Would you be willing to open your home up to an immigrant family in need?

Nope.
It wouldn’t matter if they were immigrant or native citizens. I wouldn’t let strangers in my home. Close friends are a maybe.

I had a couple of guys on immigrant visas live with me at different times. They were interesting to talk with. They weren’t friends but they became friends.

No. I’m very distrustful of people. There was a story in the news a few years ago about a family that had a nanny living in their home. It didn’t work out so when they asked her to leave, she refused. She put a lock on her bedroom door and it took months to get her out.
I know that’s an extreme case, but I wouldn’t want to deal with something like that happening.

Sounds similar to “squatter’s rights” @chyna. It’s usually applied to a landlord / tenant situation.

I mean, if they could cook, clean & buff my brogues.
Seriously though, not a chance in fucking hell, be happy to book them in a hotel short term, but strangers…in my home?!? Not happening.

No. I grew up with too many downtrodden guests and it ruined my faith in humanity for the most part, when it comes to my personal space anyway.

I tried to host a family of Syrian refugees a few years ago, but found the state of California doesn’t want them to live in someone’s house. They want them to live independently, and close to urban centers like Sacramento or the Bay Area (Redding isn’t considered).
I was quite disappointed.

I couldn’t. My house is only 720 sq. ft. and barely big enough for me.

Here Is the story I was thinking about @Dutchess_III .

We helped a family who emigrated from Brazil. (He was born in the US, and she was from Brazil.) There were misunderstandings and hurt feelings on their part. Apparently in their culture it’s fine to let your little kids sit on top of tables in others people’s homes. They also broke some stuff and never bothered to tell me. (I would have understood if they had said something- it was tight quarters, and they had a toddler.)

I guess it really ticked them off when I told them, “If you won’t respect my stuff, you wont respect me!”

If I had a guest quarters, maybe. I consider my home my sanctuary, where I can close the door, and my time is all mine, safe, snug, and quiet.

My place isn’t t that big.
But having said that, it would depend on where they were from.

No, I rely on contributions to relevant charities and voting for (Democrat) candidates who support immigrant rights.

As long as they didn’t set off my radar, I would. Temporarily though.

I have a really small place, and only one bathroom, so I would hope that it would only be a few months….

I would seriously consider it if I had a larger house or especially a guest house. When I first saw what was happening in Syria my gut reaction was I wish I could take in someone to help them. It would be better if I lived in a place with better job opportunities for them though.

I would not. In general I do not open my house to strangers. I need an implicit level of trust before I’d let total unknowns stay here. Selfishly we have too much to lose.
On the other hand, I would gladly welcome someone from here. After years of reading replies and comments I have some understanding of how the person thinks and behaves.

^On my way!

Given current laws, I would not. If they turned out to be horrible houseguests or I started noticing things missing or they just turned out to be total assholes, I couldn’t just get rid of them. I would have to go through a costly eviction process which could take months. That would be a huge pain in the ass. If it was someone I knew or had had prior relationship with, I might consider it. Total stranger? No way.

@chyna, “generally, once somebody has established residency, you have to go through a formal eviction process.” And that can take 90 days.

Thanks for the stories. I’ve taken a lot of troubled boys over the years, but never an entire family.

@snowberry kids can sit on table tops at my house! But I wouldn’t let them at someone elses house.

No. A town near ours welcomed quite a few of them years ago. They let one couple “borrow“their car and they never came back. Many things were stolen from them. People are not naive anymore. I can’t even have a couple girls in here from Craig’s List to clean without being robbed blind.

My mom had her teenage grandchildren live with her. Somehow, the occasional teenage stray wound up on our porch and worked his way into our home. Between my nephews and those wayward teens, in spite of my mom’s best efforts to “help,” there was nothing but chaos.

So, that’s my experience with hosting the teenage equivalent of refugees.

Ideally, I would love to help families in need. Realistically, it’s not best for my wife and I. Therefor, to help refuge families I would donate clothing, blankets, personal hygiene supplies, non-perishable food, day passes for public transportation, etc. I would donate money only to agencies that directly serve refugees.

I was lucky. When my son brought home all the motherless boys to live with us, they were all receptive to pulling their weight around the house. We had a whole lot of fun, too. I miss those days.