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Annual ORR Reports to Congress - 2002

II. Refugees in the United States

Population Profile

This section characterizes the refugee, Amerasian, and entrant population (hereafter, referred to as refugees unless noted otherwise) in the U.S., focusing primarily on those who have entered since 1983. [1]

Nationality of U.S. Refugee Population

Southeast Asians[2] remain the largest refugee group among recent arrivals. Of the 1,857,572 refugees who have arrived in the United States since 1983, about 36 percent have fled from nations of Southeast Asia (refer to Table II-1, Appendix A). Based on State Department figures for the period FY 1975 through FY 2002 (refer to Table II-1, this section), about 52 percent have fled from nations of Southeast Asia.

Vietnamese continue to be the majority refugee group from Southeast Asia, although the ethnic composition of the entering population has become more diverse over time. About 135,000 Southeast Asians fled to America at the time of the collapse of the Saigon government in 1975. Over the next four years, large numbers of boat people escaped Southeast Asia and were admitted to the U.S. The majority of these arrivals were Vietnamese. The Vietnamese share has declined gradually, however, especially since persons from Cambodia and Laos began to arrive in larger numbers in 1980.

For the period FY 1983 through FY 2002, Vietnamese refugees made up 71 percent of refugee arrivals from Southeast Asia, while 18 percent were from Laos, and 11 percent were from Cambodia. More recently, refugees from outside of Southeast Asia have arrived in larger numbers. Between FY 1988 and FY 2002, refugees arriving from the former Soviet Union have surpassed refugees arriving from Vietnam every year except FY 1991. More recently, in FY 1995, refugees from the former Soviet Union and Vietnam were surpassed by refugees arriving from Cuba. Since FY 1998, refugees from the former Yugoslavia eclipsed all other refugee groups until this year, when entrants from Cuba dominated arrivals.

Since ORR began keeping records of refugee arrivals in 1983, refugees from five countries have represented 77 percent of all arrivals: the former Soviet Union (26 percent), Vietnam (25 percent), Cuba (11 percent), the former Yugoslavia (9 percent), and Laos (6 percent).

Geographic Location of Refugees

Southeast Asian refugees have settled in every State and one territory of the United States (refer to Table II-2, Appendix A). From FY 1983 through FY 2002, more Southeast Asians initially resettled in California than any other State (35 percent). For the same period, more non-Southeast Asians resettled in New York than any other State (18 percent).

The majority of refugees initially resettled in California arrived from Vietnam (39 percent) followed by refugees from the former Soviet Union (23 percent). Sixty-eight percent of the refugees initially resettled in New York were from the former Soviet Union followed by refugees from Vietnam (8 percent).

Table II-1: Summary of Refugee Admissions for FY 1975 - FY 2002

Fiscal Year	Africa	Southeast Asia	Eastern Europe	Soviet Union	Latin America	Near East/ South Asia
1975	0	135,000	1,947	6,211	3,000	0
1976	0	15,000	1,756	7,450	3,000	0
1977	0	7,000	1,755	8,191	3,000	0
1978	0	20,574	2,245	10,688	3,000	0
1979	0	76,521	3,393	24,449	7,000	0
1980	955	163,799	5,025	28,444	6,662	2,231
1981	2,119	131,139	6,704	13,444	2,017	3,829
1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002	3,412 2,645 2,749 1,951 1,322 1,990 1,593 1,902 3,453 4,420 5,470 6,967 5,860 4,827 7,604 6,065 6,887 13,043 17,561 19,021 2,313	73,755 39,245 51,978 49,962 45,482 40,099 35,371 45,722 51,598 53,522 51,899 49,817 43,564 36,987 19,321 8,594 10,854 10,206 4,561 3,725 3,440	11,109 11,867 10,096 9,233 8,503 8,396 7,510 8,752 6,094 6,837 2,915 2,582 7,707 10,070 12,145 21,401 30,842 24,497 22,561 15,777 5,450	2,760 1,342 721 623 799 3,699 20,411 39,602 50,628 39,226 61,397 48,773 43,854 35,951 29,816 27,331 23,557 17,410 15,103 15,748 9,978	580 691 150 151 131 323 2,497 2,604 2,305 2,253 3,065 4,071 6,156 7,629 3,550 2,996 1,627 2,110 3,232 2,973 1,925	6,480 5,428 4,699 5,784 5,909 10,021 8,368 6,938 4,979 5,342 6,903 6,987 5,840 4,510 3,967 4,101 3,313 4,098 10,129 12,060 3,640
1975-2002 Grand Total	124,129	1,276,082	253,146	587,606	78,698	135,556

Note: This chart does not include an additional 8,214 refugees admitted between FY 1988 and FY 1993 under the Private Sector Initiative (PSI). Numbers listed above for Latin America exclude Cuban and Haitian entrants.

