 Annual ORR Reports to Congress - 2002
I. Refugee Resettlement Program
Admissions
To be admitted to the United States, refugees must be determined by an officer of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to meet the definition of refugee as defined in the Refugee Act of 1980. They also must be determined to be of special humanitarian concern to the U.S., be admissible under U.S. law, and not be firmly resettled in another country. Special humanitarian concern generally applies to refugees with relatives residing in the U.S., refugees whose status as refugees has occurred as a result of their association with the U.S., and refugees who have a close tie to the U.S. because of education here or employment by the U.S. government. In addition, the U.S. admits a share of refugees determined by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to be in need of resettlement in a third country outside the region from which they have fled.
The ceiling for the number of refugees to be admitted each year is determined by the President after consultation between the Executive Branch and the Congress. The President has authority to respond beyond the ceiling in cases of emergencies. The table at right shows the arrivals and ceilings in FY's 1983-2002.
For FY 2002 the President determined the refugee ceiling at 70,000 refugees. During the fiscal year, 26,807 refugees and 263 Amerasians were admitted to the U.S. In addition, 16,015 Cuban and 719 Haitian entrants were admitted to the U.S.
Refugee and entrant arrivals from Cuba comprised the largest admission group (17,940), followed by refugee arrivals from the successor republics of the Soviet Union (9,978), Yugoslavia (5,450),
Ceilings and Admissions (1983 to 2002) |
|||||
| Year |
Ceiling |
Admissions |
% of Ceiling |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 |
70,000 |
27,070 |
38.7 |
||
2001 |
80,000 |
68,388 |
85.4 |
||
2000 |
90,000 |
72,519 |
80.5 |
||
1999 |
91,000 |
85,014 |
93.4 |
||
1998 |
83,000 |
76,750 |
92.5 |
||
1997 |
78,000 |
76,456 |
98.0 |
||
1996 |
90,000 |
75,755 |
84.1 |
||
1995 |
112,000 |
99,553 |
88.8 |
||
1994 |
121,000 |
112,065 |
92.6 |
||
1993 |
132,000 |
119,050 |
90.2 |
||
1992 |
142,000 |
131,749 |
92.8 |
||
1991 |
131,000 |
113,980 |
87.0 |
||
1990 |
125,000 |
122,935 |
98.3 |
||
1989 |
116,500 |
106,932 |
91.8 |
||
1988 |
60,500 |
76,930 |
127.2 |
||
1987 |
70,000 |
58,863 |
84.1 |
||
1986 |
67,000 |
60,559 |
90.4 |
||
1985 |
70,000 |
67,166 |
96.0 |
||
1984 |
72,000 |
70,604 |
98.1 |
||
1983 |
90,000 |
60,040 |
66.7 |
||
Source: Refugee ceilings, Department of State. Admissions based on ORR data system, which commenced in FY 1983. Does not include entrants |
|||||
Vietnam (3,312), and Afghanistan (1,669). Comparing the countries of origin of this year's arrivals with those of a decade earlier illustrates the wide swings and abrupt reversals in the refugee program. Yugoslavia sent only six refugees to the U.S. in FY 1990. Arrivals from the U.S.S.R., on the other hand, reached almost 50,000 a decade ago, but have dwindled since, as have arrivals from Vietnam which have fallen by 90 percent. FY 2002 arrivals from Laos, Romania, and Cambodia totaled only 21; a decade earlier, these three countries accounted for almost 16,000 admissions.
Florida received the largest number of arrivals (15,570), followed by California (4,294), New York (2,798), Washington (2,623), and Texas (1,697). Unlike countries of origin, the States of initial resettlement vary little from year to year. The only notable difference from a decade earlier is Florida's rise to the top spot-due entirely to a sustained increase in entrants under the bilateral agreement (discussed below).
The admission numbers for refugees included in this chapter include individuals admitted under the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988. Amerasians are children born in Vietnam to Vietnamese mothers and American fathers and are admitted as immigrants, rather than refugees; however, these youths and their immediate relatives are entitled to the same ORR-funded services and benefits. Since FY 1988, more than 75,500 Vietnamese have been admitted to the U.S. under this provision. In the peak year for this population (1992), over 17,000 youths and family members arrived in the U.S. Last year they numbered only 263.
