as a refugee. The vetting process is intense and protracted, and can last anywhere from18 months to several years after referral.

Refugee processing involves eligibility screening with paperwork, background checks, bio-data (fingerprints, iris scans, etc. are all checked through the FBI, the Department ofHomeland Security, and the Department of Defense), interviews, medical screening, travelloans, flight plans and resettlement -- which is another entire process.

Once a refugee passes all the security checks and is allowed passage to the U.S., aCustoms and Border Protection officer reviews their documentation and conductsadditional security checks against its National Targeting Center-Passenger program andthe Transportation Security Administration’s Secure Flight program. CBP ensures thatthe arriving refugee is the same person who was screened and approved for admissionto the United States.

The Struggles are RealThe hurdles for refugees and their families are high and many, starting with languagebarriers, frequently being separated from their loved ones, terror of being sent back, thehunger, thirst, cold and exhaustion that comes with trekking and surviving the flight outof their country of origin. Many die and many more are on the brink of physical collapseat times. All this, just to get to the country of first asylum where they are often herdedinto fenced retention camps and live in flimsy tents and given very few freedoms. Manyface prejudice and anger from the natives in the country of first asylum.

IRAP is one of the first organizations to support a refugee by helping them prepare theirdocumentation and legal status. For refugees, access to this legal assistance is just asimportant as access to food and shelter. Legal assistance is literally life or death forthem.

The world is facing a refugee crisis the likes of which we have not witnessed sinceWorld War II. Refugees around the world continue to be neglected, victimized, anddenied the procedural safeguards that are the hallmarks of a just society. IRAP is

RESPONDING TO THEREFUGEE CRISISTHE INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE ASSISTANCE PROJECT

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providing safe passage and new beginnings for the most at-risk refugees. At thesame time, they are also providing crucial support and building capacity in theirfield.

They are always interested in finding more people to support them. If you areinterested in learning more or supporting the noble work of IRAP, please visithttps://refugeerights.org/

Special thanks to Henrike Dessaules, Communications Manager for IRAP, NewYork for her help with developing this story and providing comprehensive

documentation of the refugee process.

REFUGEERIGHTS.ORG

• Are refugees mostly working or unemployed?The U.S. refugee resettlement systememphasizes self-sufficiency through employment,and most refugees are employed.

• Do refugees improve their economic positionafter they are resettled?

Refugees generally arrivewith very limitedresources. Many arrivepenniless. Over time,however, they find jobs,advance economically,and become self-sufficient.

• Is the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program aconduit for terrorists?

Refugees are intensively vetted for securitythreats before being resettled in the United States.

• Does the federal government absorb the fullcosts of settling refugees?

Although the federal government funds refugeeresettlement assistance, funding has been limited.The program is a public-private partnership bydesign. Private agencies, NGOs and communityorganizations provide substantial support forrefugees.

• Do refugees embrace their new country?Refugees are on a fast track for permanentresidency and citizenship, and a large majoritybecome citizens.

• Do refugees depend on public benefits?Although many refugees initially depend on publicbenefits, most quickly become self-sufficient.

• Do refugees come to the United States with lowlevels of education?

Refugees are more likely to have a high schooldegree than other immigrants, and just as likely asthe U.S. born to have graduated from college.

• Is the United States likely to experience flows ofwould-be asylum seekers similar to Europe?

Due to itsgeographicallocation, the UnitedStates is unlikely toexperience largeflows of asylum

seekers or other migrants from Syria or elsewherein Africa or the Middle East.

Source: The Migration Policy Institute,1400 16th St NW Ste. 300 Wash DC 20036

Eight Facts About U.S. Refugee Resettlement