Trump administration officials reject report on refugees: report

Trump administration officials reportedly rejected a study about the positive economic impacts of refugees in the U.S.

The New York Times reported that officials rejected a draft report produced by the Department of Health and Human Services.

That study said refugees brought in $63 billion more in government revenue over the past decade than they cost agencies. 

{mosads}The draft report found that from 2005 to 2014, refugees “contributed an estimated 269.1 billion in revenues to all levels of government” through federal, state and local taxes.

“Overall, this report estimated that the net fiscal impact of refugees was positive over the 10-year period, at $63 billion,” the report said, according to the Times.

White House officials reportedly pushed back against those results and said that report was proved incorrect by a final study issued by the department.

The actual final report submitted said “in an average year over the 10-year period, per-capita refugee costs for major H.H.S. programs totaled $3,300.”

“Per-person costs for the U.S. population were lower, at $2,500, reflecting a greater participation of refugees in H.H.S. programs, especially during their first four years” in the United States.

Raj Shah, a White House spokesman, said the leak draft report was “delivered by someone with an ideological agenda, not someone looking at hard data.” 

“The actual report pursuant to the presidential memorandum shows that refugees with few skills coming from war-torn countries take more government benefits from the Department of Health and Human Services than the average population, and are not a net benefit to the U.S. economy,” Shah said.