The Population Profile section in Part II and associated tables in Appendix A of this report provide refugee, Amerasian, and entrant arrival numbers by country of origin and State of initial resettlement for the period FY 1983 through FY 2002.
Congress created the Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program under Title V of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980. The law provides for a program of reimbursement to participating States for cash and medical assistance to Cuban and Haitian entrants under the same conditions and to the same extent as such assistance and services for refugees under the refugee program. The first recipients of the new program were the approximately 125,000 Cubans who fled the Castro regime in the Mariel boatlift of 1980.
By law, an entrant-for the purposes of ORR-funded benefits-is a Cuban or Haitian national who is (a) paroled into the U.S., (b) subject to exclusion or deportation proceedings, or (c) an applicant for asylum.
Under the terms of a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Cuba, up to 20,000 Cuban immigrants are allowed to enter the U.S. directly from Cuba annually. These individuals are known as Havana Parolees and are eligible for ORR-funded benefits and services in States that have a Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program.
Entrant Arrivals, FY 1991 to FY 2002
| Cuba |
Haiti |
Total |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 |
16,015 |
719 |
16,734 |
|
| 2001 | 14,499 |
1,451 |
15,950 |
|
2000 |
17,871 |
1,570 |
19,441 |
|
| 1999 | 20,728 |
1,270 |
20,848 |
|
| 1998 | 13,492 |
590 |
13,551 |
|
| 1997 | 5,284 |
42 |
5,326 |
|
| 1996 | 16,985 |
346 |
17,331 |
|
| 1995 | 31,195 |
1,035 |
32,238 |
|
| 1994 | 12,785 |
1,579 |
14,364 |
|
| 1993 | 3,452 |
700 |
4,152 |
|
| 1992 | 2,539 |
10,385 |
12,924 |
|
| 1991 | 696 |
395 |
1,091 |
|
Does not include Cuban and Haitian arrivals with refugee status.
In FY 2002, 16,734 Cuban and Haitian entrants arrived in the U.S. Eighty-one percent initially resettled in Florida. The above table describes the flow of entrants since FY 1991.
On June 13, 2000 ORR published State Letter 00-12, which revised its policy on program eligibility for persons granted asylum. Section 412(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides a refugee with benefits beginning with the first month in which the refugee arrived in the U.S. In the past, an asylee's arrival date in the U.S. was considered his entry date for the purposes of program eligibility. The months of eligibility for assistance (currently eight) would then begin on this date. This date could precede by months or even years the date that the individual applied for or was granted asylum. Because of the time it normally takes for an individual to apply for asylum and to proceed through the INS adjudication process, this interpretation of "entry" prohibited even individuals who applied for asylum immediately upon arrival from accessing refugee cash assistance and refugee medical assistance. For example, an alien who arrived in the U.S. in April, 2000 and was granted asylum two years later could receive no cash and medical assistance after asylum approval because his eight-month period of eligibility ended in November, 2000-eight months after arrival but far before his asylum application was approved in April, 2002.
In 1996 Congress revised Federal welfare programs to use date of admission-rather than date of physical entry-as the important issue in determining an alien's legal status. Accordingly, ORR now uses the date that asylum is granted as the initial date of eligibility for ORR-funded services and benefits. Thus, in the above example, the asylee's eligibility for cash and medical assistance would begin in April, 2002 and end eight months later.
Most of the persons eligible for ORR's refugee program benefits and services are refugees resettled through the Department of State's refugee allocation system under the annual ceiling for refugee admissions. Upon arrival, refugees are provided initial services through a program of grants, called reception and placement cooperative agreements, made by the Department of State to qualifying agencies. In FY 2002 the following agencies participated: Church World Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Iowa Refugee Service Center, International Rescue Committee, Immigration and Refugee Services of America, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and World Relief.
