A Primer on the U.S. Refugee System



Being a refugee is a complicated, convoluted, and lengthy process. The United States has a long history of accepting refugees fleeing conflicts. The bullets below will help outline the evolution of the U.S. system as well as provide a background for studying refugees.

Background: 
  • In 1980, the United States codified its refugee system and created a standardized mechanism for identify, securing, and resettling refugees. 
  • The size of the program fluctuates and its set based on the President's recommendation. 
  • Firstly, in order to qualify for refugee protections, individuals must qualify as refugees. A refugee is often confused with migrant, internally displaced person (IDP) and asylum seeker. A migrant is an individual who travels for economic opportunity. An IDP is an individual who has been moved from their home for a variety of reasons but remains within the borders of his/her host nation. 
  • Codified in US and international law (1951 Refugee Convention), a refugee is an individual who has been persecuted or has reason to fear persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group. 
  • Refugees are individuals who seek refugee status from a third country whereas Asylum seekers are individuals who have entered the United States and are claiming Asylum from within the U.S. 
  • Asylum seekers and refugees have different processes for receiving rights and protections. 
  • Following WWII, the U.S. resettled nearly 650,000 Europeans. 
  • The amount of refugees allowed in the U.S. has generally declined. When the program was first created in 1980, nearly 200,000 refugees entered the U.S.; however, now President Trump has cut that number to 22,500. 
  • The United States routinely receives refugees from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin American 
  • Following the creation of the U.S. program in 1980, a majority of refugees were admitted from Southeast Asian countries, fleeing brutal communist regimes. 
  • The 2017 Executive Order by President Trump banned refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen
  • The first step for a refugee to enter the U.S. is to register with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UNHCR officials will collect documentation and perform initial screenings. 
  • Then U.S. officials will screen refugees and issues background security checks using various biometric markers
  • Are refugees really a security threat? Well the data says no. A CATO study showed that of the 154 foreign-born terrorist plots since 1975 only twenty were refugees and only three attacks proved deadly. Moreover, all the attacks occurred prior to the implementation of the 1980 Refugee Act.
Debate Resolutions: 

Debate Resolutions: WUDC 2016 EFL Finals: THBT campaigners for refugee protection should not use pictures displaying the graphic suffering of refugees as part of their advocacy. Click Here

Additional References: 



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