Federation for American Immigration Reform or FAIR has released a new study that suggests refugees and asylum seekers in the U.S. cost federal taxpayers a whopping $1.8 billion per year and $8.8 billion over a five-year span.
The same study suggests that $867 million is tied up in welfare benefits that U.S. taxpayers pay.
Mehlman
Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for FAIR, says resettling refugees in the United States and other western countries is only one means of protecting people.
"In fact, it turns out to be the most expensive and least efficient way," he claims. "In fact, it costs a lot of money to bring people to the United States, especially people who are fleeing their home countries who may not be coming here with marketable skills."
Not every situation that forces people out of their homes results in permanent exile, he says, and the U.S. should do a better job of recognizing there are limited resources to take care of those who are.
A better alternative would be to provide temporary refuge and protection in or near people's homes with the goal of safely repatriating them, Mehlman contends.
When a mob of protestors stormed the Wisconsin State Capitol a decade ago, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) described it as an "impressive show of democracy in action." But she wasn't so impressed three weeks ago when a similar uprising occurred on Capitol Hill.
News stories each weekday from reporters you can trust without the liberal bias found in much of "mainstream" media.
News stories each weekday from reporters you can trust without the liberal bias found in much of "mainstream" media.
An immigration watchdog says American taxpayers would save millions of dollars a year if refugees are resettled closer to home rather than brought to the United States. 
Five accused members of the notorious immigrant-formed MS-13 gang laughed and smirked in court while the family of one of the teens they allegedly slayed sternly watched them playfully joke around in their shackles.