April 9, 2009

NEW YORK – Since it was established under the Refugee Act of 1980, the U.S. refugee program has been and remains one of our government's best endeavors. In partnership with community-based social service organizations and countless volunteers, it has saved the lives of millions of people fleeing persecution and war, extending protection to people whose only chance to live in safety is resettlement to the United States. These former refugees now are enriching our nation culturally and economically.

March 23-27, 2009, in Detroit, Mich., 350 people who are on the front lines of welcoming refugees to the United States met for professional development and to improve their service provision to refugees and their communities. They are among staff of local affiliate agencies of Church World Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries, and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, among U.S. voluntary agencies responsible for helping refugees integrate into their new communities and become self-sufficient quickly. They engage hundreds of local congregations in providing financial, in-kind, logistical and social support.

They met in the context of the worst economic recession in decades – just as U.S. refugee program admissions return at last to pre-9/11 levels. The recession is making it harder for refugee newcomers to find jobs within 180 days of arrival as the program prescribes. Meeting participants affirmed their determination and fundamental optimism that their clients will achieve self-sufficiency – it will just take a little longer. They reported that their cities remain welcoming communities for refugees, and strongly rejected suggestions that the U.S. refugee program cut back on admissions until the economy improves. For their part, they are putting in more hours than ever seeking more private resources to keep their refugee clients housed and fed while they assist them in the prolonged job search. They agreed that the U.S. refugee program which has not changed fundamentally in 30 years – is badly in need of reform. Specifically, the three agencies join together to urge:

Reform of the domestic side of the refugee resettlement program that includes increased federal funding, more flexibility to administer the program in such a way as to meet refugees' different individual needs, and a renewed emphasis on the vital role of community engagement, including congregational co-sponsorship.

The "public-private partnership" is the genius of the U.S. refugee program, but it has fallen out of balance so that the private sector is bearing most of the cost. The government's one-time, "one-size-fits-all" per capita grant of $450 per refugee plus eight months (once 36 months) of minimal monthly cash assistance, food stamps and Medicaid reflects neither what resettlement actually costs nor the importance the U.S. refugee program holds in U.S. foreign policy.

• An increase in "Matching Grant" slots. The Matching Grant program provides resources and incentives for refugees to achieve early employment, but it is not available to all clients who could benefit and thus more fully contribute to their communities and the U.S. economy.

• Greater support for specialized assistance to refugees with mental health problems, which are common among survivors of persecution and war, including treatment for problems with PTSD and torture trauma.

• Reforms that will allow refugee families to reunify more quickly. Today, families are separated for far too long – even leaving children behind to fend for themselves in refugee camps and urban settlements until their parents' petitions for them can be processed.

• The creation of mechanisms for responding quickly to situations of secondary migration when refugees who have been resettled in one city migrate to accept jobs in communities in which the services they still need as recent arrivals to the United States are not provided.

The private sector will continue to bring its passion, creativity, efforts, and voice to the work of refugee resettlement. It is the responsibility of the federal government to provide the resources necessary to ensure that refugees are able to achieve long-term self-sufficiency and fully realize the freedom and safety our nation has promised them.

Church World Service