The entire premise of admitting refugees is that there are people who are in serious danger in their home countries because they’re the victims of targeted oppression and violence, and that those people deserve a chance to live safely somewhere — and the United States should be one place they can do it. It’s an affirmation that people have intrinsic worth regardless of whether they can make a contribution in the countries that take them in.

That’s why refugees and asylees are allowed to use food stamps to begin with, while most legal immigrants aren’t.

More: What’s Behind a Conservative Panic Over Refugees on Food Stamps - Vox