Source: Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S Department of State

Eighty-three percent of the refugees initially resettled in Florida arrived from Cuba and Haiti. Of that 83 percent, Cuba accounted for 74 percent; the rest arrived from Haiti (92 percent as entrants, 8 percent as refugees). In Texas, the largest proportion of refugees came from Vietnam (48 percent) and the former Yugoslavia (10 percent). In the State of Washington, the largest proportion of refugees came from the former Soviet Union (44 percent) and from Vietnam (27 percent).

California and New York have resettled the greatest number of refugees to date (refer to Table II-2, Appendix A). California received the most refugees from FY 1983 through FY 1994; since FY 1995, Florida has resettled the largest number of refugees every year but FY 1997, when New York resettled the most refugees.

For FY 2002, the majority of arrivals initially resettled in the same five States as in previous years. The majority of Florida arrivals entered from Cuba (91 percent), followed by refugees from the former Yugoslavia (3 percent). Fifty percent of the refugees initially resettled in New York arrived from the former Soviet Union, with another 15 percent from the former Yugoslavia. The majority of California arrivals arrived from the U.S.S.R. (56 percent). In Texas, refugees from Cuba (31 percent) made up the largest proportion, while 83 percent of Washington arrivals came from the Soviet Union.

Secondary Migration

The Reception and Placement program (see page 5) ensures that refugees arrive in communities with sufficient resources to meet their immediate needs and a caseworker to assist them with resettlement and orientation. Refugees need not stay in their community of initial resettlement, however, and many leave to build a new life elsewhere. A number of explanations for secondary migration by refugees have been suggested: better employment opportunities, the pull of an established ethnic community, more generous welfare benefits, better training opportunities, reunification with relatives, or a more congenial climate.

The Refugee Assistance Amendments of 1982 amended the Refugee Act of 1980 (section 412(a) (3)) directing ORR to compile and maintain data on the secondary migration of refugees within the United States. In response to this directive, ORR developed the Refugee State-of-Origin Report (ORR-11) for estimating secondary migration. Beginning with FY 1983, the principal use of the ORR-11 data has been to allocate ORR social service funds to States. The most recent compilation was September 30, 2001.

The method of estimating secondary migration is based on the first three digits of social security numbers which are assigned geographically in blocks by State. With the assistance of their sponsors, almost all arriving refugees apply for social security numbers immediately upon arrival in the United States. Therefore, the first three digits of a refugee's social security number are a good indicator of his or her initial State of residence in the U.S. If a refugee currently residing in California has a social security number assigned in Nevada, for example, the method treats that person as having moved from initial resettlement in Nevada to current residence in California.

States participating in the refugee program provide ORR-11 data for refugees currently receiving assistance or services in their programs (for the most recent three-year period). Compilation of ORR-11 data by all reporting States results in a 51 X 51 State matrix which contains information on migration from each State to every other State. In effect, State A's report shows how many people have migrated from other States, as well as how many people who were initially placed in State A are currently there. The reports from every other State, when combined, show how many people have left State A.

Available information indicates that much of the secondary migration of refugees takes place during their first few years after arrival and that the refugee population becomes relatively stabilized in its geographic distribution after an initial adjustment period. The matrix of all possible pairs of in- and out-migration between States can be summarized into total in- and out-migration figures reported for each State. Examination of the detailed State-by-State matrix showed several migration patterns: a strong movement in and out of California, Florida, and Texas; a strong movement into Ohio, Minnesota, and Washington; a strong movement out of New Jersey, New York, and Virginia; and some population exchange between contiguous or geographically close States.

Almost every State experienced both gains and losses through secondary migration. Twenty States gained additional refugees through secondary migration. The largest net in-migration was recorded for California (2,158), Florida (2,131), Ohio (1,368), and Minnesota (1,234). New York (1,433) and Texas (1,327) reported the largest net out-migration.

Economic Adjustment

Overview

Economic self-sufficiency is as important to refugees as adapting to their new homeland's social rhythms. Towards that end, the Refugee Act of 1980, and the Refugee Assistance amendments enacted in 1982 and 1986, stress the achievement of employment and economic self-sufficiency by refugees as soon as possible after their arrival in the United States. This involves a balance among three elements: (1) the employment potential of refugees, including their education, skills, English language competence, and health; (2) the needs that they as individuals and members of families have for financial resources, whether for food, housing, or child care; and (3) the economic environment in which they settle, including the availability of jobs, housing, and other local resources.

