Slow economy hinders refugee resettlement in U.S.

As Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and State department officials begin consultations to make recommendations for the number of refugees allowed into the United States in 2011, the nation's high unemployment is creating challenges for them.

"This is a new experience for the refugee admissions program," said a State Department official with longtime experience in refugee and asylum programs. "Incoming refugees are facing a much harder time in achieving self sufficiency, which is the goal."

The president annually sets the admissions ceiling for refugees, based on input from the three departments. State and Homeland Security conduct the vetting and admissions, while HHS oversees resettlement activities.

The annual ceiling for the last three years has been 80,000 refugees, although fewer were actually admitted. In 2008, 60,191 refugees were granted entrance; last year, 74,654 were accepted, according to State Department statistics. Officials expect to admit about 73,000 refugees this year.

"We are working hard with HHS to try to figure out strategies for placing people where there are available jobs," the State official said. In addition, officials are seeking ways to expand the resources available to refugees, "but it is definitely a tough situation," she said.

Program officials have begun providing information to would-be refugees before they enter the application process. "We want people to be aware -- before they become committed to the U.S. as a resettlement country -- of the current [unemployment] situation," so they can pursue alternative countries for resettlement if they want, the State official said.

The United States, Canada and Australia accept the most refugees worldwide.

A key problem for program officials is refugees often have inflated expectations of what life in the United States will be like.

"It's hard to counter a lifetime of expectation," said a senior official with the DHS' Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau. Both DHS and State officials spoke on the condition they would not be named, during a briefing for reporters on the refugee and asylum programs.

Every refugee arriving in the country is provided with a sponsor affiliated with one of 10 national volunteer agencies that work to help refugees adjust to life in the United States. They provide a litany of services, including help finding work, enrolling children in schools and adults in English language classes, and finding medical care.

Refugees are eligible for public assistance and medical care for at least eight months, and sometimes longer, depending on family status and the state they live in. They also receive about $1,100 in direct financial assistance after they arrive in the country.

Iraqis, several thousand of whom have been resettled in the United States because their support for U.S. operations in Iraq placed them in danger, have had a particularly difficult time adjusting to their new circumstances, the State official said. The Iraqis, who are largely middle class, "are very surprised at the standard of living that the refugee resettlement program presents to someone," she said.