Refugee Resettlement Patterns in the USA: Examining Labor Market Conditions and Immigration Policies in Cities of Primary Placement and Secondary Internal Migration

Abstract

This study examines resettlement patterns in the USA: primary placement patterns where refugees were placed by U.S. dispersion policy, and then internal or secondary migration patterns based on voluntary relocation by resettled refugees. Using data from the U.S. Department of State and from a community-based census, analyses consider labor market conditions and immigration policies (Sanctuary City policy and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program) in cities of refugee resettlement, in addition to geographic region and immigrant population as local-level characteristics salient to secondary migration patterns in the post-September 11 era of resettlement in the USA, using Bhutanese refugees as a case study. Results indicate that U.S. refugee dispersion policy places Bhutanese refugees in cities with poorer labor market conditions, which conflicts with the policy goals of job placement and self-sufficiency. In terms of internal migration, results suggest that Bhutanese refugees follow the paths of immigrants more broadly into “new refugee destinations,” particularly in the midwestern regions, which have fast-growing immigrant populations.