Letters to the Editor (Jan. 22)
Refugee numbers
Just 5,000 refugees were accepted into the United States during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2018, meaning as few as 20,000 refugees may be allowed in the country in the fiscal year.
According to U.N. figures, as many as 22.5 million people are currently refugees crowded in third-party states such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Kenya. Many thousands of those millions have been waiting, often for years, for resettlement in the United States.
At this pace we will soon lose the infrastructure of refugee assistance agencies to help refugees to successfully move into our society.
A draft study conducted last year by the Department of Health and Human Services, requested but then apparently suppressed by senior officials in the Trump administration, found that refugees ultimately produced $63 billion more in government revenues over the past decade than the cost of their assimilation assistance.
And a study released in June 2017 by researchers at the University of Notre Dame concludes that the long-term economic benefit to U.S. society far outweighs the start-up costs of resettling adult refugees, adding that refugees who enter U.S. life as children are an even better social investment.
Who is our neighbor?
Forrest Ehmke, Wichita
Who’s paying?
I am confused. Throughout his campaign, President Trump would announce he was going to build a wall between the United States and Mexico to which the crowd would respond, “Build the wall.” Then Trump would ask the crowd, “And who is going to pay for this wall?” to which the crowd would respond “Mexico.”
At that point Trump would again state he was going to “build the wall and Mexico will pay for it.” This statement was repeated at campaign stops all over the country.
If Mexico is going to pay for the wall as Trump promised, then why is Trump now demanding $18 billion in taxpayer money to build the wall?
Pat Lehman, Wichita
Advice for Dems
Remember to keep your eye on the ball when a new “Trumpism” raises its vulgar head.
Don’t let a story of President Trump’s racism or sexism or whatever distract. The policies of economics and environment and global welfare are at stake in this administration.
Focus on the issues and stay cognizant of current political policy.
Robyn Young, Wichita
Letters to the Editor
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This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 4:02 AM with the headline "Letters to the Editor (Jan. 22)."