Refugee flood isn’t smart policy, it’s the gift that keeps on taking

The saga of national benefits fraud successful Minnesota is inactive being told. Democrat Gov. Tim Walz dropping out of his bid for re-election to a 3rd term is lone the latest chapter. 

Reports of fraud successful childcare operations, and the transportation to Twin Cities’ Somali immigrants, spell backmost astir a decade. But authorities politicians and the bequest media initially ignored oregon downplayed the story, astir apt due to the fact that astir of the perpetrators were from a number that carries "intersectional" clout successful woke circles and electoral clout for Democrats. 

In 2025, the magazine County Highway reported successful extent connected the scam, followed by City Journal, and yet adjacent the New York Times. Walz, who has been successful powerfulness for astir 8 years, tried to shift blame away from himself and from Somalis connected to President Donald Trump and conservatives for noticing. It didn’t work. 

But there’s an underlying communicative that is nary little important: the overmuch larger outgo of absorbing millions of low-skilled immigrants.

COMER VOWS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WILL EXPAND TO OTHER STATES AMID MOUNTING SCRUTINY

A demonstrator waves a emblem of Somalia arsenic a conveyance passes by a rally successful protestation against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) successful Minneapolis, Minn., Dec. 8, 2025. (Tim Evans/Reuters)

Back successful 2016, George Borjas of Harvard wrote that, "the higher outgo of each the services provided to immigrants and the little taxes they wage (because they person little earnings) inevitably implies that connected a year-to-year ground migration creates a fiscal spread of astatine slightest $50 billion." 

Because astir Somali immigrants came to the U.S. arsenic refugees oregon connected household reunification visas thereafter, they are an absorbing subset to examine. At a property conference, Minnesota Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar said of her Somali constituents that "we person … go nurses and doctors and engineers." 

Some, but not many. From 2019-2023, the median Somali household successful Minnesota had an income of $43,600, compared to a nationalist median of $78,538. That means that they volition suffice for galore national benefits disposable to citizens and immoderate immigrants.

FEDERAL OFFICIALS TO HALT MORE THAN $10B IN FUNDING TO 5 STATES OVER NON-CITIZEN BENEFIT CONCERNS: REPORT

In a 2024 report, Daniel Di Martino of the Manhattan Institute looked astatine the nett beingness fiscal interaction of immigrants. Immigrants without a assemblage acquisition are a nett fiscal load by up to $400,000, DiMartino helium estimates, portion "each migrant nether the property of 35 with a postgraduate grade reduces the fund shortage by implicit $1 cardinal successful nett contiguous worth during his lifetime." 

Somali refugees autumn much into the erstwhile category. According to a caller Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) report, 58% of them bash not talk English well, and 39% person nary precocious schoolhouse diploma. That translates into a dense usage of payment programs. 

Of Somali migrant households with children, CIS reports, 89% usage immoderate benignant of payment — 86% of specified families are connected Medicaid, compared to lone 28% of Minnesota households headed by a native-born citizen. More than 1 successful 5 Somali men of moving property are unemployed. More than fractional of children successful Somali-immigrant households are beneath the poorness line, compared with lone 7.6% of those successful native-headed homes.

JAMES COMER TO ACCUSE TIM WALZ OF BEING 'ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL' AT FRAUD HEARING

Studies successful Europe person shown that, connected average, immigrants from definite countries are nett takers from the fiscal cookware implicit their lifetime, portion others are nett givers. 

In Denmark, the net fiscal contribution of the mean autochthonal Dane implicit a beingness is positive. In their moving years, autochthonal Danes wage into the strategy much than they take. That’s the lone mode the fiscal equation tin balance. But their mean migrant from the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Pakistan ne'er pays much to the authorities than they instrumentality successful benefits. 

From 2019-2023, the median Somali household successful Minnesota had an income of $43,600, compared to a nationalist median of $78,538. That means that they volition suffice for galore national benefits disposable to citizens and immoderate immigrants.

A Finnish study had akin results. On average, radical from Somalia and galore different places were nett beingness losses.

NOEM UNLOADS ON WALZ OVER ICE RAID CRITICISM: ‘REALLY? YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT TAXPAYER DOLLARS?’

Mass migration was sold to Europeans arsenic a solution to their plummeting fertility rate. To wage for wraparound socialist benefits, the reasoning went, they needed to import millions of younger workers. Unfortunately, they weren’t getting the kinds of migrants who are nett contributors. 

The countries that nutrient the astir economically desirable immigrants person debased fertility and don’t export people. Meanwhile, emigrants from the countries whose populations are burgeoning and are connected mean a beingness fiscal drain are the ones that bash export people. 

Liberals emotion to punctuation a enactment from Emma Lazarus’ poem connected the Statue of Liberty: "Give maine your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to respire free" This is simply a sentimental look from a 19th century discourse precise antithetic from today. Notice she doesn’t accidental yearning to devour free, slumber free, amended your kids escaped and get escaped wellness care, ineligible aid, and a raft of different benefits unavailable successful 1890.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

The Trump medication has lowered refugee numbers for Fiscal Year 2026 to 7,500. But a aboriginal president mightiness take to ramp up refugees and besides unfastened the spigots with different Biden-era tools to facilitate wide migration. 

American voters request to recognize that accepting refugees and low-skilled migrants means taxpayers constitute a cheque for hundreds of thousands of dollars to enactment them for life.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Their children? Some volition win and assistance equilibrium the budget. Others volition not. It volition instrumentality generations to find retired the semipermanent results of America’s wide migration binge. 

But successful the short-term, our fiscal hole will get overmuch deeper, and the authorities of refilling it volition beryllium impossible. Accepting the fabrication that each migrants are the same, and that wide migration is ever a nett payment to the receiving population, volition permission america with a staggering measure we whitethorn ne'er beryllium capable to pay. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SIMON HANKINSON