Accounting for the Uncountable: Resettling Iraq's Refugees
DEVELOPMENTS
As the situation in Iraq improves, attention and resources are shifting elsewhere. However, the problems facing the 1-2 million Iraqi refugees, and millions who are internally displaced in Iraq, are actually worsening. After nearly seven years, many displaced Iraqis are struggling to survive without reliable incomes and are becoming more desperate.
There are hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries (the majority in Jordan and Syria). The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are approximately 500,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan and 700,000 in Syria. The refugees do not have a clear legal status in either country (for example, Jordan considers the Iraqis as “guests” rather than “refugees”), and it is illegal for them to work. UNHCR explains that without legal status or access to livelihoods, and facing a precarious economic situation, an increasing number of Iraqis are finding themselves in dire circumstances. The only option for such refugees (who cannot return to Iraq because of unstable conditions) is resettlement in a third country.
However, the application process for resettlement is slow and often unsuccessful. So far, resettlement countries have admitted fewer than half of the 80,000 cases referred by UNHCR. The vast majority of referrals are designated for resettlement in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Neighboring countries
It is impossible to calculate the precise number of Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries because they are not required to register with UNHCR and they live in cities among local residents. Iraqi refugees in Syria constitute one of the largest urban refugee populations in the world. Many of the refugees who fled Iraq with substantial savings have no money left. They rely on a monthly cash allowance from UNHCR to cover basic expenses.
United States
Since 2003, more than 35,000 Iraqi refugees have resettled in the U.S. The U.S. was slow to admit the refugees until Senator Kennedy initiated legislation to facilitate the process. The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, which passed in 2008, directs the Secretary of State to establish processing facilities in Iraq and countries in the region for eligible Iraqis to apply and interview for U.S. admission as refugees or as special immigrants. Included among the refugees of special humanitarian concern are:
(1) Iraqis who were employed by, or worked for or directly with the U.S. government in Iraq;
(2) Iraqis who were employed in Iraq by a U.S.-based media or nongovernmental organization or an organization that has received a grant from, or entered into a cooperative agreement or contract with the U.S. government;
(3) Spouses, children, sons, daughters, siblings, and parents of Iraqis who worked for the U.S. government or who are special immigrants; and
(4) Iraqis who are members of a religious or minority community and have close family members in the United States.The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act also authorized the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide special immigrant status to an otherwise admissible Iraqi national (and spouse and children) who was employed by, or worked for or directly with the U.S. government in Iraq for at least one year in or after 2003.
Since the bill’s passage, the number of Iraqi refugees admitted has increased sharply. In 2005-2006, 400 were admitted, in 2007, 1,608 were admitted and in 2008, 13,823 were admitted. In 2009, the U.S. exceeded its resettlement target of 17,000 by admitting 18,883. This year, at least 17,000 Iraqi refugees will be admitted.
Iraqis resettled in the U.S. have had a hard time finding jobs in the depressed economy. With inadequate access to critical services, employment or financial support, many Iraqi refugees are even facing eviction and homelessness. News of the economic circumstances in the U.S. has caused some refugees in Syria and Jordan to reject offers to resettle in the U.S.
However, among the improvements made by the Obama Administration are, (i) the appointment of senior National Security Council and State Department officials to coordinate U.S. policy on Iraqi displacement, (ii) the commissioning of a comprehensive interagency review of refugee resettlement led by the National Security Council and (iii) an increase in the one-time per capita grant for refugees from $900 to $1800.
The per capita grant, administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, had declined in real terms by more than 50% since its inception several decades ago. In a January 2010 statement titled, “Doing Right by Newly Arriving Refugees,” Eric Schwartz, the Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, explained that he sought the increase because the combined level of public and charitable resources available to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) was insufficient to provide adequate resources for initial resettlement. He elaborated that USRAP had a responsibility to ensure that refugees are able to get on their feet during their first weeks and months in the U.S. and are able to move quickly toward becoming independent, productive members of their communities.
ANALYSIS
A February 2010 report by the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Commission on Iraqi Refugees concluded that the Iraqi government, the United Nations, the U.S. government and European and other Coalition governments must do more to help Iraqi refugees. The IRC emphasized that the Jordanian and Syrian governments should give temporary legal status to Iraqi refugees and allow them to work. The IRC Commission also found that although the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has improved, it remains necessary to re-think America’s resettlement assistance and support model (as the National Security Council interagency review is attempting to do). For instance, despite the doubling of the per capita grant for refugees, there is still a danger that refugees will be “resettled into poverty.”
The U.S. resettlement system is out of date and incorrectly uses a one-size fits all approach to assisting refugees. The extreme difficulties experienced recently by refugees has demonstrated that in order to fulfill the responsibility Mr. Schwartz articulated of ensuring that refugees can “get on their feet,” the IRC is absolutely correct in recommending that refugees be given adequate funding beyond the current 90-day resettlement period.
In addition, given that the majority of Iraqi refugees resettled in the U.S. since 2003 were forced to leave Iraq because of their association with the U.S. military or American companies, the IRC is also undoubtedly correct in suggesting that the U.S. must continue to acknowledge its unique responsibility in the [Iraqi refugee] crisis and accept and support even more refugees from Iraq.
---
Alexandra Moller is a lawyer who specializes in alternative dispute resolution. She is a co-founder of IRAC (Iraqi Refugee Assistance Collaborative) a non-profit organization which assists Iraqi Refugees by answering their questions about life in the United States.