Speaker. over this past weekend. riots erupted at the Fort Chaffee. Ark.. Cuban refugee resettlement center. Refugees. reportedly angered by delays in processing. stormed the main gate at the fort and were turned back by State police and sheriffs deputies. In the affray. about 2 dozen persons -refugees and law enforcement officials were injured. Apparently. shots were fired by police but fortunately there were no fatalities. Instances such as this one go far beyond the local threat to civil order. Although the dislocations to communities like Fort Smith are considerable. these disturbances are symptomatic of the flaws in our immigration policy. Present policy and practice have created conditions which impose few constraints on the numbers of refugees that will be admitted to this country but more important. do not address the many economic and social problems that arise as a consequence of a massive influx of unsponsored refugees into communities which have problems of their own. Estimates of the cost of this most recent influx of Cubans range as high as $300 millionwithout including longterm costs of welfare benefits and tax revenues lost as Cuban workers displace Americans. In addition. disturbances at Fort Chaffee in Arkansas and Eglin AFB.
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Refugees immigration refugee refugees