Title
Recognizing the contributions of refugees to the City of Saint Paul and supporting the resettlement of refugees in Saint Paul.
Body
WHEREAS, Minnesota and Saint Paul, specifically, have long benefited from welcoming refugees into our community, and
WHEREAS, 95% of refugees coming to Minnesota are reuniting with family members, and,
WHEREAS, more than 85% of refugees who have been in the country for 16 to 25 years have taken the step of becoming United States citizens, and
WHEREAS, people who arrive in Minnesota with refugee status own homes, start businesses, and become valued members of our Saint Paul community, and
WHEREAS, refugees here five years or less have a medium household income of roughly $22,000, but by the time a refugee has been in the country at least 25 years, their median household income reaches $67,000: $14,000 more than the median income of U.S. households overall, and
WHEREAS, the approximately 94,000 people who have arrived with refugee status in Minnesota as of 2015, contributed: $380.70 million in Federal Taxes and $2227.20 million in State and Local Taxes, and
WHEREAS, an estimated 77.1% of refugees are working-age compared to the 49.7% of the U.S.-born population, and
WHEREAS, the average workforce participation rate of refugees is 81.8% well above the national average of 62%, and
WHEREAS, since 1975, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees with annual admissions figures ranging from a high of 207,000 in 1980 and a low of 22,491 in 2018, and
WHEREAS, immigration really could help us sustain the economic growth and the quality of life that we have become accustomed to, and
WHEREAS, each day, an estimated 44,000 people across the world are forcibly displaced from their homes due to violence, persecution, or war, and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Refugee Agency reports that over 68.5 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, 25.4 million of whom are registered refugees, and
WHEREAS, more than ha...
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