Past refugee surveys have found that the economic adjustment of refugees to the U.S. has been a successful and generally rapid process. Despite the downturn in the economy in 2002, the process of refugee economic adjustment appears to have continued at a satisfactory pace, with employment and retention results consistent with prior years.

Gauges of Economic Adjustment

In 2002, ORR completed its 31st survey of a national sample of refugees selected from the population of all refugees who arrived between May 1, 1996 and April 30, 2002. The survey collected basic demographic information such as age and country of origin, as well as data on education, English language training, job training, labor force participation, work experience, and barriers to employment of each adult member of the household.. As in past yeaers, the 2003 survey also collected family housing, income, and welfare utilization data. See the technical note at the end of this chapter for details on the survey sample size and methodology.

To evaluate the economic progress of refugees, ORR used several measures of employment effort that are frequently used by economists. The first group of measures relates to employment status in the week before the survey, and includes the employment-to-population ratio (or EPR), the labor force participation rate, and the unemployment rate. In addition, data on work experience over the past year (that is how many weeks the refugee was able to work) and typical number of hours worked per week were analyzed, as well as reasons for not working. Data are also presented on the length of time it took refugees to gain their first employment since coming to the U.S.

Employment Status

Table II-2 presents the employment rate (EPR)[3] in October 2002 for refugees 16 and over in the five-year population. The survey found that the overall EPR for all refugees who came to the U.S. between 1997 and 2002 (as a group) was 60.8 percent (65.6 percent for males and 55.2 percent for females). As a point of reference, the employment rate for the U.S. population was 66.6 percent in 2002.

Economic conditions in the U.S. as a whole influence the ability of refugees to find employment. But independent of economic conditions here, considerable progress has been made by finding employment upon arrival by those refugees who have come in the past few years. Refugees who entered the U.S. in the late 1980's and early 1990's, who were interviewed in the 1993 survey, for example, were only employed at about half the overall U.S. employment rate at that time (32.5 percent versus 60.8 percent - see Table II-3 and the employment graph below). This progress can in part be attributed to the increased emphasis placed on finding employment by State and ORR supported- programs.

Refugee employment tends to increase with each year of residence in the U.S. The overall EPR for the 2002 arrivals was 60.8 percent, which is consistent with refugee employment rates since 1998.

Table II-1 also contains data on labor force participation rate[4] for refugees 16 and over in the five-year population. This rate is closely related to the employment rate, except it includes individuals looking for work as well as those currently employed. In October 2002, the overall labor force participation rate for the five-year refugee population was 67 percent (72 percent for males and 61 percent for females). The labor force participation rate of refugees who arrived between 1997 and 2002 as a group was indistinguishable from that of the U.S. population (67 percent in 2002). As with the EPR, the labor force participation rate of refugees increases with time in the U.S. The labor force participation rate for the 2002 arrivals was 51 percent, for example, but reached 72 percent for refugees who arrived in 1998. Overall, the U.S. employment rate for the population as a whole remained relatively consistent between 2001 and 2002, 66.8 and 66.6, respectively.

Table II-4 reveals significant differences between the employment rates of seven refugee country-of-origin groupings. The EPR for the seven refugee groups ranged from a high of 77 percent for refugees from Vietnam and 68 percent for refugees from Eastern Europe and Latin America (exceeding the EPR from the U.S. population), to a low of 45 percent for refugees from the former Soviet Union.

While some groups have a higher proportion of persons over age 65 years than other country-of -origin groups, which might be expected to affect the employment rates shown here for persons 16 years of age and older, age composition differences alone between groups did not explain these differences. Refugees from the former Soviet Union had the lowest employment rate even among those 20 to 64 years of age. Refugees from Eastern Europe, Vietnam, and Latin America continue to sustain the highest EPR.

However, unlike previous years, refugees from Africa, and Southeast Asia improved their employment rates for the year 2002, achieving percentages closer to those countries that traditionally have a higher EPR, 60.7 and 64.0, respectively. The Middle Eastern countries have the second lowest employment rates across the 2002 survey.

The labor force participation rate (LPR) followed a similar pattern as the EPR with exception of the Middle East group. The labor force participation rate was significantly higher for this group than the EPR (53 percent EPR and 60 percent LPR). The unemployment rate was highest for refugees from Eastern Europe and Latin America, and lowest for refugees from Southeast Asia and Vietnam.

