Annual ORR Reports to Congress - 2004
I. Refugee Resettlement Program
Admissions
To be admitted to the United States, an individual must be determined by an officer of the Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 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 1983-2003.
For FY 2004 the President determined the refugee ceiling at 70,000 refugees. During the fiscal year, 52,858 refugees including 33 Amerasians were admitted to the U.S. In addition, 21,134 Cuban and 316 Haitian entrants were admitted to the U.S.
Refugee and entrant arrivals from Cuba comprised the largest admission group (24,093), followed by refugee arrivals from Somalia (12,814), the successor republics of the Soviet Union (8,785), Liberia (7,107), and Laos (5,995).
Ceilings and Admissions (1983 to 2004) |
|||||
| Year |
Ceiling |
Admissions |
% of Ceiling |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 |
70,000 70,000 70,000 80,000 90,000 91,000 |
52,858 28,117 27,070 68,388 72,519 85,014 |
75.6 |
||
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 |
87,500 |
76,930 |
87.8 |
||
| 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. |
|||||
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. In FY 1994, the arrivals from the former republics of the U.S.S.R. reached 43,140 (8,785 this year), followed by Vietnam with 39,886 (only 1,006 this year), and the republics of the former Yugoslavia with 7,418 (only 957 this year). Laos was ranked fourth in FY 1994 (6,211) and fifth this year (5,995); however, this masks the true inconsistency in admissions. As recently as FY 2002, admissions from Laos numbered as few as 18.
Yugoslavia has also exhibited great variability. It sent only six refugees to the U.S. in FY 1990, but reached as high as 38,620 in FY 1999 before bottoming out at 486 last year. Somali admissions reveal a similar pattern. In FY 1994 3,508 Somalis fled to the U.S. Admissions reached 6,021 in FY 2000 before plunging to 242 in FY 2002 and then swelling to 12, 814 in FY 2004.
Florida received the largest number of arrivals (19,806), almost doubling its arrivals compared with FY 2003 (10,275). Arrivals to California reached 6,797, followed by Minnesota (5,909), Texas (4,099), and New York (3,717). 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.
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, 75,820 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 33.
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 2003.
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 2004
| Cuba |
Haiti |
Total |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 |
21,134 10,129 16,015 14,499 |
316 931 719 1,451 |
21,450 11,060 16,734 15,950 |
|
| 2000 | 17,871 |
1,570 |
19,441 |
|
1999 |
20,728 |
1,270 |
21,998 |
|
1998 |
13,492 |
590 |
14,082 |
|
1997 |
5,284 |
42 |
5,326 |
|
1996 |
16,985 |
346 |
17,331 |
|
1995 |
31,195 |
1,035 |
32,230 |
|
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 2004, 21,450 Cuban and Haitian entrants arrived in the U.S., a sharp increase from the number of entrants that arrived the year before (11,060). Seventy-nine percent initially resettled in Florida. The above table describes the flow of entrants since FY 1991.
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 was granted asylum. Because of the time it normally takes for an individual to apply for asylum and to proceed through the immigration 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.
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 2004, 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 for providing initial "nesting" services covering basic food, clothing, shelter, orientation, and referral for the first 30 days. In FY 2004, 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 addition, certain persons deemed to be victims of a severe form of trafficking, though not legally admitted as refugees, are eligible for ORR-funded benefits to the same extent as refugees.
In FY 2004, the refugee and entrant assistance program was funded under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 (P.L. 108-199). In addition to this appropriation of $394.8 million, Congress gave ORR permission to spend prior year unexpended funds. Congress appropriated an additional $52.8 million for the unaccompanied alien children (UAC) program which was transferred from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ORR in March of FY 2003. The activities and benefits of this program are explained more fully beginning on page 48. The inclusion of the UAC appropriation brought the total ORR appropriation to $447.6 million. The appropriation table on page 9 explains the FY 2004 appropriations by line-item.
The domestic refugee program consists of four separate resettlement approaches: (1) the State-administered program, (2) the Public/Private Partnership program, (3) the Wilson/Fish program, and (4) 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. Due to funding constraints, ORR does not reimburse States for their costs of the TANF, SSI, and Medicaid programs.
In FY 2004, ORR obligated $102.8 million in current year funds and $50.8 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. 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 funds used to support programs of special interest to Congress, ORR, as in previous fiscal years, allocated 85 percent ($79.8 million) of the remaining social service funds on a formula basis.
