Editor’s note: Steve S. Rao is a Council Member At Large and Former Mayor Pro Tem for the Town of Morrisville and an Opinion Writer for WRAL Tech Wire.  He served on the Board of the New American Economy, now the American Immigration Council, and on the NC League of Municipalities Race and Equity Task Force. He is a regular contributing writer to WRAL TechWire.

Note to readers: WRAL TechWire would like to hear from you about views expressed by our contributors. Please send email to: info@wraltechwire.com.

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MORRISVILLE – What does North Carolina gain by welcoming refugees into our communities? It’s a billion-dollar question — literally.

According to a new report from the American Immigration Council, we are one of 17 states where refugees hold over $1 billion in spending power.

Beyond this, our state’s 42,400 refugees also pay over $216 million in federal taxes and more than $114 million in state and local taxes, helping to fund everything from roads and schools to hospitals and policing. The scale of the impact can be staggering: one North Carolina State University economist recently found that the Ukrainian refugees who scattered through Europe after the Russian invasion could boost region’s total GDP by a colossal 3.6%.

Steve Rao

None of this should come as a surprise: It’s been clear for decades that refugees bring enormous economic benefits to the communities where they settle. Managing an influx of new arrivals brings short-term challenges, of course. But it also brings enormous long-term gains, including but by no means limited to a huge boost to our state’s economy.

 Most newly arrived refugees have low income levels — hardly surprising, since they arrive with limited resources and face language barriers and problems getting their foreign qualifications recognized by U.S. employers. But refugees rapidly improve their prospects. After 20 years in the United States, the average refugee’s household income more than doubles, putting them roughly level with American-born families.

How do refugees manage to arrive with nothing and achieve relative prosperity? Having fled war and bloodshed, refugees are deeply grateful, utterly committed to the American Dream, and determined to make our country their home. It’s why they are the most entrepreneurial demographic group, why they have such high rates of home ownership and why nine out of 10 go on to become U.S. citizens. Given this, it’s easy to see why many areas where refugees have settled have also seen substantial decreases in both violence and property crime.

The fact is, the benefits refugees provide go way beyond the bottom line. To see what I mean, consider Capt. Cecilia “Feisty” Tuma, who comes from a refugee family but now flies F-15E Strike Eagles out of Seymour Johnson AFB. Capt. Tuma says she was inspired to serve after hearing about her parents’ escape from communism, and the warm welcome they received as refugees in the United States.

Or consider Ree Ree Wei, who spent 8 years in a refugee camp before her family resettled in North Carolina. Wei became the first in her family to go to college, and now she runs an amazing program right here in Orange County that is helping dozens of newly arrived refugees to establish themselves as farmers, supporting their families while growing crops for local restaurants and markets.

Or think about Taw Meh, who comes from a persecuted minority and spent her first seven years in a Thai refugee camp before her family was allowed to come to Winston-Salem. She’s now a successful psychology major at Davidson and spends her breaks traveling back to Thailand to teach and mentor kids in the same refugee camp she once called home.

What do all these stories add up to?

To me, they’re a powerful reminder that the ROI of welcoming immigrants into our communities can’t be expressed solely in terms of dollars and cents. Yes, refugees drive economic growth. But the $1 billion that refugee families contribute to our state’s economy represents a different, equally powerful, kind of wealth. Refugees enrich our communities in many other ways, making us stronger and safer, and helping to reaffirm the enduring power of the American Dream.