The Refugee Act of 1980 (section 413(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit an annual report to Congress on the Refugee Resettlement Program. This report covers refugee program developments in Fiscal Year 2004, from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. It is the thirty-eighth in a series of reports to Congress on refugee resettlement in the U.S. since FY 1975, and the twenty-fourth to cover an entire year of activities carried out under the comprehensive authority of the Refugee Act of 1980.

Key Federal Activities

• Congressional Consultations: Following consultations with Congress, the President set a worldwide refugee admission ceiling at 70,000 for FY 2004

Admissions

• The United States admitted 52,858 refugees, including 33 Amerasian immigrants, in FY 2004. An additional 21,134 Cuban and 316 Haitian nationals were admitted as entrants, for a total of 74,308 arrivals.
• Refugees and entrants from Cuba (24,093) comprised the largest admission group, followed by arrivals from Somalia (12,814), the successor republics of the Soviet Union (8,785), Liberia (7,107), and Laos (5,995).
• Florida received the largest number of arrivals (19,806), followed by California (6,797), Washington (5,909), Texas (4,099), and New York (3,717).

Reception and Placement Activities

• In FY 2004, ten non‑profit organizations were responsible for the reception and initial placement of refugees through cooperative agreements with the U.S. Department of State.

Domestic Resettlement Program

• Refugee Appropriations: In FY 2004, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF) received an appropriation of $394.8 million to assist refugees and Cuban and Haitian entrants.

• Cash and Medical Assistance for refugees was provided from grants totaling $102.5 million awarded to States for maintenance during the first eight months after arrival.

• Social Services: In FY 2004, ORR provided $79.7 million in formula grants to States and non-profit organizations for a broad range of services for refugees, such as English language and employment‑related training.

• Targeted Assistance: In FY 2004,ORR provided $49.0 million in targeted assistance funds to supplement available services in areas with large concentrations of refugees and entrants.

• Voluntary Agency Matching Grant Program: ORR awarded grants totaling $43.5 million during the past year. Under this program, ORR awards Federal funds on a matching basis to national voluntary resettlement agencies to provide assistance and services to refugees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, asylees, and victims of trafficking.

• Refugee Health: ORR provided funds to State and local health departments for refugee health assessments. Obligations for these activities and technical assistance support amounted to approximately $4.8 million in FY 2004.

• Wilson/Fish Alternative Projects: In FY 2004, Wilson/Fish projects continued operation in Alaska, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nevada, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alabama, Vermont, Idaho, Colorado and San Diego County, CA.

• Cuban/Haitian Initiative : ORR provided $19 million in funds to increase services to Cuban/Haitian refugees and entrants in the areas of access to health, mental health, improved education for youth, crime prevention, and employment.

• Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program: An additional $52.8 million was appropriated for the UAC program, which was transferred to ORR from the Department of Homeland Security in March of 2003.

Refugee Population Profile

• Southeast Asians remain the largest group admitted since ORR established its arrival database in 1983, with 650,412 refugees, including 75,809 Amerasian immigrant arrivals. Nearly 486,866 refugees from the former Soviet Union arrived in the United States between 1983 and 2003.

• Other refugees who have arrived in substantial numbers since the enactment of the Refugee Act of 1980 include Afghans, Cubans, Ethiopians, Iranians, Iraqis, Poles, Romanians, Somalis, and citizens of the republics of the former Yugoslavia.

Economic Adjustment

• The Fall 2004 annual survey of refugees who have been in the United States less than five years indicated that about 63 percent of refugees age 16 or over were employed as of September 2004, as compared with about 62 percent for the U.S. population.

• The labor force participation rate remained at about 69 percent for the sampled refugee population, slightly higher than the 66 percent for the U.S. population. The refugee unemployment rate retreated to 6.7 percent, compared with 5.5 percent for the U.S. population.

• Approximately 71 percent of all sampled refugee households were entirely self‑sufficient. About 18 percent received both public assistance and earned income; another seven percent received only public assistance.

• Approximately 33 percent of refugees in the five‑year sample population received medical coverage through an employer, while 31 percent received benefits from Medicaid or Refugee Medical Assistance. About 18 percent of the sample population had no medical coverage in any of the previous 12 months.

• The average number of years of education was the highest for the refugees from Latin America (12.1 years), while the lowest was for refugees from Africa (7.6 years). About 15 percent of refugees reported they spoke English well or fluently upon arrival, but 50 percent spoke no English at all.

• The most common form of cash assistance was Supplemental Security Income, received by about 14 percent of refugee households. About 41 percent of refugee households received food stamps, and 12 percent lived in public housing.

• The 2004 annual survey of refugees also tracked the progress of a special group of young refugees from Africa, the “Lost Boys” of Sudan. The survey indicated that most of the Lost Boys have integrated into the American economy fairly well. Their employment rate was 92 percent, and their labor force participation rate was 96 percent. Only four percent could not find work