the basics

What is a refugee?

A refugee is someone who is forced to leave their home due to the fear of war, persecution, or a natural disaster. All refugees coming to the United States are referred by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, which guides families through the registration process.

How securely are refugees screened?

Before being checked into refugee camps, the biographical information provided by the refugee is checked. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees staff interview everyone in the camps, and only those who can prove they are facing persecution and cannot return to their home country are registered as “refugees.” Multiple U.S. intelligence agencies work together to create a full background check on each applicant. Refugees also go through a thorough health screening.

How do refugees get here?

Refugees first flee to camps run by the United Nations. These camps often resemble concentration camps because they are heavily guarded and surrounded by barbed wire. Some people live in these for decades. Fewer than one percent of refugees worldwide are ever resettled to a third country. Once an applicant is verified as a “refugee,” they are assigned to a local resettlement agency. Agency staff meets the refugees at the airport, and helps them with basic needs for up to 90 days.

What happens once a refugee arrives here in the U.S.?

Refugees are authorized to work, and are expected to find employment immediately. After one year, refugees are required to apply to become legal permanent residents (green card holders). After five years, they are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship—and most do.

What happens once a refugee arrives here in the U.S.?

how to help

What is the best way for me to support refugees?

There are myriad ways to support refugees, depending on your time and inclination. With so much suspicion of “the other” in our modern society, though, the best thing you can do is to speak out and declare your support for our country’s tradition of welcoming those oppressed by other governments. This means not only contacting your elected representatives whenever a refugee-related issue arises, but also talking with your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues, especially when they express anti-immigrant and anti-refugee sentiments. It is through respectful but direct conversation that we can begin to change hearts and minds, and allow our community members to see refugees for who they are: aspiring Americans, just like our ancestors were not all that long ago.

Join PANA’s human-to-human effort to engage in these conversations. Contact us here for more information!

the whys

Why should the United States take in refugees?

America was founded on the ideal of refuge; indeed, it was its founding vision. For generations, the United States has shone as a beacon of hope and freedom for people across the globe undergoing crises. While the U.S. cannot take in everyone who seeks safe haven here, it is vital that we continue to open our arms and hearts to people with a well-founded fear of persecution.

Additionally, the U.S. is blessed with some of the globe’s largest bounty of natural resources. Today, the countries taking in the most refugees per capita are Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, Germany, and Chad. Because so many of these countries are poor themselves, the system is unsustainable, which will lead to millions fleeing war and persecution to suffer intolerable suffering and hardship.

How bad is the refugee crisis?

The United Nations Refugee Agency reports that in 2017, “We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record.” More than 65.6 million people around the globe have been forced from their homes by the end of 2016. Every minute, 20 people are forcibly displaced from their home because of conflict or persecution.

The conflict in Syria, now in its seventh year, caused the highest number of refugees, 5.5 million. More than six million children still in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance. Nearly half a million Syrians have been killed and more than one million injured since 2010.

Are there other causes besides persecution and conflict?

The 21st century has seen enormous increases in natural disaster, sometimes due to climate change. Disasters, like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and mudslides, are increasing in frequency and intensity. Even with vastly growing numbers of such disasters, there are no international or regional refugee laws that address the plight of people affected by these catastrophes.

There are other human-made disasters, including severe socio-economic deprivation. Millions of people across the planet lack food, water, education, health care, and opportunity to a job. Currently, people so affected do not qualify as refugees, though they clearly need some form of protection or support.

Why do so many countries decide not to help refugees?

Fear of refugees is, unfortunately, a long-standing reality. In 1939, the United States refused entry to Jews fleeing Hitler’s Germany, because of concerns that some might be Communists or Nazi collaborators. Many of those refugees were sent back to die in the Holocaust.

We see many of the same instincts today, with many U.S. politicians—and the public—fearing terrorist attacks. But compassion and security can coexist. Since 2001, more than 800,000 refugees have been resettled in the United States, and none have been convicted of an act of terrorism.

The United States takes in less than half of one percent of the world’s refugees, and under the Trump administration, is considering cutting even that number to almost none.

What do refugees add to our economy and culture?

It is never a good idea to generalize, but many refugees yearn to come to the U.S. because of its entrepreneurial spirit and promise. For example, in the 1980s, the U.S. resettled more than 700,000 refugees from Asia, most of whom were from Vietnam. Today, Vietnamese Americans are seen as a resounding success story.