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Trump’s anti-immigration policies continue to cost U.S. economy $9 billion a year

June 01, 2022 (1 min read)

Jeff Brumley, May 31, 2022

"Trump-era refugee and asylum policies continue to rob the U.S. economy of $9.1 billion annually and deny all levels of American government more than $2 billion per year, according to new academic research. The study by economist Michael A. Clemens at the Center for Global Development examined the economic ripple effects of the 86% reduction in refugee arrivals and 68% decrease in asylum application from 2017 to 2020. “Beyond claiming a need for protection, refugees and asylum seekers are economic actors. All are consumers, most are (or become) workers, and many are (or become) investors. All incur fiscal costs by using public services directly or indirectly, and all generate fiscal revenue either directly or indirectly,” Clemens said in his March 2022 working paper titled “The Economic and Fiscal Effects on the United States from Reduced Numbers of Refugees and Asylum Seekers.”