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Greg Abbott Is Wrong About Refugees


BarryLaverty

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And, for now, his political, wrong move has been stopped. Refugees and what they bring to Texas is significantly positive and doesn't prevent anyone else getting what they need.

https://www.dallasnews.com/business/commentary/2020/01/19/abbotts-message-texas-is-tapped-out-when-it-comes-to-refugees/

Commentary

Governor Greg Abbott’s flawed message: Texas is tapped out when it comes to refugees

By rejecting refugees for 2020, the governor undermines the state’s pro-business brand. But a judge has blocked the action for now

Is Texas tapped out?

That sounds ridiculous, given the state’s deep pockets and world-beating economy. But that’s essentially what Gov. Greg Abbott said when he closed the door on refugees in 2020.

“At this time, the state and nonprofit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here,” Abbott wrote in a recent letter to the U.S. Secretary of State.

As a result, Texas cannot accept refugees this year, he wrote, but it “appreciates that other states are available to help.”

Not so fast, slacker. 

Last week, a federal judge temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s executive order allowing states to opt out of the resettlement program. For now, Texas must continue to accept refugees, the same way it has for decades.

That’s a good thing because refugees are fleeing dire straits, and once they get here, they make valuable contributions to the economy and culture.

Nearly 178,000 refugees lived in Texas in 2015, according to one study, and they paid over $422 million in state and local taxes. Their estimated spending power was $4.6 billion, second only to California.

Under the Trump administration, the number of refugees has fallen sharply amid concerns about their financial costs. Trump capped the nationwide total at 18,000 in fiscal 2020, down from 30,000 last year and 85,000 in 2016.

Local numbers have moved in the same direction. Last year, just over 1,000 refugees settled in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to the Refugee Processing Center. That’s down from over 3,000 in many previous years.

 
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Immigration has long been a strength in Texas, providing much of the fuel for the great jobs machine. Without the newcomers, it would be impossible for the state to keep growing jobs at roughly double the national rate, a local economist has said.

To many, rejecting refugees — who are invited here after a long vetting process — is the same as rejecting immigrants in general. And such a policy undermines the “pro-business” brand that Abbott and others have worked so hard to build.

“Why is this a priority?” Chris Wallace, CEO of the North Texas Commission, said about Abbott’s decision. “If refugees are a problem, we certainly haven’t seen it here.”

His members include local employers, cities and chambers of commerce. They favor more immigration, not less, and he said they were perplexed by the move.

 

“The optics are not good,” Wallace said. “This makes us look like we’re not a welcoming state — and we are.”

He doesn’t believe the backlash will be as bad as it was with the bathroom bill, a 2017 proposal that alienated the LGBTQ community and prompted scores of employers to speak out. Refugees account for a relatively small share of the workforce — about 1,000 refugees came to D-FW last year, when the region added over 120,000 jobs.

But many companies spoke out publicly against Trump’s travel ban in 2017 because it threatened workers and their values. So it’s difficult to predict the reaction.

About 35,000 refugees live in Dallas County, according to a study by New American Economy, and they tend to work in manufacturing, health care and retail trade.

Locking out refugees today — when the state’s economy is booming and companies are worried about attracting talent — makes Texas look small and mean. Especially when it was the only state to opt out.

In contrast, consider the response from another Republican governor, Gary Herbert of Utah.

“We empathize deeply with individuals and groups who have been forced from their homes and we love giving them a new home and a new life,” Herbert wrote to President Trump.

Refugees in Utah become productive employees, responsible citizens and contributors to many civic institutions, Herbert said. They also welcome other refugees — “thus generating a beautiful cycle of charity.”

He acknowledged there are limits to how many refugees could be accepted at once: “However, in Utah, we are far from reaching that limit,” Herbert wrote.

 

Almost 2,500 refugees resettled in Texas last year, roughly five times more than in Utah. Texas officials also must deal with people illegally crossing its southern border.

Abbott cited that challenge — and the fact that 100,000 migrants were apprehended in May 2019 — as part of the rationale for rejecting refugees this year. But he wrongly conflated two issues: the border crisis and refugee resettlements, said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum.

“In the minds of the public now, there’s no difference between immigrants and refugees — they’re merely ‘the other,’ ” he said.

It’s the wrong message, especially for business, Noorani said. And it carries extra weight coming from Abbott.

“On the economy, Texas has been an example for other states to follow,” Noorani said, citing Texas’ rapid job growth and low unemployment. “But it makes no economic sense to do this. He’s making life more difficult for the business community.”

It costs money to settle refugees in the U.S., and federal programs cover most of the expense. According to a study by researchers at the University of Notre Dame, refugees receive more in benefits for relocation and social services than they pay in taxes for their first eight years in the U.S.

But over 20 years, the balance shifts. On average, adult refugees pay $21,000 more in taxes to all levels of government than they receive in benefits, the study concluded.

“There’s a large body of research that shows the positive economic impact of refugees,” said Mark Greenberg, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.

 

They have high rates of employment, are more likely to start companies, and income levels rise steadily over time.

Rejecting refugees could put Texas’ pro-business reputation at risk, Greenberg said: “Companies are looking for hard-working, qualified workers, and policies that stand in the way are not helpful.”

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His stated logic, his rationale, that we don't have the supposed needed resources to care for refugees is nonsense, that they are above average contributors to our state, so that leaves us with that???? That our state, one of the most diverse states in the country has enough 'foreigners'? Please explain your thoughts.

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46 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said:

His stated logic, his rationale, that we don't have the supposed needed resources to care for refugees is nonsense, that they are above average contributors to our state, so that leaves us with that???? That our state, one of the most diverse states in the country has enough 'foreigners'? Please explain your thoughts.

We are getting enough of those foreigners from California to last a lifetime.

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Refugees automatically qualify for Medicare and the government practically throw money at them for business loans they don't have to even start paying back for 10 years, if ever ... that's why you see more and more convenience stores and hotels owned and operated by towel heads ....

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