Persecution and conflict have forced a record number of people to flee their homes around the world. Here in the United States, communities have opened their doors to those who have been displaced, including refugees who have arrived after long and often dangerous waits in resettlement camps and life-threatening situations; Afghans who were at risk due to their work in support of the U.S. mission; unaccompanied children who have survived violence and persecution; and Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. All Americans prosper when refugees receive the services they need to realize their potential. That is the critical work of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, work that benefits local communities and enhances national security, work that needs robust funding and support from Congress.
What is the Office of Refugee Resettlement?
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is a program within the Department of Health and Human Services that supports the long-term integration and economic success of newcomers, including refugees and others who are rebuilding their lives in the U.S. after surviving persecution. The Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) account provides critical funding to ORR to serve refugees and other vulnerable new Americans as they resettle in their new homes and communities. Specifically, the REA ensures funding for core services, such as job training, English language classes, school impact grants, and medical and mental health care. The REA account plays a key role in helping new arrivals achieve economic self-sufficiency and begin to thrive in their new homes.
What makes the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account important?
With record forced displacement around the world and a mandate to serve resettled refugees, Afghan and Ukrainian parolees, unaccompanied children, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, Cuban/Haitian entrants, and others, robust funding for the REA account is more important now than ever. This account deals with vulnerable newcomers who have already been welcomed into the U.S. and now face the long-term challenge of rebuilding their lives. Federal funding through the account goes directly to states and local communities, and cutting or underfunding the account would shift the burden of costs onto these localities.
What is the economic impact of the Office of Refugee Resettlement?
Refugees bring significant economic benefits to the communities where they resettle. The data is unequivocal; refugees bring in more money than they cost at the local and federal level, and this holds true around the world and across a variety of sources. A Trump administration report found that over a ten year span, refugee resettlement brought in $63 billion more in government revenues than it cost. Refugees are more entrepreneurial and have a higher job participation rate than other Americans, and the positive fiscal impact of refugees is felt particularly in the parts of America that are currently bearing the brunt of demographic decline. By spurring positive integration outcomes, effective job training, and self-sufficiency, ORR services are a major driver of this economic success story. As per the most recent public data from the Annual Survey of Refugees, 81% of enrollees in Matching Grant, ORR’s most successful employment program, achieve economic self-sufficiency within 180 days.
What impact does refugee resettlement have on national security?
Refugees are a boon to national security. Refugee resettlement is the most vetted population to enter the United States. Other populations served by ORR, including SIVs and many parolees, have also gone through intensive vetting procedures and go through additional, individualized screenings by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before entering the country. Far from a national security concern, welcoming the persecuted enhances our security interests by supporting geopolitical stability and sending a message to the rest of the world about our commitment to human rights and democracy. A letter signed by 27 former admirals and generals described refugee resettlement as having “served vital national security interests.” As former CIA director Michael Hayden has said, “welcoming refugees…exposes the falseness of terrorist propaganda and counters the warped division of extremists.”