Oh, the irony. Here we are in 2026, with everyday Americans scraping by as grocery bills skyrocket, rent devours paychecks, and doctor’s visits feel like a luxury. Eggs are a fortune, gas is gouging us, and forget about that family vacation—it’s ramen noodles and prayers for a miracle. But don’t worry, folks, your hard-earned tax dollars are hard at work pampering a parade of so-called refugees who waltzed in under Joe Biden’s open-door extravaganza. No questions asked, no vetting required, just a big fat welcome mat rolled out with benefits galore. And now, with the bill coming due, it’s time to peel back the curtain on this fiscal fiasco—who’s getting the goodies, what they’re scooping up, and how much it’s socking you in the wallet compared to the sane days at the end of Donald Trump’s first term.
The Invasion by Any Other Name
Let’s call it what it is: Under Biden, the floodgates burst. From 2021 to 2025, refugee admissions ballooned from a trickle to a torrent. In fiscal year 2020, right at the tail end of Trump’s watch, a modest 11,840 refugees were let in. Fast-forward to fiscal year 2024, and that number exploded to 100,060. The first quarter of fiscal year 2025 alone saw 27,308 more arrivals, with the annual cap stubbornly stuck at 125,000 until sanity returned. But refugees are just the tip of the iceberg. We’re talking asylees, parolees, unaccompanied kids, trafficking victims, torture survivors, and a mishmash of entrants from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua—you name it.
Who qualifies? Anyone who showed up at the border claiming persecution, or got parachuted in via Biden’s parole programs, which handed out over a million golden tickets without so much as a background check worthy of a Blockbuster rental. Afghan evacuees, Ukrainians fleeing war, Venezuelans escaping socialism’s latest flop—the list goes on. And don’t forget the unaccompanied alien children, surging from 30,000 in fiscal year 2020 to peaks of 130,000 in fiscal year 2022. These aren’t your grandpa’s refugees; they’re a catch-all for anyone Biden’s crew deemed deserving, vetting be damned.
The Benefits Buffet: All You Can Eat on Uncle Sam’s Dime
Once they’re in, the perks pile up like pancakes at an all-you-can-eat diner. Refugees and asylees get the full monty: Refugee Cash Assistance for basic needs like rent and food, lasting up to 12 months in later years. Medical help through Refugee Medical Assistance, covering checkups and treatments that many Americans can only dream of. Then there’s SNAP for groceries, Medicaid for health care, housing vouchers to skip the waiting lists, job training, English classes, and even Supplemental Security Income for the elderly or disabled among them.
Parolees aren’t left out—many snag work permits right away, qualifying for the same smorgasbord if they’re under humanitarian labels. Unaccompanied kids get sheltered, fed, educated, and placed with sponsors, all courtesy of the taxpayer-funded nanny state. Victims of trafficking or torture? Counseling, legal aid, rehab services—physical and psychological. It’s a welfare wonderland: cash for necessities, food stamps, health coverage, employment prep, school enrollment for the kiddos, and transportation to boot. And get this—family members can tag along, multiplying the handouts.
While you’re clipping coupons for cereal, these newcomers are handed a starter kit for the American Dream, no strings attached. It’s enough to make you wonder if the “refugee” label is just code for “free ride.”
The Vetting Vortex: Speed Over Security
Recent bombshells have exposed the sham: Biden’s rush to rack up numbers meant skimping on scrutiny. Reviews now underway reveal that rapid processing trumped thorough checks, leaving national security risks in the mix. Over 233,000 refugees admitted from 2021 to 2025 are getting a second look, with green card approvals frozen amid claims of expediency over safety. Afghan arrivals post-withdrawal? Not all fully vetted, per Justice Department findings. And that’s just the start—insiders admit the priority was quantity, not quality, turning the system into a sieve.
No wonder we’re hearing about post-admission arrests and red flags. It’s like inviting strangers to a party without checking IDs, then wondering why the silverware’s gone. Biden’s lax approach didn’t just invite chaos; it subsidized it.
The Taxpayer Toll: From Modest to Monstrous
Now, the numbers that sting. At the end of Trump’s first term, in fiscal year 2020, the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s budget clocked in at $2,542,066,000. Manageable, focused, and tied to low admissions. Fast-forward to fiscal year 2025, and that figure has ballooned to $6,392,214,000—more than double, even as programs for traditional refugees get slashed to prioritize the border surge.
Why the spike? Blame the unaccompanied kids program, gobbling up $4,243,000,000 in fiscal year 2025 alone, up from peanuts in 2020. Total federal refugee assistance hit $10 billion in fiscal year 2023, with estimates pegging the immigration surge’s net cost at billions more in benefits outweighing taxes paid. One analysis crunches it to $80,000 net loss per immigrant over their lifetime, while illegal immigration alone dings each taxpayer $1,156 yearly.
By 2034, benefits for the surge crowd and their kids could total $177 billion. That’s your money, folks—diverted from fixing roads, schools, or your skyrocketing health care—straight into this bottomless pit. In fiscal year 2022, spending hit $8,925,214,000; 2023 dipped slightly to $8,467,577,750 but still dwarfed Trump’s era. And for what? A system that rewards line-jumpers while Americans foot the bill.
Time to Slam the Door and Save the Wallet
Enough is enough. As we stare down fiscal year 2026’s proposed cuts to $4,421,755,000 and a refugee cap slashed to 7,500—the lowest ever—it’s clear the pendulum’s swinging back to America First. No more bankrolling Biden’s border blunders. Americans are hurting, and it’s high time our taxes went to our own kitchens, not funding a global giveaway. If we’re going to rebuild, let’s start by putting citizens first, not the world’s wandering masses.