Brudenell letter: Refugees

From the Migration Policy Institute, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide. www.migrationpolicy.org. “Ten Facts about U.S. Refugee Resettlement” October 2015, Capps and Fix. Among them:

▪  The U.S. refugee resettlement system emphasizes self-sufficiency; most refugees are employed and quickly become self-sufficient. The program is a public-private partnership by design.

▪ Refugees’ incomes rise over time.

▪  Refugees are intensively vetted for security threats before being resettled in the United States. Of the 785,000 refugees resettled in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, 20 have been arrested for terror-related concerns (0.0025 percent).

▪ Refugees are on a fast track for permanent residency and citizenship.

▪  Resettlement outcomes vary substantially among refugees depending on their origins and other characteristics.

▪  Refugees are more likely to have a high school degree than other immigrants.

▪  Syrian immigrants already in the United States are relatively well educated and prosperous. In 2014, 39 percent of Syrian immigrants (ages 25 and older) were college graduates, compared to 30 percent of the overall U.S.-born.

▪  Due to its geographic location, the United States is unlikely to experience large flows of asylum seekers or other migrants from Syria or elsewhere.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Brudenell letter: Refugees."