US humanitarian program for refugees.”

Over 15 years, refugees and asylees have generated $123.8 billion in net fiscal benefit, contributing some $581 billion in revenue, compared to $457.2 billion in government spending on resettling. The initial cost allocated for resettling and processing asylum seekers is offset the longer the refugees and asylees stay in the country. On a per capita basis, refugees and asylees compare to the total US population in terms of positive fiscal impact, proving that they successfully integrate into the US economy when given the chance. The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement served the populations mentioned in the report. They were granted asylum or received refugee status in the United States after 1980, including Special Immigrant Visa holders from Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Cuba.