These grantee agencies are responsible to provide initial "nesting" services covering basic food, clothing, shelter, orientation, and referral for the first 30 days. In FY 2002, the agencies received a per capita amount of $800 from the State Department for this purpose. After this period, refugees who still need assistance are eligible for cash and medical benefits provided under ORR's program of domestic assistance. For more information on these agencies and their activities, see Appendix C.
All persons admitted as refugees or granted asylum while in the U.S. are eligible for refugee benefits described in this report. Certain other persons admitted to the U.S. under other immigration categories are also eligible for refugee benefits. Amerasians from Vietnam and their accompanying family members, though admitted to the U.S. as immigrants, are entitled to the same social services and assistance benefits as refugees. Certain nationals of Cuba and Haiti, such as public interest parolees and asylum applicants, may also receive benefits in the same manner and to the same extent as refugees if they reside in a State with an approved Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program.
In FY 2002, the refugee and entrant assistance program was funded under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Act. In addition to this appropriation of $460.2 million, Congress gave ORR permission to spend prior year unexpended funds. At the end of the year, $12.3 million in FY 2002 appropriated funds remained unobligated. The appropriation table on page 9 explains the FY 2002 appropriations by line-item. The domestic refugee program consists of three separate resettlement approaches: (1) the State-administered program, (2) the Wilson/Fish program, and (3) the Matching Grant program.
Federal resettlement assistance to refugees is provided primarily through the State-administered refugee resettlement program. States provide transitional cash and medical assistance and social services to refugees, as well as maintain legal responsibility for the care of unaccompanied refugee children.
Refugees generally enter the U.S. without income or assets with which to support themselves during their first few months here. Families with children under age 18 are generally eligible for support from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Refugees who are aged, blind, or disabled may receive assistance from the Federally administered Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Refugees eligible for these two programs may be enrolled in the Medicaid program which provides medical assistance to low-income individuals and families.
Refugees who meet the income and resource eligibility standards of these two cash assistance programs, but are not otherwise eligible-such as single individuals, childless couples, and two-parent families in certain States with restrictive TANF programs-may receive benefits under the special Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) programs. Eligibility for these special programs is restricted to the first eight months in the U.S. except for asylees, for whom the eligibility period begins with the month that asylum is granted. ORR does not reimburse States for their costs of the TANF, SSI, and Medicaid programs.
In FY 2002, ORR obligated $154.1 million in current year funds and $25 million in prior year funds to reimburse States for their full costs for the RCA and RMA programs and associated State administrative costs. Cash and medical assistance allocations for each State are presented in the table on pages 10 and 11.
ORR provides funding for a broad range of social services to refugees, both through States and in some cases through direct service grants. Altogether, through both current year appropriations and prior year funds, ORR obligated $83.3 million for formula social services. With these funds, States provide intensive services to help refugees obtain employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency and social adjustment as quickly as possible. After deducting set-asides mandated by Congress, ORR, as in previous fiscal years, allocated 85 percent ($71.9 million) of the remaining social service funds on a formula basis. ORR supplemented its FY 2002 formula award with $11.5 million in unexpended prior year funds for a special social service set-aside. With these funds, States provided (1) $3 million for support for healthy families through community-based organizations, and (2) $8.5 million for planned upgrading of employment and employment retraining, and subsidized employment tied to a labor market need leading to unsubsidized employment.
Program obligations varied according to each State's proportion of total refugee and entrant arrivals during the previous three fiscal years. States with small refugee populations received a minimum of $75,000 in social service funds. Of total social service funds, ORR obligated $76.1 million to States under the State-administered program and the remainder ($7.3 million) to other agencies through privately administered Wilson/Fish and other alternative programs. In each instance, social services are provided only to refugees who have resided in the U.S. for fewer than 60 months. Social services allocations for each State are presented in the table on pages 10 and 11.
In addition to these funds, ORR obligated social service funds to a variety of discretionary programs. A discussion of these discretionary awards may be found beginning on page 24.
