Refugee Resettlement in the United States: Policy and Problems

Abstract

Federal refugee resettlement policies and programs, like admission policy, developed in an ad hoc, reactive way. Federal involvement in resettlement started out modestly as aid to Cubans, grew enormously with aid to the Indochinese, and continued to grow even more with a catchall program for Soviet and other refugees. Over the years, the private nonprofit voluntary agencies became institutionalized as the private-sector link between admissions and local resettlement. The Refugee Act of 1980 was an attempt to design a coherent and comprehensive refugee admission and resettlement policy. The act will have to be periodically considered for reauthorization, and it is clear that while the goal of successful economic and social integration of the refugee into American society is universally agreed upon, the modes of resettlement are controversial. Resettlement problems for policymakers, host communities, and refugees remain.