If you could choose which newcomers get to come to Texas, you'd want the people who are more likely to start companies, buy homes and post sizable gains in earning power over the decades ahead.
In short, you'd want refugees.
As the Statesman's Nicole Cobler reported this week, however, Gov. Greg Abbott still hasn't announced whether he will allow new refugees into the state this year. Under an executive order by President Donald Trump, states must commit in writing by Jan. 21 if they plan to do so.
It's disappointing to see politics cloud what should be a clear moral and economic decision. Texas is a land of entrepreneurship and opportunity. Abbott should welcome refugees as valued contributors to the state's economic engine.
Instead, just a few years ago, Abbott yanked the state's participation in the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, leaving the federal government to contract directly with the nonprofit groups that help refugees who have followed the rules and been approved to live here. At that time the governor raised concerns about refugees posing a security threat, even though people fleeing war-torn or unstable countries are extensively vetted by the U.S. government for up to two years before they can come to America.
Refugees aren't making Texas less safe, but they are contributing to the state's prosperity. Refugees in Texas had $4.6 billion in spending power and paid $1.6 billion in taxes in 2015, according to a report by the pro-immigration group New American Economy. And their economic impact grows over time: The typical refugee family that's been in the U.S. less than five years makes $21,782, but after 25 years those earnings rise to $67,000 — significantly higher than the median American household income of $53,000.
Refugees also have a higher rate of entrepreneurship than other immigrants and Americans overall, which is important considering new companies are major drivers of U.S. job growth. In Austin, those ventures have included home-based sewing businesses, catering companies and food trucks, according to the Refugees in Towns project.
Economic benefits aside, Texas should provide safe harbor for people fleeing violence and oppression because it is the right thing to do. Most Americans agree: In a 2018 poll by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute, six out of 10 people opposed passing a law that would prevent refugees from coming to the U.S.
Abbott still has time to put out the welcome mat for refugees — and Texas would be the better for it.