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Refugee Admissions
About This Indicator
What Are Refugee Admissions?
Refugees admitted each fiscal year, from the State Department's Refugee Processing Center. They are screened and approved abroad; asylum seekers, who apply after arriving, are not counted. Since 1975.
Why Does It Matter?
It shows how the country answers crises abroad: about 207,000 came in fiscal 1980, as people fled Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Resettlement agencies decide where many refugees first settle, so one program can remake a neighborhood.
Can Politics Influence Them?
More directly than anything else here: since the Refugee Act of 1980 the President sets a yearly ceiling after consulting Congress. The ceiling is a cap, not a target; admissions often fall well short.
Key Idea
Screening abroad takes a year or more, so a higher ceiling shows up slowly, while a pause shows up at once: after the September 11 attacks, a halt and new checks cut admissions from about 69,900 in fiscal 2001 to about 27,100 in 2002.
Not Scored
Source: State Department (Refugee Processing Center). Refugee Admissions Report, Cumulative Summary, Total.
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