Refugee Resettlement Program Research Articles

The US Refugee Resettlement Program — A Return to First Principles: How Refugees Help to Define, Strengthen, and Revitalize the United States

The US Refugee Resettlement Program — A Return to First Principles: How Refugees Help to Define, Strengthen, and Revitalize the United States

A Needs and Readiness Assessment of the United States Refugee Resettlement Program: Focus on Syrian Asylum‐Seekers and Refugees

AbstractPeople fleeing from violence and persecution around the world view the United States (US) as a safe haven. But recent socio political instability and growing anti‐refugee sentiment, in light of an unprecedented global humanitarian crisis, challenge this longstanding view. To better understand the current socio political climate, this study evaluated the US Refugee Resettlement Program (USRP) by focusing on Syrian asylum‐seekers and refugees. Participants consisted of 71 resettlement organization leaders (e.g., chief operating officer and director of refugee services) who, between 2013 and 2016, collectively resettled 76 per cent of all refugees and 44 per cent of Syrians to the US. Reasons for current challenges are explored while strengths are emphasized and future directions offered, along with relevant policy and clinical implications.

Paper integration: The structural constraints and consequences of the US refugee resettlement program

AbstractThe migration literature contends that, unlike other immigrants, refugees resettled in the US benefit from a federal program of integration. These claims do not consider the barriers that may complicate the implementation of resettlement policy. Based on 16 months of ethnographic fieldwork at a refugee resettlement agency in California, I argue that the organizational structure of the US Resettlement Program shapes how caseworkers provide resettlement services on a daily basis. The financial insecurity of Resettlement Agencies coupled with high stakes government oversight creates an organizational culture of vulnerability where caseworkers rely on discretion as they put resettlement policy into practice. Caseworkers develop coping mechanisms to get by as they simultaneously attend to the demands of their funders and their refugee clients. Given these structural constraints and limited resources, caseworkers instrumentalize paperwork as a discretionary tool. When files and documents are privileged over the quality and extent of resettlement services, caseworkers creatively utilize paperwork to separate policy from practice in order to protect themselves and appease their refugee clients. This policy of integration instead becomes a practice of paper integration, which problematizes prior theories and assumptions about US refugee resettlement. This practice of paper integration ultimately affects the services that arriving refugees receive and the degree to which they benefit from this ostensible program of integration.

The State, Ethnic Community, and Refugee Resettlement in Japan

Using the case of Karen refugees in Japan, this paper examines how a state-driven refugee resettlement policy resulted in refugees suffering under difficult conditions and how, in turn, this drove the existing ethnic community to become an active player in assisting resettled refugees to adapt, in contest with the state. Japan was the first Asian country to initiate a refugee resettlement program in 2010. However, the government failed to consult with other stakeholders, notably the ethnic community, causing difficulties for the refugees in adapting to their new life. In helping resolving this crisis, the Karen community emerged as a legitimate actor in the governance of these refugees. The current study highlights the contest between the state and ethnic communities over resettlement programs and contributes to the understanding of the structural formation that influences refugees in the early stage of resettlement.

At the ‘frontiers’ of humanitarian performance: refugee resettlement, theatre-making and the geo-politics of service

ABSTRACTCertain repeated moral narratives support justifications for humanitarian interventions, and simultaneously inform perspectives of ‘the figure of the refugee’. How does ‘the humanitarian’ appear in these narratives? How are the characters of ‘the refugee’ and ‘the humanitarian’ constructed in relation to one another? How does their interlinkage potentially affect refugees’ agency to act, within a neo-liberal and universalist trope of geo-political expansion? In this article, I respond to these questions and describe a theatricality of humanitarian action. I do so by drawing on experiences as a theatre-maker working in a refugee resettlement programme in Thailand, in 2007–2008.

Purpose: God's Love as Seen in the Refugee Resettlement Program in Rutland, Vermont

Purpose: God's Love as Seen in the Refugee Resettlement Program in Rutland, Vermont

Consequences of Immigrating During a Recession: Evidence from the US Refugee Resettlement Program

I examine long-term employment and wage consequences for refugees who immigrate to the United States under different business cycle conditions. It is difficult to causally identify the relationship between initial economic conditions and subsequent outcomes for most immigrants because they can choose when and where they immigrate. However, refugees offer a unique opportunity to empirically measure these outcomes because their dates of arrival and states of placement are exogenously chosen through the US Refugee Resettlement Program. For every one percentage point increase in the national unemployment rate at arrival, refugees on average experience a 2.99% reduction in wages five years later and a 1.8 percentage point reduction in employment four years later. Estimates using state unemployment rate at arrival show less persistence suggesting mobility or differential economic improvement across states may be important in mitigating these effects. I also divide the sample across gender and educational attainment. I find no evidence of wage scarring for uneducated males but observe a 4.85% reduction in wages five years later for high school-educated males and a 5.29% reduction in wages four years later for college-educated.