TABLE II-2 - Employment Status of Refugees by Year of Arrival and Sex: 2002 Survey

	Employment Rate (EPR)			Labor Force Participation Rate			Unemployment Rate
Year of Arrival	All	Male	Female	All	Male	Female	All	Male	Female
2002	40.5	40.4	28.7	51.6	50.9	42.5	11.1	10.5	13.9
2001	59.9	69.4	48.6	69.0	78.0	58.5	9.1	8.7	9.9
2000	53.3	59.8	47.1	61.3	70.6	52.4	8.0	10.8	5.3
1999	65.4	69.8	60.6	72.9	77.2	68.5	7.6	7.4	8.0
1998	69.6	71.5	67.2	71.7	73.0	70.0	2.1	1.5	2.8
1997	64.0	68.8	59.3	68.4	74.0	62.9	4.4	5.2	3.6
Total Sample	60.8	65.6	55.2	67.1	72.3	61.3	6.4	6.8	6.1
U.S. Rates	66.6	69.7	56.3	67.8	74.8	61.3	5.8	5.9	5.6

Note: As of October 2002. Not seasonally adjusted. Data refers to the percentage of refugees 16 and over in the five-year sample population including Amerasians, Entrants, and Refugees of all nationalities who arrived in the years 1997-2002. U.S. rates are for 2002.

Table II-3 - Employment Status of Refugees by Survey Year and Sex
(Based on Refugees Age 16 and Older)

	Employment Rate (EPR)			Labor Force Participation Rate			Unemployment Rate
Year Survey Administered	All	Male	Female	All	Male	Female	All	Male	Female
2002 Survey	60.8	65.6	55.2	67.1	72.3	61.3	6.4	6.8	6.1
U.S. Rate	66.6	69.7	56.3	67.8	74.8	61.3	5.8	5.9	5.6
2001 Survey	62.0	67.7	56.3	66.6	72.7	60.5	6.9	6.9	7.0
U.S. Rate	66.8	70.9	57.0	67.6	74.9	60.9	4.7	4.8	4.7
2000 Survey	60.8	72.6	62.7	70.1	74.9	65.1	3.3	3.0	3.7
U.S. Rate	67.1	71.9	57.5	67.2	76.6	60.9	4.0	3.9	4.1
1999 Survey	66.8	72.3	61.1	68.9	74.4	63.3	3.1	2.8	3.5
U.S. Rate	67.1	71.6	57.4	67.1	76.7	60.7	4.2	4.1	4.3
1998 Survey	56.0	62.7	49.4	59.1	65.9	52.3	5.2	4.9	5.6
U.S. Rate	67.1	71.6	57.1	67.1	76.8	60.4	4.5	4.4	4.6
1997 Survey	53.9	62.9	45.1	58.3	67.1	49.5	7.5	6.3	9.0
U.S. Rate	67.1	71.3	56.8	67.1	77.0	60.5	4.9	4.9	5.0
1996 Survey	51.1	58.8	43.3	57.5	65.7	49.2	11.2	10.6	12.0
U.S. Rate	66.8	70.9	56.0	66.8	76.8	59.9	5.4	5.4	5.4
1995 Survey	42.3	49.5	35.1	49.8	57.4	42.1	15.1	14.0	16.6
U.S. Rate	66.6	70.8	55.6	66.6	76.7	59.4	5.6	5.6	5.6
1994 Survey	35.5	41.2	29.8	43.6	50.7	36.5	18.8	18.9	18.6
U.S. Rate	66.6	70.4	55.3	66.6	76.8	59.3	6.1	6.2	6.0
1993 Survey	32.5	37.3	27.7	35.4	41.2	29.7	8.4	9.5	6.9
U.S. Rate	66.3	70.0	54.1	66.3	77.3	58.5	6.9	7.2	6.6

Note: As of October 2002. Not seasonally adjusted. Data refers to refugees 16 and over in the five-year sample population consisting of Amerasians, Entrants, and Refugees of all nationalities who were interviewed as part of that year's survey.

For the U.S. population as a whole, the employment rate for women was 56.3 percent and 69.7 percent for men. For refugees as a group, the employment rate for women was 55.2 percent and 65.6 percent for men in 2002. The biggest disparity between women and men within refugee groups was in refugees from the Middle East with the employment rate for women being 28 percentage points lower than the men. In contrast, near parity in employment rates between men and women refugees from Eastern European countries and Vietnam was the case in 2002.

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[1] Tables do not include refugees who arrived prior to FY 1983. However, the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State, reports 805,644 arrivals for the period FY 1975 through FY 1982.

This is a Historical Document.