The targeted assistance program funds employment and other services for refugees and entrants who reside in local areas of high need. These areas are defined as counties or contiguous county areas with unusually large refugee and entrant populations, high refugee or entrant concentrations in relation to the overall population, or high use of public assistance. Such counties need supplementation of other available service resources to help the local refugee or entrant population obtain employment with less than one year's participation in the program.
Targeted Assistance by County, FY 2002
Maricopa |
AZ |
$1,410,183 |
Los Angeles |
CA |
1,952,977 |
Orange |
CA |
479,859 |
Sacramento |
CA |
1,346,494 |
San Diego |
CA |
658,998 |
San Francisco |
CA |
501,340 |
Santa Clara |
CA |
737,626 |
Denver |
CO |
335,776 |
Dist. of Columbia |
DC |
295,201 |
| Broward | FL |
562,516 |
| Dade | FL |
7,911,270 |
Duval |
FL |
640,398 |
| Hillsborough | FL |
450,852 |
Palm Beach |
FL |
446,822 |
| Pinnellas | FL |
375,597 |
| DeKalb | GA |
1,116,489 |
| Fulton | GA |
544,427 |
Ada |
ID |
287,916 |
Cook/Kane |
IL |
1,771,962 |
| Polk | IA |
473,453 |
| Blackhawk | IA |
225,358 |
| Jefferson | KY |
783,854 |
Warren |
KY |
234,528 |
Hampden |
MA |
302,487 |
| Suffolk | MA |
568,796 |
Ingham |
MI |
416,297 |
| Kent | MI |
491,918 |
Wayne |
MN |
502,219 |
Hennepin/Ramsey |
MN |
1,297,881 |
| St. Louis | MO |
1,229,042 |
Kansas City |
MO |
324,721 |
| Lancaster | NE |
290,679 |
| Clark | NV |
446,194 |
Erie |
NY |
399,715 |
Monroe |
NY |
426,723 |
New York |
NY |
3,367,682 |
| Oneida | NY |
595,804 |
| Onodaga | NY |
385,897 |
| Guilford | NC |
303,869 |
| Cass | ND |
265,430 |
Cuyahoga |
OH |
383,008 |
| Multnomah | OR |
1,519,470 |
Erie |
PA |
262,164 |
| Philadelphia | PA |
498,325 |
Minnehaha |
SD |
218,575 |
Davidson |
TN |
404,740 |
Dallas/Tarrant |
TX |
1,330,918 |
| Harris | TX |
1,142,241 |
Davis/Salt Lake |
UT |
|
Fairfax |
VA |
561,511 |
Richmond |
VA |
333,640 |
King/Snohomish |
WA |
1,572,983 |
Spokane |
WA |
397,580 |
In FY 2002, ORR obligated $49.5 million for targeted assistance activities for refugees and entrants. Of this, $44.5 million was awarded by formula to 28 States on behalf of the 53 counties eligible for targeted assistance grants. States in the State-administered program received $41.2 million of these funds; the remaining formula funds were allocated to statewide Wilson/Fish alternative programs. Funds not allocated in the formula program were reserved for communities in the form of discretionary grants through the Targeted Assistance Ten Perce nt program. In FY 2002, ORR awarded 13 grants under this program to implement special employment services not implemented with formula targeted assistance funds. A discussion of these discretionary awards may be found on page 27.
The table on pages 10 and 11 presents the amount of funds awarded to each State under the formula allocation program. The amounts for individual counties are provided on the accompanying table.
ORR continued its support of care for unaccompanied refugee minors in the U.S. These children, who are identified in countries of first asylum as requiring foster care upon their arrival in this country, are sponsored through two national voluntary agencies-the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS)-and placed in States with licensed child welfare programs operated by their local affiliates, Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services, respectively.
Each refugee minor in the care of this program is eligible for the same range of child welfare benefits as non-refugee children in the State. Where possible, the child is placed with a local affiliate of USCCB and LIRS in an area with nearby families of the same ethnic background. Depending on their individual needs, the minors are placed in home foster care, group care, independent living, or residential treatment. ORR reimburses costs incurred on behalf of each child until the month after his eighteenth birthday or such higher age as is permitted under the State's Plan under title IV-B of the Social Security Act.