Infection prevention and control and the refugee population: Experiences from the University of Louisville Global Health Center

During 2016, approximately 140,000 individuals entered the United States as part of the federal government refugee resettlement program and established themselves in communities in virtually every state. No national database regarding refugee health currently exists; therefore, little is known about existing infectious diseases, conditions, and cultural practices that impact successful acculturation. The objective of this report is to identify what is currently known about refugees and circumstances important to infection prevention and control with respect to their roles as new community members, employees, and consumers of health care. Using data from the University of Louisville Global Health Center's Newly Arriving Refugee Surveillance System, health issues affecting refugees from the perspective of a community member, an employee, and a patient were explored. Lack of immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases is the most widespread issue impacting almost every adult, adolescent, and child refugee resettled in Kentucky. Health issues of concern from an infection prevention and control perspective include latent tuberculosis infection, HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and parasites. Other health conditions that may also be important include anemia, obesity, oral health, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Refugee resettlement provides motivation for collaborative work among those responsible for infection prevention and control in all settings, their public health partners, and those responsible for and interested in community workforce concerns.

The rights of resettled refugees in the UK: lessons for 'new' resettlement states and rights based advocacy for refugees

Despite lengthy engagement with the international refugee regime, the UK has only recently begun an organised refugee resettlement program. This is smallest in magnitude of the five states compared here. Whether the UK fulfils its obligations towards those it resettles depends on the under-explored meaning of the term 'resettled refugee' - specifically for accompanying or subsequently arriving dependents of a refugee. The UK's performance varies across categories of resettled refugees and across different socio-economic rights. While many assume that the most important refugee rights are found in the Refugee Convention, other sources of human rights are at least as (and often more) important to resettled refugees. Domestic legal frameworks providing for rights largely directed at UK nationals have also benefited resettled refugees. The UK's inchoate response to the resettlement of Syrian refugees is used as a case study, evidencing key features and limitations of existing policy and possible future developments.

The rights of resettled refugees in the UK: lessons for 'new' resettlement states and rights based advocacy for refugees

Despite lengthy engagement with the international refugee regime, the UK has only recently begun an organised refugee resettlement program. This is smallest in magnitude of the five states compared here. Whether the UK fulfils its obligations towards those it resettles depends on the under-explored meaning of the term 'resettled refugee' - specifically for accompanying or subsequently arriving dependents of a refugee. The UK's performance varies across categories of resettled refugees and across different socio-economic rights. While many assume that the most important refugee rights are found in the Refugee Convention, other sources of human rights are at least as (and often more) important to resettled refugees. Domestic legal frameworks providing for rights largely directed at UK nationals have also benefited resettled refugees. The UK's inchoate response to the resettlement of Syrian refugees is used as a case study, evidencing key features and limitations of existing policy and possible future developments.

Responsibility to Redress: Global Harm, Obligation and the Afghan and Iraqi Refugee Crises

The U.S. led invasions and occupations of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 created displacement crises that continue to this day. Yet despite the on-going consequences of these actions, and immediate needs of millions of people, U.S. and allied responses have been slow, narrow, and inadequate with regard to basic humanitarian aid and protection. In 2006, for example, the U.S. Government created programs to issue Special Immigrant Visas to a limited number of Afghans and Iraqis who worked for the U.S. military in various capacities. These programs were created to help the “friends” of the U.S. that assisted in its war effort. In this way the U.S. Government recognized a limited duty to redress harm while millions of others who were negatively affected by the invasions and occupations are given no such consideration. This paper first considers “cosmopolitan” and “anti-cosmopolitan” justifications for redressing harm done to outsiders. Then, following what Shelley Wilcox calls the global harm principle I argue that the states involved in military action in Afghanistan and Iraq have an obligation to assist everyone negatively affected, not just “friends.” In order to fulfill this obligation, the U.S. and its allies should expand their refugee resettlement programs to admit any non-combatants from Afghanistan or Iraq who wishes to resettle. For those who do not wish to resettle in the United States or Europe, greater funds should be made available in the form of direct cash transfers to individuals and greater funding for international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). I draw upon precedents of reparations in international law and practice, such as those made following cessation of wars, to support this recommendation. Finally, I consider several of the key trade-offs implied by the GHP when implemented in a “non-ideal” world.

