By Chris Baker | [email protected]
Thursday, June 16, 2016
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Over a 10-year span, refugees from some countries show long-term benefits to their communities and local economies, a new report claims.
A study released today by the Center for American Progress and the Fiscal Policy Institute examined workforce and integration trends for refugees from four ethnic groups. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the study shows that refugees participate in the workforce at rates equal to or, in some cases, greater than U.S.-born people.
The study looked at Somali, Burmese, Hmong and Bosnian refugees over a period of 10 years. The report shows that while refugees need initial assistance getting their footing in America, they integrate well in the long term.
Among the findings of the report are:
- Burmese and Bosnian refugees who have been here for more than 10 years are more likely to own their own home than the average U.S.-born citizen.
- Refugees start and own businesses at a rate close to the average for U.S.-born people, in some cases. Thirty-one out of every 1,000 working Bosnian refugees are business owners, for example -- equal to the average of U.S.-born people.
- After 10 years in the U.S., 86 percent of Somalis speak English "well" and 61 percent speak it "very well."
The report comes amid continuing debate over the benefits and risks of accepting refugees into the United States.
The city of Utica was mentioned often in the report. Refugees from the four ethnic groups studied make up nearly one-third of all immigrants in the city.
From the report:
In Utica, New York, both Bosnian and Burmese refugees are playing a significant part in the revitalization of the city. Bosnians make up 16 percent of all immigrants in metropolitan Utica, and Burmese make up 13 percent. The Brookings analysis also noted that Utica stood out and reported that refugees brought new entrepreneurial activity to Utica, filled about half of the labor force needs of a local medical equipment manufacturer, and "revitalized declining neighborhoods, buying and renovating vacant housing."
In places such as Utica, where the city population has declined and residences and storefronts are vacant, refugees are a gain to the local economy, and putting them on the tax rolls is a boon to local fiscal stability.
Syracuse, too, was mentioned in the report as one of the top 20 metro areas for Somali refugee communities.