Since January 1979, a total of 11,751 children have entered the program through local affiliates in 41 States. Of these, 1,394 subsequently were reunited with family and 10,158 reached the age of emancipation. By the beginning of FY 2001, only 199 minors remained in the program. As a result, programs in 24 States have already phased out.
FY 2001 saw the revival of the program. More than 3,800 Sudanese youths from the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya arrived in the U.S. to begin life in America. These youths-dubbed the Lost Boys of Sudan due to their mass exodus from the terrors of the war in Sudan-ranged in ages from 11 to 27 years of age. Almost 500 of these had not attained the age of 18 and were placed in the unaccompanied minor program.
FY 2002 recorded a large number of arrivals and an even larger number of emancipations from the program. During the year, 159 youths entered the program from 13 countries. By the end of the year, 516 youths remained in care, 424 males and 92 females.
Those remaining in care arrived from the following countries of origin:
| Afghanistan | 18 |
| China | 11 |
| Haiti | 16 |
| Somalia | 10 |
| Sudan | 384 |
| Other/Unknown | 77 |
| Total in Care | 516 |
ORR Appropriation Transitional and Medical Services State-administered Cash/Medical/Administrative $154,076,000 Matching Grant Program 56,369,000 CMA—Wilson/Fish Program 13,007,000 Other 3,791,000 Trafficking 10,000,000 Sub-total, Transitional and Medical Services $237, 243,000 Social Services Social Services Formula $64,603,000 Social Services--Wilson/Fish Program 7,307,000 Social Services Discretionary 12,690,000 Difficult to Assimilate Programs 26,000,000 Cuban/Haitian Communities 19,000,000 Welfare Reform Program 14,000,000 Refugee Education 15,000,000 Subtotal, Social Services $158,600,000 Preventive Health $4,835,000 Targeted Assistance Targeted Assistance Formula $44,529,300 Targeted Assistance Ten Percent 4,947,700 Subtotal, Targeted Assistance $49,477,000 Victims of Torture $10,000,000 Total ORR Appropriation $460,155,000 Does not include prior year funds available for use in FY 2002 |
CMA (a/), Social Services (b/), and Targeted Assistance (c/) Obligations by State: FY 2002
| State |
CMA | Social Services |
Targeted Assistance |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama |
- |
119,529 |
119,529 |
|
Arizona |
5,366,000 |
2,115,705 |
$1,410,183 |
8,891,888 |
Arkansas |
30,000 |
85,000 |
115,000 |
|
California |
28,829,000 |
8,644,517 |
5,704,294 |
43,177,811 |
Colorado |
2,017,000 |
919,750 |
335,776 |
3,272,526 |
Connecticut |
1,583,000 |
1,008,622 |
2,591,622 |
|
Delaware |
20,000 |
85,000 |
105,000 |
|
Dist.Columbia |
1,440,000 |
191,003 |
295,201 |
1,926,204 |
Florida |
29,600,000 |
18,543,954 |
10,387,445 |
58,531,399 |
Georgia |
5,578,000 |
2,987,493 |
1,660,916 |
10,226,409 |
Hawaii |
82,500 |
85,000 |
167,500 |
|
Idaho d/ |
592,000 |
774,734 |
287,916 |
1,654,650 |
Illinois |
7,225,000 |
2,663,323 |
1,771,962 |
11,660,285 |
Indiana |
583,000 |
472,006 |
1,055,006 |
|
Iowa |
695,000 |
1,303,730 |
698,811 |
2,697,541 |
Kansas |
280,000 |
172,100 |
452,100 |
|
Kentucky e/ |
- |
1,256,614 |
1,018,382 |
2,274,996 |
Louisiana |
309,000 |
375,800 |
684,800 |
|
Maine |
438,000 |
312,602 |
750,602 |
|
Maryland |
4,281,000 |
1,182,414 |
5,463,414 |
|
Massachusetts |
