Refugees are individuals who have fled their countries of origin and who meet the United Nations’ criteria of having a “well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” The UNHCR ... reports that there are more than 59.5 million refugees worldwide.
Each
year the President of the United States authorizes the admission of a certain
number of refugees into the country. This determination is based on a
consultative process between Congress, the President and various federal
agencies. In recent years, the U.S. has accepted between 50,000 to 75,000
refugees per year. Before admission to the U.S., each refugee undergoes an
extensive interviewing, screening and security clearance process.
Refugee Admissions
In FY 2014 (October 1, 2013 – September 30, 2014), the U.S. received 69,986 refugees, 19,075 of which were resettlement by USCCB/MRS (27%).For FY 2016, President Obama set the admissions at 70,000 refugees. For more information, see the FY 2016 Presidential Determination and Proposed Refugee Admissions for FY 2016 Report to Congress.
FY 2017 admissions planning is well underway. For background information, read the latest Mission report from the Bishops and USCCB/MRS staff which called attention to the current Refugee crisis in Syria.
|
Fiscal Year |
Presidential |
Actual |
MRS |
|
2015 2014 |
70,000 70,000 |
69,933 69,986 |
19,747 (28%) 19,075 (27%) |
|
2013 |
70,000 |
69,926 |
22,646 (32%) |
|
2012 |
70,000 |
58,238 |
21,075 (36%) |
|
2011 |
80,000 |
60,191 |
18,094 (32%) |
|
2010 |
80,000 |
73,311 |
20,823 (28%) |
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