In-Country Processing for Children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

In-Country Processing for Children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador

Sponsored by Church World Service (CWS), Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), HIAS, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Jesuit Conference USA, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS) and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) Church World Service (CWS), Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), HIAS, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Jesuit Conference USA, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS) and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)Slide2

Agenda

9:30 Introductions, context, overview of agenda

Naomi Steinberg, RCUSA and Greg Chen, AILA

9:45 Background: children & families fleeing violence in Central America, Q&A

Mary DeLorey, Jesuit Conference; Aryah Somers, KIND; and

Leslie Velez, UNHCR

10:35 Background on the U.S. refugee resettlement program, Q&A

Stacie Blake, USCRI

11:05 Central American Minors Affidavit of Relationship program, Q&A

Anastasia Brown, USCCB

12:10 Protection concerns & advocacy issues, Q&A

Anna Greene, IRC; Joanne Kelsey, LIRS; Bill

Frelick

, HRW

1:00 Q&A and conversation on resources needed, next steps, lunch provided

1:30 Adjourn Slide3

THE U.S. REFUGEE

RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMSlide4

U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program

A

r

efugee

is any person who has fled their country of nationality or habitual residence and is unwilling or unable to return because of a well-founded fear of persecution. To qualify as a refugee under international and U.S. law, a person must prove that the persecution feared is due to one of 5 grounds:

Race

Religion Nationality Political opinion Membership in a particular social groupSlide5

Are there other in-country programs?

Eurasia and the Baltics

Applies to Jews, Evangelical Christians, and Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox religious adherents identified in the Lautenberg Amendment, with close family in the United States.

Cuba:

human rights activists, members of persecuted religious minorities, former political prisoners, forced-labor conscripts, and persons deprived of their professional credentials or subjected to other disproportionately harsh or discriminatory treatment resulting from their perceived or actual political or religious beliefs.

Iraqis Associated with the United States:

includes those set forth in the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, employees of the U.S. Government, a U.S. government funded contractor or grantee, U.S. media or U.S. NGOs working in Iraq, and certain family members of such employees, as well as beneficiaries of approved I-130 petitions, are eligible for refugee processing in Iraq.

Minors in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala:

certain lawfully present qualifying relatives in the United States couldRequest access to a refugee interview for an unmarried child under 21 in his/her country of origin.

Are there other in-country programs? Slide6

Refugee Resettlement

in the U.S.

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

Department of State’s

Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration

(PRM)

Refugee Support Centers (RSCs): run by NGOs, contract w/ PRMVoluntary Agencies (VOLAGs): 9 NGOs that contract with PRMDHS’s Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Refugee Affairs Division

(RAD)

Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)VOLAGs contract with ORR to resettle refugees through a network of local resettlement offices / affiliates Every state has a State Refugee Coordinator

(not WY)Slide7

National Refugee Resettlement Agencies or “Voluntary Agencies” (VOLAGS)

Nine VOLAGs resettle refugees via their networks of affiliates / local offices across the U.S. that welcome refugees and provide them initial services:Slide8
Slide9

Refugee ResettlementSlide10
Slide11

U.S. Refugee Admissions Program

Africa

17,000

East Asia

13,000

Europe and Central Asia

1,000

Latin

America/Caribbean

4,000*

Near East/South Asia

33,000

Regional Subtotal

68,000

Unallocated Reserve

2,000

Total

70,000

*includes an estimated 3,250 in-country Cubans and minors in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Most refugees resettled to the U.S. today are from:

Burma / Myanmar

Bhutan

Iraq

Afghanistan

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Somalia

Sudan

Cuba

Iran

Proposed Admissions for FY2015Slide12

U.S. Refugee Admissions ProgramSlide13

Refugeesinamerica.orgSlide14

Upon arrival in the United States

The

local resettlement office

welcomes

the refugee at the

airport.

The R&P grant is provided for the first 3 months after arrival.

Within the first 30-days refugees must:

-Apply for a

SSN

-Enroll kids in

school

-Get a

medical evaluation

-Begin learning

English

Local resettlement offices assist in English classes, employment and self-sufficiency through programs funded by

ORR

Refugees are given

permission to work

in the U.S. upon arrival

and are expected to obtain employment within 4-8 months of arrival

After 1-year refugees are

allowed and required

to apply for

lawful permanent

residency

(LPR), known as a “green card”.

After 5-years a refugee

who has LPR can apply to become a U.S. Citizen by taking a test in English and civics and paying the feesSlide15

Local Resettlement Offices