Notes from the Field: Splenomegaly of Unknown Etiology in Congolese Refugees Applying for Resettlement to the United States - Uganda, 2015.

Approximately 70,000-90,000 refugees are resettled to the United States each year, and during the next 5 years, 50,000 Congolese refugees are expected to arrive in the United States. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) performs refugee medical examinations overseas for the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. In 2014, IOM reported that a large number of U.S.-bound Congolese refugees from Uganda had spleens that were enlarged on examination. During two evaluations of refugee populations in western Uganda in March and July 2015, refugees with splenomegaly on physical examination were offered additional assessment and treatment, including abdominal ultrasonography and laboratory testing. Among 987 persons screened, 145 (14.7%) had splenomegaly and received further testing. Among the 145 patients with splenomegaly, 63.4% were aged 5-17 years (median=14.8 years). There was some evidence of family clustering, with 33 (22.7%) of the 145 cases occurring in families.

Forced Displacement and Refugees

Forced migration has come to be the defining feature of the contemporary Middle East, a region that is both the source of and host to some of the largest forcibly displaced populations in the world. In 2015, 65 percent of the world's 19.4 million refugees—including the 5.5 million Palestinian refugees—as well as 30 percent of the world's thirty-eight million internally displaced persons were in the Middle East, while one out of every four refugees worldwide was from Syria. Seeking security and stability, millions of people from the region are on the move within and across social spaces that are at once strange and familiar, and in which they themselves are familiar and strange to others. In 2015, Turkey became host to the world's largest refugee population of over two million, while Zaʿatari camp in Jordan has grown rapidly to become one of the world's largest camps since the Syrian civil war began. With 7.6 million people—or 35 percent of the population—internally displaced, Syria now has the highest number of internally displaced persons in the world. Iraq has produced multiple overlapping displacements, resulting in one of the largest refugee resettlement programs of the past decade. Thousands of Syrians, Libyans, and Iraqis have undertaken perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea to seek asylum in Europe and elsewhere. Palestinian refugees are now in a fourth generation of exile, making their plight the longest running unresolved refugee situation in the world.

Fleeing War, Fighting Xenophobia

The purpose of this research is to identify the key differences between German and American refugee policies as they relate to the ability of each country’s native population to successfully integrate refugees into their society. This body of work looks specifically at the German and American Refugee Resettlement Programs submitted to the United Nations. As shown in this research, new legal policy that can fight systematic distrust and discrimination becomes achievable by identifying the practices that contribute to in- and out-group dynamics between host country and refugees. Such policies will allow for the building of stronger, more integrated societies in the future. While Germany and the United States display both strengths and weakness in varying aspects of their respective refugee policies, neither has a significantly superior Refugee Resettlement Program.

Large Study of Health Issues for Newly Arrived Child Refugees

Hepatitis B, tuberculosis, parasitic worms, high blood lead levels and anemia are the top health issues of newly arrived child refugees according to a new study of refugee children. HEPATITIS B, TUBERCULOSIS, parasitic worms, high blood lead levels and anemia are the top health issues of newly arrived child refugees according to a new study of refugee children. Each year, the U.S. accepts 35,000 child refugees who have fled persecution from their home country through the Department of State's Refugee Resettlement program. An additional 200,000 to 250,000 immigrant children receive lawful permanent residency in the United States each year. Before arriving in the United States, these children refugees often live in rural areas or refugee camps where medicine, food and western luxuries are seldom available. Overall, 3.7% of children living in the United States, including 7.7% of Latino children and 16.7% of Asian children, were born overseas. Although immigrant children are an important, and growing part of the U.S. population, comprehensive guidelines for the care of these children has been lacking. This has been because, in part, data on the health status of immigrant children have been missing. Despite these limitations, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has used the best available data to develop screening guidelines for refugees that have been implemented by many state and local departments of public health (www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/ guidelines/domestic/checklist.html). These guidelines recommend a minimum set of screening tests, which usually take place within 90 days (and preferably within 30 days) of arrival, for infectious, nutritional and environmental health

Asylum Seekers and Resettled Refugees in Australia: Predicting Social Policy Attitude From Prejudice Versus Emotion

While most of the world's refugees reside in developing countries, their arrival to western countries is highly politicised, giving rise to questions about the types of entitlements and rights that should, or should not, be granted. In this study, using a mixed-methods community questionnaire (N = 185), we examined attitudes towards social policies aimed at providing assistance to two categories of new arrivals to Australia: resettled refugees (who arrive via its official refugee resettlement program) and asylum seekers (who arrive via boat and then seek refugee status). Social policy attitude was examined as a consequence of feelings of anger, fear, and threat, as well as levels of prejudice. Participants felt significantly higher levels of anger, fear, threat, and prejudice towards asylum seekers compared to resettled refugees. For both resettled refugees and asylum seekers, prejudice was an independent predictor of more restrictive social policy attitudes. For resettled refugees, fear and perceived threat were independent predictors for more restrictive social policy whereas for asylum seekers anger was an independent predictor of restrictive social policy. The qualitative data reinforced the quantitative findings and extended understanding on the appraisals that underpin negative attitudes and emotional responses. Practical implications relating to challenging community attitudes are discussed.

