Refugee Statistics and Information
By Allyson Dix, BCP Managing Editor
This article highlights the program that the refugees currently in discussion will utilize for entry into the United States, historical information, and government-funded benefits available.
What is a refugee?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security are responsible for granting individuals with the status of refugee, which is defined as a person who faces persecution or has well-founded fears of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion and are unable or unwilling to return to their home country.
Refugees mainly differ from asylees in that refugees apply for protection while outside of the United States while asylees seek protection at a U.S. port of entry or while already within the country.
Each fiscal year, which runs October 1 through September 30 for federal government, a refugee admissions ceiling is set by the U.S. president, and the Refugee Act of 1980 was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, which allows the president, among other things, to set an annual ceiling for refugee admittance. Despite having a maximum number set each fiscal year, the majority of years never met that ceiling number since 1980, sometimes actual admissions have been less than half the admissions ceiling allowance.
Since that time, the refugee admissions ceiling has both increased and decreased each year, with the highest being 231,700 in 1980, and the lowest being 11,411 in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, under the Trump Administration.
In 2017, also during the Trump Administration, 3,716 more refugees than the 50,000 maximum allowed were admitted into the U.S., and in 2019, 30,000 were admitted, which was also the same number as the admissions maximum set that year. Under the Reagan Administration, the admissions ceiling ranged from 67,000 to 90,000 per fiscal year.
The Biden Administration announced this past June that the refugee admissions ceiling was the highest in three decades for fiscal year 2024. However, the 125,000 ceiling has remained the same since 2022. Under George Bush, Sr.’s Administration and two years into President Bill Clinton’s first-term presidency, the refugee admissions ceiling was at its highest from 1989 to 1995, aside from the few years following the Act’s passage in the early 80s.
KENTUCKY STATS
As of June 30, 2024, according to the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, 2,006 refugees have been resettled in Kentucky since October 1, 2023, with 1,286 of those from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Refugees from the following countries have also been resettled in Kentucky within the same timeframe noted above: Afghanistan (68 refugees); Belarus (4); Burma (75); Burundi (7); Central African Republic (16); Colombia (13); El Salvador (3); Eritrea (8); Guatemala (25); Haiti (3); Honduras (15); Iraq (10); Mali (9); Nicaragua (20); Pakistan (29); South Sudan (12); Rwanda (12); Somalia (149); Sudan (24); Syria (131); Ukraine (35); and Venezuela (52).
Surprisingly, the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) has only taken in 10 refugees in fiscal year 2024, the second lowest aside from Hawaii, who has resettled 5 refugees.
In 2022, Kentucky was ranked the #1 state to take in the most refugees per capita, and in 2023, Kentucky was ranked #4, according to the Immigration Research Initiative.
REFUGEE INFO
Kendall Martin, Senior Communications Manager with Episcopal Migration Ministries, a division with The Episcopal Church, confirmed with the Barren County Progress that the refugees in consideration of being brought to Glasgow-Barren is through the Reception and Placement (R&P) assistance program with the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program with the U.S. Department of State.
The state department’s website explains: Refugees selected for resettlement through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program are eligible for R&P assistance or support from private sponsors upon arrival in the United States. Each refugee approved for admission to the United States is sponsored by one of ten non-profit resettlement agencies participating in the R&P program under a cooperative agreement with the Department of State, or through the new private sponsorship program, Welcome Corps. The International Center in Bowling Green is one of the ten agencies.
Martin confirmed the refugees in question are not a part of the Welcome Corps, which is a new program under the Biden Administration and is separate, private sponsorship combining public and private resources than the R&P program.
According to the state department’s website, representatives from resettlement agencies meet frequently to review biographic information and other case records sent by the state department’s overseas Resettlement Support Centers to match incoming refugees with specific resources in communities across the nation.
One of the key factors of placement is the availability and affordability of housing. Once a sponsoring resettlement agency becomes responsible for refugee placement with one of its local affiliates, they will provide initial services up to 90 days after their arrival.
A one-time per capita amount is available for the local resettlement affiliates’ use on behalf of refugees to meet critical direct assistance needs, such as rent, food, clothing and furnishings, according to the website. Based on discussions in recent meetings, each refugee being considered for Glasgow-Barren will receive a one-time payment of $1,300 each.
The website further says that the remainder of those funds are used for the resettlement staff, including assisting with housing, school, employment, medical/legal services, and case management in those first 90 days. It does not mention this amount is utilized for the travel loan program under the International Organization for Migration.
The R&P Program is a mix of public and private resources, with the resettlement agencies working with local communities to supplement federal funding through volunteers and donations, the website explains.
After the first 90 days of refugee placement, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) works to provide longer-term assistance, such English language training, employment, and social services.
According to ORR’s website, refugees may immediately be eligible for federal “mainstream” (non-ORR-funded) benefits, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and food stamps with the SNAP program.
ORR, however, provides funding to state governments, resettlement agencies, and other nonprofit community-based organizations to provide benefits and services to eligible individuals. ORR-funded cash and medical assistance, if eligibility requirements are met, is available for no longer than the first 12 months. ORR employment services and other services aimed at self-sufficiency, well-being, and integration is available to refugees for up to five years after arriving in the United States.
ORR-funded benefits for eligible refugees include: Refugee Cash Assistance (for those not eligible for SSI or TANF); ORR Matching Grant Program (services to help refugees become economically self-sufficient within 240 days); Refugee Medical Assistance (similar to Medicaid health insurance if refugees do not qualify for Medicaid); and Medical Screening (identifies health conditions, vaccinations required for school/work, and referrals to medical care providers).
“ORR recommends [emphasis added] that medical screenings are completed soon after arrival in the U.S.,” ORR’s website states.
Additionally, eligible refugees are also offered Refugee Support Services and Specialized Programs such as health services, small business start-up assistance, and other targeted support programs within the first five years after arriving in the U.S.