6,400,000 |
1,873,637 |
871,283 |
9,144,920 |
Michigan |
7,806,000 |
2,579,249 |
1,410,434 |
11,795,683 |
Minnesota |
6,354,000 |
3,814,421 |
1,297,881 |
11,466,302 |
Mississippi |
1,153,000 |
85,000 |
1,238,000 |
|
Missouri |
1,521,000 |
2,190,753 |
1,553,763 |
5,265,516 |
Montana |
70,000 |
85,000 |
155,000 |
|
Nebraska |
527,000 |
491,756 |
1,018,756 |
|
Nevada f/ |
- |
568,778 |
290,679 |
859,457 |
New Hampshire |
658,000 |
482,446 |
446,194 |
1,586,640 |
New Jersey |
2,093,000 |
1,545,800 |
3,638,800 |
|
New Mexico |
1,012,000 |
230,220 |
1,242,220 |
|
New York |
9,050,000 |
6,473,513 |
5,175,821 |
20,699,334 |
North Carolina |
1,621,000 |
968,275 |
303,869 |
2,893,144 |
North Dakota |
1,037,000 |
348,997 |
265,430 |
1,651,427 |
Ohio |
1,933,000 |
1,791,537 |
383,008 |
4,107,545 |
Oklahoma |
600,000 |
116,484 |
716,484 |
|
Oregon |
3,289,000 |
1,197,932 |
1,519,470 |
6,006,402 |
Pennsylvania |
6,833,000 |
2,308,120 |
760,489 |
9,901,609 |
Rhode Island |
240,000 |
223,730 |
463,730 |
|
South Carolina |
139,000 |
105,954 |
244,954 |
|
South Dakota g/ |
435,000 |
360,282 |
218,575 |
1,013,857 |
Tennessee |
853,000 |
828,621 |
404,740 |
2,086,361 |
Texas |
4,966,000 |
3,707,775 |
2,473,159 |
11,146,934 |
Utah |
1,275,000 |
831,442 |
717,905 |
2,824,347 |
Vermont |
424,000 |
247,147 |
671,147 |
|
Virginia |
4,592,169 |
1,581,349 |
895,151 |
7,068,669 |
Washington |
13,882,000 |
4,327,619 |
1,970,563 |
20,180,182 |
West Virginia |
6,000 |
85,000 |
91,000 |
|
Wisconsin |
1,256,000 |
575,267 |
1,831,267 |
|
Total |
$168,973,669 |
$83,325,000 |
$44,529,300 |
$296,827,969 |
a/ Cash/Medical/Administrative, including Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA), aid to unaccompanied minors, and State administrative expenses. Does not include funds for privately administered Wilson/Fish programs in Kentucky and Nevada. Includes prior year surplus funds as well as FY 2001 appropriated funds. |
||||
b/ Does not include funds for privately administered programs in Kentucky, Nevada, and South Dakota. Includes prior year surplus funds as well as FY 2001 appropriated funds. |
||||
c/ Does not include funds for privately administered Wilson/Fish programs in Kentucky, Nevada, and South Dakota. |
||||
d/ During FY 1999, Idaho ended its participation in the RCA and social service programs, but retained administration of the RMA program. An alternative program currently provides cash assistance and social services to newly arriving refugees. |
||||
e/ Kentucky has not participated in the CMA program since FY 1994. A privately administered Wilson/Fish program has since replaced the State-administered program. |
||||
f/ Nevada ended its participation in the State-administered program on April 30, 1994. A privately administered Wilson/Fish program has since replaced the State-administered program. |
||||
g/ In FY 1999, South Dakota ended its participation in the social services and targeted assistance programs. A privately administered Wilson/Fish program currently administers these two programs. |
||||
The youths resided in the following States:
| Arizona | 56 |
| Dist.Columbia | 13 |
| Massachusetts | 31 |
| Michigan | 148 |
| Mississippi | 46 |
| New Jersey | 2 |
| New York | 10 |
| North Dakota | 14 |
| Pennsylvania | 66 |
| South Dakota | 5 |
| Virginia | 67 |
| Washington | 58 |
| Total | 516 |