By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Monday June 27, US Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) warned that Democratic Party presumptive nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s plan to bring in more refugees into the United States could cost over $400 Billion. Sessions said that the finding were based on analysis by the Subcommittee on Immigration and The National Interest, which is chaired by Sen. Sessions.
Sen. Sessions wrote in a statement, “Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has announced her desire to admit at least 65,000 refugees from Syria – on top of the existing refugee flow already entering the United States. What Clinton has not explained, however, is that in addition to the clear national security implications related to accepting more refugees, there are massive financial costs that would be borne by federal, state, and local governments?”
Sen. Sessions wrote, “Assuming Clinton’s desire to bring in 65,000 Syrian refugees is in addition to the Obama Administration’s current goal of admitting 10,000 this fiscal year (out of 85,000 total refugees), that would amount to an increase of 55,000 refugees. ?55,000 on top of 85,000 totals 140,000 refugees. The Obama Administration’s target for FY 2017 is actually 100,000 refugees, meaning that adding 55,000 refugees to that would result in 155,000 refugees each year. Due to statutory flaws in our Refugee Admissions Program, the number could be as high as Hillary Clinton desires. Assuming her goal is to admit 155,000 refugees each year during a hypothetical first term in office, a Clinton Administration would admit at least 620,000 refugees in just four years – a population roughly the size of Baltimore.”
Sen. Sessions said that the annual budget for refugee resettlement does not include costs related to Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, and other programs, as the Obama Administration admits. Sessions said that the costs imposed on state and local governments for social services are also not reported by the Administration.
The conservative Alabama Senator wrote, “The true lifetime cost of admitting a single refugee must include an accounting of all benefits received by that refugee – at the federal, state, and local levels, and over the course of that? refugee’s lifespan. Any other calculation is akin to saying that the total cost of owning a new car is encapsulated in the down payment.”
Sessions said that Robert Rector at the Heritage Foundation has calculated that admitting 10,000 refugees will cost $6.5 billion over their lifetimes. ?Using that number Sessions’ committee calculated that admitting 155,000 refugees in one year would result in a total lifetime cost to the taxpayers of $100,750,000,000. Multiplying that number by four years produces a hypothetical projection of $403 billion.
Senator Sessions has been a vocal opponent of President Obama’s plan to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the United States. Sessions was also an early backer of Donald Trump for President of the United States. Sessions is expected to speak at the Republican Convention in Cleveland.
