Analyzing U.S. Resettlement Practices and Benchmarking Current U.S. Statistics with other Developed Countries

Each year the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) offers tens of thousands of refugees who have fled precarious and often life-threatening situations the opportunity to establish a fresh start in the United States. Despite the essential role that USRAP plays in global refugee resettlement, its effectiveness is undermined by the fact that it has not been comprehensively restructured since it was created in 1980. Increasing demographic diversity among the arriving refugee population and a shifting focus toward resettling the most vulnerable has tested the limits of the U.S. resettlement system and has revealed serious problem areas. The need for change to the system is urgent to ensure that refugees resettled to the United States receive the support necessary to begin to sustain themselves in their new home country.

At the request of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a team of graduate students from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) has produced a final report, which is based on extensive research and interviews with key figures in refugee resettlement organizations. The aim of the report is to contribute to the current dialogue among refugee agencies and the National Security Council (NSC) surrounding reform of the resettlement system. To that end, this report identifies strengths and challenges of USRAP and proposes recommendations for change to ensure that the program better serves both current and future resettled refugees.

Press Releases:

Migration Policy Institute podcast (http://migrationpolicy.podbean.com/2010/07/)
Migration Policy Institute video (http://vimeo.com/13708548)
SIPA News (http://new.sipa.columbia.edu/news-center/article/capstone-workshop-refugee-resettlement-in-the-us)