Temporary Refugees: The Impact of US Policy on Civic Participation and Political Belonging among Liberians in the United States

Abstract

This article examines the impact of US refugee policy – with respect to the designation of temporary protected status versus refugee/asylee status – on Liberians’ integration in the United States and participation in transnational activities. While temporary protected status is granted on humanitarian grounds and offers legal protection similar to refugee or asylee status, it does not provide access to services that promote integration. The emphasis on security and legal protection, rather than political integration and citizenship, reflects a larger trend in US immigration and reception policy away from the promotion of political belonging among immigrants. Data from the Liberian case indicate that policies to which Liberians were subjected between 1980 and 2010 impacted Liberians’ civic participation in two important ways. The policy of awarding refugee/asylee status to some Liberians while leaving others to languish with temporary protected status has exacerbated old ethnic divisions among Liberians and created new divisions. Temporary protected status has also prevented Liberians from obtaining higher education, which is a key mechanism through which Liberians seek to participate more fully as citizens in both the US and in Liberia. Data were collected through documentary and archival research and 40 semi-structured interviews with Liberians in New York City and Minneapolis-St Paul.