October 23, 2018. This article discusses the effect that the Trump administration’s refugee cap reduction has had on Buffalo, N.Y., a city located in the Rust Belt that has benefited from refugee replacement for many years. According to the article, refugees have helped reverse population decline, rebuild homes, revitalize the community and have opened businesses. The author goes on to discuss how Buffalo is dramatically effected by the decrease in refugee admissions. Employers are having a difficult time filling jobs and houses are remaining empty.
When thousands of others fled the struggling Rust Belt city of Buffalo, refugees poured in to fill to void and invigorate the economy.
Trump last year cited national security in slashing the annual cap on refugee arrivals to the U.S. from 110,000 to a historically low 45,000. Only 22,491 refugees entered the country last year amid a tougher review process.
The effect in the Buffalo region has been dramatic.
A metropolitan area that welcomed 1,934 refugees two years ago took in 686 last year and is on track to receive fewer than 450 people this year, according to an analysis of refugee placement data by the Fiscal Policy Institute. Arrivals could dip more this coming year now that the Trump administration lowered the refugee cap again for this budget year, to 30,000.
Click here for the Niagara Gazette.