January 30, 2018. This article discusses the economic impacts that the cut in refugee resettlement could have on the upstate city, Syracuse, New York. Refugees have helped reverse population decline, added to the labor force, opened businesses, revamped vacant property and contributed to local and state taxes.
Refugees have higher labor force participation rate than U.S.-born (workers),” said Cyierra Roldan, a policy analyst at the Fiscal Policy Institute. “They are filling open jobs, adding workforce.”
Roldan added that refugees are saving the homes of Syracuse by occupying what would be empty real estate.
“The property that would have remained vacant is now being taken up and rebuilt and transformed,” Roldan said. “They are more likely to be homeowners in 10 years.”
“Refugees do take a little help on getting started, but over time they become self-sufficient. It is sort of like a little investment in the beginning and then you get a lot in return,” Roldan said. “When refugees succeed, everyone succeeds because the economy is succeeding.”
Here is the link to the Daily Orange.