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 $74.3 million to States under the State-administered program and the remainder ($5.5 million) to other agencies through privately administered Wilson/Fish 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 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.
In FY 2004, ORR obligated $49.0 million for targeted assistance activities for refugees and entrants. Of this, $44.1 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 $40.0 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 Discretionary program. A discussion of these discretionary awards may be found beginning on page 24. The accompanying table presents the amount of funds awarded to individual counties. The amounts awarded to States under the allocation formula are provided in the table on pages 10-11.
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 local affiliated Catholic Charities and Lutheran Social Services agencies.
Targeted Assistance by County, FY 2004 |
||
| Maricopa | AZ | $1,197,235 |
| Los Angeles | CA | 1,894,754 |
| Orange | CA | 418,655 |
| Sacramento | CA | 1,355,736 |
| San Diego | CA | 760,018 |
| San Francisco | CA | 290,608 |
| Santa Clara | CA | 568,310 |
| Denver | CO | 342,813 |
| Dist. of Columbia | DC | 228,832 |
| Broward Dade Duval |
FL FL FL |
924,174 11,121,558 546,703 |
| Hillsborough Palm Beach |
FL FL |
646,037 782,205 |
| DeKalb Fulton Ada |
GA GA ID |
1.007,267 428,661 276,832 |
| Cook/Kane | IL | 1,368,352 |
| Polk Blackhawk Jefferson Warren |
IA IA KY KY |
399,804 125,147 598,473 191,418 |
| Hampden | MA | 269,581 |
| Suffolk Ingham |
MA MI |
498,123 341,653 |
| Kent Wayne |
MI MN |
454,329 333,677 |
| Hennepin/Ramsey | MN | 1,470,442 |
| St. Louis Kansas City |
MO MO |
1,001,322 263,345 |
| Lancaster Clark Erie |
NE NV NY |
236,518 392,843 376,746 |
| Monroe | NY | 342,958 |
| New York | NY | 2,700,595 |
| Oneida Onodaga Guilford Cass Cuyahoga |
NY NY NC ND OH |
405,604 392,698 316,711 214,041 324,686 |
| Multnomah Erie |
OR PA |
1,337,319 221,726 |
| Philadelphia Minnehaha |
PA SD |
495,078 197,219 |
| Davidson | TN | 336,577 |
| Dallas/Tarrant | TX | 1,109,937 |
| Harris Davis/Salt Lake |
TX UT |
1,042,070 563,379 |
| Fairfax | VA | 609,059 |
| Richmond | VA | 266,101 |
| King/Snohomish | WA | 1,477,983 |
| Spokane | WA | 323,961 |
| Total | $44,122,535 |
|
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 an affiliated agency 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. Foster parents must be licensed by their state or county child welfare provider and receive on-going training in child welfare matters. Foster parents come from a diversity of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, and they receive special training on the adjustment needs of refugee youth. 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. Allowable services through the URM program may include:
-
Foster care maintenance payments
-
Medical care and mental health services
-
Intensive case management by a social workers
-
Independent living skills training (consumer/budgeting skills, housing, food preparation, social and legal systems, transportation, education, community resources, health sexuality)
-
Education/ESL
-
Tutoring/mentoring
-
Jobs skills training and career/college counseling
-
On-going family tracing, where possible
-
Cultural activities/recreation
-
Special education services, where needed
Since January 1979, 12,182 children have entered the program through local affiliates in 41 States. Of these, 1,405 subsequently were reunited with family and 10,434 reached the age of emancipation.
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 youth had not attained the age of 18 and were placed in the unaccompanied minor program.
