Coming to America

The admission of refugees to the United States and their resettlement here are authorized by the immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended by the Refugee Act of 1980. The 1980 Act had two basic purposes: to provide a uniform procedure for refugee admissions and to authorize federal assistance to resettle refugees and promote their self-sufficiency. The intent of the legislation was to end an ad hoc approach to refugee admissions and resettlement that had characterized U.S. refugee policy since World War II. Under the INA, a refugee is a person who is outside his or her country and who is unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion. This book examines the refugee admissions and assistance process with a focus on resettlement policy; economic self-sufficiency and refugee minors.