Widely-published author Don Barnett, an expert on US refugee policy, explains recent Tennessee legislation and also the difficulties with refugee resettlement policy nationwide.

Shortly after arrival, refugees become eligible for every US welfare-entitlement-public insurance program including Social Security and SSI that is available to every legal US resident. Communities have not been allowed to refuse refugees since enactment of the federal refugee law, which was [I think] the 1989 Lautenberg Amendment.

Governor of Washington [who was, I recall, scientist Dixie Lee Ray] attempted to refuse a large batch of refugees in the early days of the program but found that she lacked the authority.

Very tentatively, Tennessee is claiming the right to at least "consult" on refugee resettlement. It is the first State to do so, which is to the great credit of State Legislators.

Since ensuing costs of refugee settlement are largely born by States and local communities, Tennessee has moved in the right direction. However, it does not go nearly far enough in protesting another unfunded federal mandate and transgression against State rights.

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Affected communities should have a say

The Tennessean
Don Barnett

Refugee resettlement in America has traditionally been the responsibility of sponsors — families who housed the refugees, charitable organizations which provided assistance and employers with jobs.

Until the federal Refugee Act of 1980, refugees were explicitly barred from accessing public welfare. Sponsors had to provide at least a year of lodging and support including medical coverage.

This is not the system we have today.

Today, refugee resettlement is almost entirely the responsibility of the taxpayer — both state and federal; the sponsors have become federal contractors. One of the main tasks of the contractors — misleadingly called Voluntary Agencies or Volags — is to link refugees with social services programs. The contractor/sponsor responsibility ends after just three months in most cases. Needless to say, with such a short period of engagement, assimilation is not on the agenda, even when assimilation is the desire of the refugees themselves.

Thirty days after arrival, refugees are eligible for all forms of public assistance on the same basis as a U.S. citizen. This has resulted in staggering welfare dependency rates, despite laughable statements about refugee “self-sufficiencyâ€