In FY 2004, 182 youths entered the program from 21 countries. By the end of the year, 675 youths remained in care, 524 males and 151 females. The majority of the youths arrived from the following countries of origin:
Afghanistan |
33 |
Congo |
25 |
Ethiopia |
22 |
Haiti |
49 |
Honduras |
40 |
Liberia |
56 |
Somalia |
20 |
Sudan |
334 |
Vietnam |
23 |
Other Countries |
73 |
Total in Care |
675 |
These youths resided in the following States:
Arizona |
31 |
Dist. Columbia |
14 |
Florida |
2 |
Massachusetts |
69 |
Michigan |
265 |
Minnesota |
2 |
Mississippi |
26 |
New York |
50 |
North Dakota |
38 |
Pennsylvania |
58 |
South Dakota |
6 |
Texas |
12 |
Utah |
1 |
Virginia |
61 |
Washington |
40 |
Total |
675 |
ORR Appropriation
FY 2004
Transitional and Medical Services
State-administered Cash/Medical/Administrative $102,475,000 Matching Grant Program 43,500,000 CMA—Wilson/Fish Program 19,000,000 Other 4,000,000 Sub-total, Transitional and Medical Services $168,975,000
Social Services
Social Services Formula $79,728,429 Social Services Discretionary 11,682,000 Difficult to Assimilate Programs 15,920,571 Cuban/Haitian Communities 19,000,000 Welfare Reform Program 14,000,000 Refugee Education 10,887,000
Subtotal, Social Services $152,218,000
Preventive Health $4,792,000
Targeted Assistance
Targeted Assistance Formula $44,122,535 Targeted Assistance Discretionary 4,902,465
Subtotal, Targeted Assistance $49,025,000
Victims of Torture $9,909,000
Victims of Trafficking $9,909,000
Total Refugee Appropriation $394,828,000
Unaccompanied Alien Children Program $52,770,000
Total ORR Appropriation $447,598,000
New budget authority only. Does not include prior year funds available for FY 2004 re-authorization |
| State | CMA | Social Services |
Targeted Assistance |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama d/ |
- |
96,776 |
96,776 |
|
Alaska d/ |
- |
100,000 |
||
Arizona |
4,165,114 |
1,646,682 |
$1,197,235 |
7,009,031 |
Arkansas |
10,000 |
75,000 |
85,000 |
|
California e/ |
17,733,333 |
9,360,178 |
5,288,081 |
32,381,592 |
Colorado f/ |
975,000 |
882,950 |
342,813 |
2,200,763 |
Connecticut |
647,875 |
989,748 |
1,637,623 |
|
Delaware |
75,262 |
88,497 |
163,759 |
|
Dist.Columbia |
1,196,536 |
407,738 |
228,832 |
1,833,106 |
Florida |
44,098,321 |
23,495,237 |
14,353,339 |
81,946,897 |
Georgia |
4,703,503 |
2,004,333 |
1,435,928 |
8,143,764 |
Hawaii |
86,625 |
75,000 |
161,625 |
|
Idaho d/ |
246,171 |
430,505 |
276,832 |
953,508 |
Illinois |
4,133,998 |
1,926,097 |
1,368,352 |
7,428,447 |
Indiana |
440,459 |
353,925 |
794,384 |
|
Iowa |
690,861 |
785,258 |
524,951 |
2,001,070 |
Kansas |
236,298 |
137,017 |
373,315 |
|
Kentucky d/ |
- |
1,067,570 |
789,891 |
1,857,461 |
Louisiana |
399,351 |
194,555 |
593,906 |
|
Maine |
250,320 |
349,785 |
600,105 |
|
Maryland |
4,820,764 |
1,335,808 |
6,156,572 |
|
Massachusetts f/ |
3,526,804 |
1,617,706 |
767,704 |
5,912,214 |
Michigan |
5,681,613 |
1,598,251 |
1,129,659 |
8,409,523 |
Minnesota |
7,169,611 |
2,988,286 |
1,470,442 |
11,628,339 |
Mississippi |
1,537,161 |
79,804 |
1,616,965 |
|
Missouri |
566,123 |
1,546,921 |
1,264,667 |
3,377,711 |
Montana |
21,559 |
75,000 |
96,559 |
|
Nebraska |
318,144 |
403,185 |
236,518 |
957,847 |
Nevada d/ |
- |
537,304 |
392,843 |
930,147 |
New Hampshire |
283,935 |
399,873 |
683,808 |
|
New Jersey |
1,619,727 |
1,027,417 |
2,647,144 |
|
New Mexico |
894,565 |
196,211 |
1,090,776 |
|
New York |
7,706,910 |
5,341,990 |
4,218,601 |
17,267,501 |
North Carolina |
1,254,569 |
1,280,339 |
316,711 |
2,851,619 |
North Dakota f/ |
777,684 |
194,555 |
214,041 |
1,186,280 |
Ohio |
2,748,582 |
1,044,389 |
324,686 |
4,117,657 |
Oklahoma |
318,309 |
110,938 |
429,247 |
|
Oregon |
3,307,731 |
1,272,474 |
1,337,319 |
5,917,524 |
Pennsylvania |
5,439,019 |
2,391,788 |
716,804 |
8,547,611 |
Rhode Island |
229,820 |
196,625 |