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The Future of Refugee Resettlement
A staggering number of adults and children around the world have fled their homes due to conflict, persecution, or famine. The most recent figure numbers displaced people at 79.5 million worldwide. The average refugee spends 17 years in a refugee camp before resettlement. For many this means 17 years of living in a tent. Yet the U.S. recently announced that for fiscal year 2021, which started October 1, 2020, the country will welcome a maximum of 15,000 refugees. The Refugee Act of 1980 began the United States’ engagement in offering a new home to refugees. That year the U.S. welcomed well over 200,000 refugees. This year’s cap of 15,000 ensures…
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Texas Pulls Out of Refugee Resettlement: What This Means and Three Things You Can Do
Recently Governor Greg Abbott announced that as of January 31, 2017, Texas will join Kansas and New Jersey in not participating in the refugee resettlement program. Does this mean refugees will only settle in the other 47 states of our union? Actually, no. The settlement of refugees across the United States is a federal program run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) rather than a state program run by each state. The federal funds that pay for the program in Texas have been funneled through Texas state officials, up to now. So the impact of withdrawing from the program is that the state will no longer be the middle…