By Cary Lowe

Hatoumata Tounakara, who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Mali, waves a tiny American flag as she prepares to receive her naturalization certificate after being sworn in as U.S. citizen by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, left, during a naturalization ceremony on World Refugee Day in Central Park, on June 20, 2016, in New York. Tounkara said she is excited about voting in the November general election and has already made up her mind on which presidential candidate she supports. Thousands of former refugees and asylum seekers will vote in a U.S. election for the first time this November. Many have witnessed the consequences of autocratic rule and civil strife. They’ve spent years navigating the bureaucratic gauntlet needed to get to the U.S. and, eventually, to become a citizen. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) The Associated Press

Amid the election rhetoric about the dangers posed by immigrants from unstable regions, the United Nations Refugee Agency counts more than 65 million people worldwide who have fled their homes, more than at any time since World War II. They are escaping civil war, mass killings and persecution in places as far-flung as Syria, Somalia, Nigeria, Guatemala and Afghanistan. U.S. law recognizes 20 million as refugees because they cannot return to their home countries without being persecuted based on their identity or their beliefs.

An influx of refugees has roiled the politics of Europe, prompting closure of several borders. As it has been for the last century, however, the holy grail for refugees is the United States, which offers the clearest vision of a stable future for themselves and their families. Last year, this country admitted about 70,000 refugees, far fewer than our Western European allies. Now, they are caught up in the larger, needed-but-unresolved debate over immigration policy.

Much of the opposition in this country to admitting more immigrants, including refugees, centers on two fears: that the newcomers may be terrorists in disguise or will never be real “Americans,” and that they will be an economic burden. In reality, before being admitted to this country, refugees undergo a screening process that takes months, sometimes years, evaluating their backgrounds and weeding out any with malicious motives.

At the same time, if refugees’ motivation were economic, most would stay in their homelands. There, they were educators, professionals, business owners or students. Here, they begin as taxi drivers, janitors or security guards, if they are lucky.

European nations offer more transitional assistance. What draws refugees here is the long-term opportunity for anyone with an education and skills to rebuild their lives. Also, the promise of having an equal voice in a democratic society with an established legal system. Those who flee and come here are younger, better educated and more entrepreneurial than immigrants as a whole. Like Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini, they are highly resilient people, willing to cross seas in rickety boats to reach safety and opportunity.

Just like the European refugees fleeing wars and totalitarianism in the last century, today’s refugees want to be Americans, in every sense. As rapidly as possible, they learn the language, complete their education and acquire other job skills. They line up to become American citizens and register to vote.

Despite their motivation, many do struggle initially. Compared to their earlier European counterparts, fewer speak fluent English and therefore need a little time and assistance to become socially and economically integrated.

The federal government’s Office of Refugee Settlement provides a variety of transitional resources, mostly through local governments and private organizations. They prioritize assisting refugees in becoming self-sufficient within a year, the term of most public assistance.

And yet, we could do much better, both for the refugees and for their host communities. If a head of household was a teacher in Syria, but has to work as a security guard in Southern California, his average income will be in the mid-$20,000s, barely above the federal poverty level for a family of four. If he works as a cabbie, his average income will be in the mid-$30,000s, still not enough to afford decent housing and other necessities. If, however, he becomes fluent in English and returns to teaching, his income may immediately double. Similarly, if a youth finishing high school is trained as a construction worker, he quickly will earn in the high $30,000s, rather than minimum wage.

Most refugees already are good citizens. Providing them with the opportunity to rapidly become economically integrated ensures that they also will be useful financial contributors to their communities. It eliminates their reliance on public assistance and generates spending that ripples through the economy, supporting businesses, creating jobs and generating tax revenues. Failing that, we are wasting massive, valuable human capital.

Like the refugees of past generations who became scientists, business owners, artists and even politicians, today’s refugees already are enriching our culture and our economy. They hold within them the places and cultures they left behind, but they are becoming American in every respect. All they ask for, and all they need, is a helping hand and an opportunity.

Lowe, Ph.D., is a San Diego attorney and a policy advisor to the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans. His family came to America as refugees, and he is writing a book about becoming American.

Source: The San Diego U-T