The Causal Impact of Migration on US Trade: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Immigrants can increase international trade by shifting preferences towards the goods of their country of origin and by reducing bilateral transaction costs. Using geographical variations across US states for the period 1970 to 2005, we quantify the impact of immigrants on intermediate goods imports. We address endogeneity and reverse causality – which arises if migration from a country of origin to a US state is driven by trade opportunities between the two locations – by exploiting the exogenous allocation of refugees within the US refugee resettlement program. Our results are robust to an alternative identification strategy, based on the large influx of Central American immigrants to the United States after hurricane Mitch. We find that a 10 percent increase in recent immigrants to a given US state raises intermediate imports from those immigrants' country of origin by 1.5 percent.

Postpartum depression in refugee and asylum-seeking women in Canada: A critical health psychology perspective.

Canada has one of the world's largest refugee resettlement programs in the world. Just over 48 percent of Canadian refugees are women, with many of them of childbearing age and pregnant. Refugee and asylum-seeking women in Canada face a five times greater risk of developing postpartum depression than Canadian-born women. Mainstream psychological approaches to postpartum depression emphasize individual-level risk factors (e.g. hormones, thoughts, emotions) and individualized treatments (e.g. psychotherapy, medication). This conceptualization is problematic when applied to refugee and asylum-seeking women because it fails to acknowledge the migrant experience and the unique set of circumstances from which these women have come. The present theoretical article explores some of the consequences of applying this psychiatric label to the distress experienced by refugee and asylum-seeking women and presents an alternative way of conceptualizing and alleviating this distress.

Findings from an Extended Case Management U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program

This evaluation considers 434 households that participated in an Extended Case Management program from March 2009 through July 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. Substantial improvements in wellbeing and reductions in needs in relation to health, employment, finances, housing, education, and family/community circumstances were observed over the course of 2 years. Variations in wellbeing and integration over time were related primarily to English ability at arrival, household type, country of origin, and employment status. Education, employment experience prior to arrival, and literacy were also associated with some outcomes. Employment increased dramatically over time, with at least one person employed in over 75 % of households that had reached 24 months of extended case management support.

An Overview of Pending Asylum and Refugee Legislation in the US Congress

There has been no significant legislation related to the asylum process enacted in Congress in nearly a decade. In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) became law, rolling back protections for asylum seekers by including a one-year deadline for filing asylum applications, subjecting asylum seekers to “expedited removal” procedures, and expanding the detention of asylum seekers. In 2005, Congress enacted the REAL ID Act, which created additional legal barriers to asylum, including new requirements for proving an asylum claim. During the past several sessions of Congress, bills have been introduced that would make significant changes to the country's asylum laws and refugee admissions program. This paper provides an overview of the pending legislation and the changes proposed. This overview is instructive in understanding (1) which members of Congress have demonstrated interest and leadership in refugee and asylum issues; (2) which refugee and asylum reform issues have been of most interest to members of Congress in recent years; (3) the different approaches to refugee and asylum issues by members of Congress who have shown leadership on these issues; and (4) which provisions have been enacted, which have gained traction, and which remain pending without significant movement through the legislative process. While it is difficult to imagine in the current partisan climate how any asylum or refugee legislation could be enacted into law, some legislative provisions have been reintroduced over a number of sessions of Congress and some have a history of bipartisan support. Legislation focused on a group of particular interest or concern to members of Congress could gain traction. A more comprehensive legislative approach framed by the need generally to improve the system could be less effective, particularly in the context of the years-long stalemate on comprehensive immigration reform. While legislation is unlikely to pass in the near future, it remains important for members of Congress who believe in the importance a fair, effective, and humane asylum system and refugee resettlement program, to introduce and build support for asylum and refugee legislation. Provisions in bills that have already been introduced, like those in S. 744, are more likely to be included in legislation that is moving through Congress. In addition, these bills demonstrate the continued interest of members of Congress in asylum and refugee issues and the need for reform. They also provide an important tool for advocates for education and outreach to Congress and the public.