Resettling Increasingly Diverse Refugee Populations in the United States: Integration Challenges and Successes

The United States has the world’s largest refugee resettlement program, accepting two-thirds of the 98,000 refugees who were permanently resettled in 2013. These refugees come from increasingly diverse origins and linguistic backgrounds; the number of primary languages spoken rose from 114 in 2004 to 162 just eight years later. Although this growing diversity reflects an effort on the part of the U.S. government to be more responsive to refugee crises worldwide, it has the potential to complicate service delivery for resettlement providers with limited resources.

Join the Migration Policy Institute for a public discussion of a new MPI report, The Integration Outcomes of U.S. Refugees: Successes and Challenges, which uses previously unpublished State Department data among other sources to examine refugee characteristics at arrival for the ten largest national-origin groups resettled between 2002-2013, as well as their integration outcomes. The discussion will examine the report’s findings with respect to refugee employment and incomes, English proficiency and education levels, public benefit use, as well as differing integration outcomes between refugee groups with similar characteristics at arrival.

Bob Carey, the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and Ngoan Le, Chief of the Illinois Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services, will offer their insights about the successes, challenges, and opportunities that exist in an era of increased diversity.

No registration is necessary to view the livestream.