Washington, D.C. – March 24, 2016— This week the Niskanen Center released a paper detailing how the United States can resettle refugees through a privately funded resettlement program. The Niskanen Center has been a leading voice advocating for resettling refugees through privately funded resettlement, and in October 2015 spearheaded a letter to President Obama asking him to consider implementing such a program.
“The arguments for resettling refugees into the United States, including the combating of anti-American ISIS propaganda, the significant contributions refugees make to the economy, and basic philanthropy and empathy towards individuals escaping their war-torn homes, far outweigh any arguments against resettlement,” says director of immigration policy David Bier. “This paper provides a step-by-step guideline of how the United States can implement a privately funded program, which would help mitigate the lackluster response the government has given so far to the refugee crisis.”
The paper also highlights the fact that other members of the international community, including Canada, Germany, and Australia, have already created private refugee programs to respond to the refugee crisis.
“Canada and Germany have already demonstrated that the private sector can save tens of thousands of refugees,” Bier says. “The United States needs to stop playing catch up to the rest of the world. We should be leading the world in a historic response to this historic crisis. A privately funded refugee program would play a major role in that response.”
Established in 2014, the Niskanen Center is a libertarian 501(c) (3) advocacy organization that works to change public policy through direct engagement in the policymaking process.
Contact: Louisa Tavlas
Director of Communications, Niskanen Center
571-527-6403
ltavlas@niskanencenter.org
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