USA Refugees: Myths vs Facts

The Trump administration fuels many myths about refugees. Here are just some of them:

Myth: Undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes.

Fact: These immigrants pay billions of dollars in taxes a year. This study estimated that undocumented immigrants pay $27.2 billion a year. Despite this, undocumented immigrants are unable to receive benefits, like Social Security and Medicaid.

Myth: Refugees are violent criminals (a report from 2017 shows that half of Americans think immigrants bring more crime).

Fact: While some refugees are criminals—just like some native born people are—many studies show that while immigration has increased since 1980, crime has generally decreased as well. A study done on the correlation between refugees and crime between 2006-2015 suggested that in areas of high refugee populations, crime rates actually dropped. Nine of the ten areas studied experienced a decrease in crime during an increase in refugee population. In Decatur, Georgia, where the refugee population is 6,593 out of 20,605, violent crime rates dropped by 62.6%.

Myth: Refugees are terrorists that the Muslim Ban protects us from.

Fact: A study on the correlation between refugees and terrorism found that since 1980, not a single refugee has committed an act of terrorism. This is long before Trump instituted the Muslim Ban to try to stop terrorists from entering the U.S. Before then, 20 refugees had committed acts of terrorism, killing three people, but the 1980 Refugee Act created a much more diligent refugee screening process, which has eliminated refugee terrorism since then.

Myth: Refugees don’t undergo screening upon entering the U.S.

Fact: Refugees go through an extensive process of screening and investigation upon entry to the U.S. Their biometric and biographic information is screened to confirm their identities, and is then checked against law enforcement, U.S. intelligence, and multiple other government databases.