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See how much you know about human displacement and resettlement in the world.
At the end of 2021, there were 89 million displaced people around the world. But crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere have pushed that number to 120 million, which represents 1.5% of the global population. That’s 1 out of every 69 people on earth who is now displaced, and that number is growing! This includes refugees, asylum seekers, and the more than 68 million people who have been displaced inside their own countries.
Displaced people often resist going to refugee camps where many are warehoused for generations while awaiting resettlement. The vast majority (approximately 78 percent) choose to live in cities where they have more opportunities to live independently and find employment. But they also face major challenges since they are often forced to share accommodation or live in non-functional public buildings, homeless shelters, slums, or informal settlements with substandard living conditions.
The President determines the number of refugees accepted into the US. In 2024, President Biden set that number at 125,000 and admitted 100,000. At Beautiful Day we felt lucky to work with about 100 refugees who were making their home in Rhode Island. President-elect Trump takes office on January 20 and will determine refugee admissions. We believe this is an especially important time for all of us to pay careful attention and speak to our elected officials on behalf of refugees.
A common misconception is that refugees drain the US economy, but this is not borne out by facts. Between 2005 and 2019, refugees generated $581 billion in federal, state and local taxes. Total government expenditures to help new arrivals get back on their feet during that same time period came to $457 billion, meaning that refugees contributed $124 billion in pure profit to the national economy. In Rhode Island, the approximately 7,500 refugees living here contributed $80 million in taxes in 2019. Refugees bring with them exceptional skills in culinary arts, trade, and technology, to name a few. They offer fresh perspectives that foster innovation. Nearly half of today's Fortune 500 companies were founded by either refugees or immigrants, or their children. These include Apple, Google, and Amazon.
Refugees have been revitalizing declining cities all over the US by working in industries that were struggling due to labor shortages. They have infused rust belt cities and rural towns like Utica, NY, Austin, MN, and Springfield, OH with new energy and fresh prosperity. Refugees are eager to work and begin supporting their families and are willing to accept jobs that most Americans don’t want in meatpacking plants, factories and in agriculture. They also trend younger than the American population, contributing to social security and Medicare and helping our aging population to retire more securely.
It is not true that refugees contribute to crime. A longitudinal study of 200 small and large US cities showed that where immigrant populations grew, violent and property crime generally decreased. The researchers concluded that there was either a negative relationship between immigrants and crime or no relationship at all. Another study comparing the incarceration rates of immigrants with US-born individuals found that the likelihood of an immigrant being incarcerated is 60 percent lower than that of someone born in the US.
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