Office Of Refugee Resettlement: Policy Guidance & Reporting Forms

Annual ORR Reports to Congress - 2001

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 1983-2001.

For FY 2001 the President determined the refugee ceiling at 80,000, including 5,000 unfunded slots that will remain unfilled unless other funds become available. During the fiscal year, 68,010 refugees and 378 Amerasians were admitted to the U.S. In addition, 14,499 Cuban and 1,451 Haitian entrants were admitted to the U.S.

Refugee and entrant arrivals from Cuba comprised the largest admission group (17,394), followed by refugee arrivals from the successor

Year	Ceiling	Admissions	% of Ceiling
Ceilings and Admissions (1983 to 2001)
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: Reallocated ceilings from Department of State (except for FY 1989 in which the reallocated ceiling was revised from 94,000 to 116,500). Admissions based on ORR data system, which commenced in 1983. Data on arrivals not available prior to the establishment of the refugee database in 1983. Does not include entrants.

republics of Yugoslavia (15,773), the successor republics of the Soviet Union (14,869), Iran (6,581), Sudan (5,951), and Somalia (4,940).

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 and Somalia, 33. Arrivals from the U.S.S.R., on the other hand, reached almost 50,000 then, but have dwindled since, as have arrivals from Vietnam which have fallen by 90 percent. FY 2001 arrivals from Laos, Romania, and Cambodia totaled only 45; a decade earlier, these three countries accounted for almost 16,000 admissions.

Florida received the largest number of arrivals (17,080), followed by California (10,149), New York (6,992), Washington (4,300), and Texas (3,802). 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).

Amerasians

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, almost 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 378.

The Population Profile section 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 2001.

Cuban and Haitian Entrants

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 removal proceedings, or (c) an applicant for asylum and with respect to whom a final, non-appealable, and legally enforceable order of removal has not been entered.

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 an Cuban/Haitian Entrant Program.

Entry Arrivals, FY 1991 to FY 2001

	Cuba	Haiti	Total
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 2001, 15,950 Cuban and Haitian entrants arrived in the U.S. Eighty-three percent initially resettled in Florida. The above table describes the flow of entrants since FY 1991.

Asylees

On June 15, 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 has entered 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.

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.

Reception and Placement

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 2001 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 2001, 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.

ORR Assistance and Services

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.

Domestic Resettlement Program

Refugee Appropriations

In FY 2001, 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 $433.1 million, Congress gave ORR permission to spend prior year unexpended funds. At the end of the year, $10.0 million in FY 2001 appropriated funds remained unobligated. The appropriation table on page 15 explains the FY 2001 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.

State-Administered Program

Overview

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.

Cash and Medical Assistance

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 and victims of a severe form of trafficking, for whom the eligibility period begins with the month that asylum is granted, or in the case of trafficking victims, the date a certification or eligibility letter is issued by ORR. Due to funding constraints, ORR does not reimburse States for their costs of the TANF, SSI, and Medicaid programs.

In FY 2001, ORR obligated $135 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 16 and 17.

Social Services

ORR provides funding for a broad range of social services to refugees, both through States and in some cases through direct service grants. 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 2001 formula award with a $10.5 million in unexpended prior year funds for a special social service set-aside. With these funds, States provided (1) outreach and referral services to ensure access for eligible refugees to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and other programs for low-income working populations, and (2) specialized interpreter training and the hiring of interpreters to ensure refugees equal access to medical and legal services. In addition, ORR provided a formula set-aside of $10 million to provide outreach, referrals, and social services to individuals granted asylum.

Altogether, through both current year appropriations and prior year funds, ORR obligated $92.4 million for formula social services. 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 $89.8 million to States under the State-administered program and the remainder to other agencies through privately administered Wilson/Fish and other alternative programs. For both programs, social services are provided only to refugees who have resided in the U.S. for fewer than 60 months.

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 31.

Targeted Assistance

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.

In FY 2001, ORR obligated $49.5 million for targeted assistance activities for refugees and entrants. Of this, $44.5 million was awarded by formula to 29 States on behalf of the 50 counties eligible for targeted assistance grants. States in the State-administered program received $43.0 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 Percent program. A discussion of these discretionary awards may be found beginning on page 33.

The accompanying table on pages 16 and 17 presents the amount of funds awarded to each State under the formula allocation program. The amounts for individual counties are provided on the next page.

Unaccompanied Minors

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 27 to 11 years of age. Almost 500 of these had not attained the age of 18 and were placed in the unaccompanied minor program. By the end of the year, the program had expanded to 743 minors, the first year of increase since FY 1987.

Each year, programs evaluate the needs of the children in their care and report their progress to

Targeted Assistance Allocations by County, FY 2001
Maricopa	AZ	$1,407,140
Fresno	CA	126,982
Los Angeles	CA	1,785,447
Orange	CA	620,874
Sacramento	CA	1,394,032
San Diego	CA	816,885
San Francisco	CA	663,479
Santa Clara Yolo	CA CA	835,776 160,399
Denver	CO	366,100
Dist. of Columbia	DC	387,106
BrowardDade Duval	FLFL FL	415,3318,082,345 616,981
Hillsborough	FL	424,485
DeKalb Fulton	GA GA	1,138,061 635,810
Cook/Kane	IL	1,985,637
Polk Jefferson	IA KY	467,378 762,152
Hampden	MA	301,900
Suffolk Ingham	MA MI	557,120 373,515
Kent Hennepin	MI MN	437,299 1,033,036
Ramsey	MN	220,627
St. Louis	MO	1,233,244
LancasterClark Hudson	NENV NJ	308,098473,655 250,035
Bernadillo	NM	290,575
Monroe	NY	461,232
New YorkOneidaGuilfordCass Cuyahoga	NYNYNCND OH	4,341,227625,219330,591267,428 437,833
Multnomah Erie	OR PA	1,585,841 260,105
Philadelphia Minnehaha	PA SD	557,691 226,104
Davidson	TN	428,754
Dallas/Tarrant	TX	1,487,516
Harris Davis/Salt Lake	TX UT	1,133,104 728,727
Fairfax	VA	431,297
Richmond Pierce	VA WA	327,100 260,251
King/Snohomish	WA	1,648,260
Spokane	WA	419,516
Total		$44,529,300

ORR. In FY 2001, local caseworkers rated children's progress in four categories-English language, general education, social adjustment, and health-on three levels: unsatisfactory, satisfactory, and superior. The following table reports caseworker ratings by percentage:

	Superior	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
English language	37.4%	51.8%	10.8%
General education	33.8	57.9	8.3
Social adjustment	28.7	61.1	10.2
Health	42.1	52.8	5.1

Annual ORR Reports to Congress - 2001

I. Refugee Resettlement Program

Admissions

Ceilings and Admissions (1983 to 2001)