In the past, refugees were, like all immigrants, expected not to become dependent on taxpayer largesse. Any support they needed came from individuals or private groups — sacrificial charity, given voluntarily, most often by religious organizations.
Government funding of refugee resettlement started in a very small way in 1948, when the federal government for the first time paid for the trans-Atlantic travel costs of a certain number of displaced persons from Europe — but private charities were still required to take things from there and to ensure the refugees didn’t become public charges. In the wake of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, the government for the first time paid charities directly to resettle those refugees, at $40 a head.
From tiny acorns grow mighty oaks.
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It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that the main responsibility of the taxpayer-funded resettlement contractors is to sign immigrants up for taxpayer-funded welfare.. . .