December 13, 2016. A new report by the Fiscal Policy Institute and the Center for American Progress looks at how Syrian immigrants fare in the United States.
After a political campaign season in which Syrians coming to the United States were met with harsh words and proposals, this report takes a calm look at how immigrants from Syria are faring in the United States. The findings are reassuring: Syrian immigrants are highly educated, disproportionately likely to be business owners, learn English, and become home owners invested in their communities. Refugees come under different circumstances than the immigrants who came before them, but the fact that there are people in the United States who speak the same language and know the culture they come from can be a substantial help to the newcomers in finding their way into American society and the American labor market.
This report is a companion to the report FPI and CAP released in June about the integration of four refugee groups in the United States over the span of several decades: Hmong, Somalis, Burmese, and Bosnians.
Full report: Syrian Immigrants in the United States: A Receiving Community for Today’s Refugees