Refugee resettlement is implemented by many different national and international stakeholders who operate in different locations and on the basis of sometimes diverging objectives. The implementation of the resettlement process has thus been characterized as multi-level governance, with resettlement stakeholders coordinating and negotiating the selection of refugees for resettlement. Still, literature on the implementation of refugee resettlement has remained very limited and has mainly focused on one specific stakeholder or stage of the process. In addition, a common conceptualization of the different stages is currently missing in academic literature. To address this research gap, the article proposes a common terminology of all stages of the resettlement process. Highlighting the diversity of resettlement programs, the article relies on a comparative case study of the German resettlement and humanitarian admission programs from Jordan and Turkey. By drawing on the concept of multi-level governance, the article examines diverging objectives and interdependencies between resettlement stakeholders, such as UNHCR and resettlement countries. As a result, the article argues that the increasing emphasis on national selection criteria by resettlement countries, including Germany, puts resettlement countries even more in the center of decision-making authority–in contrast to a diffusion of power that characterizes multi-level governance.
Interest in the phenomena of bilingualism and second language learning among both researchers and policy-makers has continued to grow during the past five years. The continued salience of these phenomena is due in part to the rapid growth in cultural and linguistic diversity in industrialized societies brought about by increased immigration and refugee resettlement programs. Policy-makers are naturally concerned to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of programs that teach the dominant societal language(s) to both children and adults.
For nearly two decades, Lincoln, Nebraska has served as a refugee resettlement site for programs administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a division of the Administration for Children and Families, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Recently, anthropologists from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) have begun collaborations with (1) Nebraska HHS, (2) social service agencies, (3) resettlement programs, (4) health departments and service providers, (5) churches, (6) policy makers, and (7) Sudanese refugee community members to increase mutual understanding of US and African cultures and to highlight the relevant skills, ideologies and needs each brings to the domestic resettlement process. This paper describes some of the ongoing applied research among Sudanese refugees and emphasizes the need for, and appropriateness of, development anthropologists working within domestic resettlement programs and systems.
Iraqi refugees arrived in the US at the onset of the Great Recession, just as the economic base of the Inland Empire—housing construction—had collapsed. This chapter follows several working- and middle-class Iraqi families through their economic difficulties and adjustment struggles. The most pressing theme to emerge in their narrative is the frustration of unemployment. Refugees are not granted entry based on employment eligibility or labor-recruitment criteria, yet refugee-resettlement programs, beginning in the 1970s with refugees from Southeast Asia, have been justified in terms of achieving economic self-reliance. Iraqi youths reflect on the meaning of economic success in America—the “money country”—and worry that the preoccupation with economic success could tear families apart.
Trauma-informed care (TIC) approaches have gained popularity in various contexts of human services over the past decades. However, relatively little has been explored about how it is applicable and built into services for refugee populations in resettlement programs. This study explores the current status of the application of TIC in refugee-serving agencies and identifies perceived and experienced challenges and opportunities for culturally responsive TIC in the United States. As designed as part of the evaluation of state-wide refugee health promotion programs, this study conducted individual interviews with 78 refugee service providers from five resettlement sites. Despite the burgeoning interest and attempt to embrace TIC, our findings show that there is clear inconsistency and inexperience in TIC adaptation in resettlement programs. This study highlights that TIC that is culturally responsive and relevant to refugee trauma and acculturation experiences is a vital way to address the chasms between refugee-specific programs and mainstream services including mental health care systems. This study also discusses community resources and opportunities to bridge the deep divide and substantial gaps between mental health services and refugee resettlement services and to address comprehensive needs around mental health and wellness in the refugee community.
This paper describes the experiences of twenty-four Bosnian refugees resettled in the US and explores how achieving integration relates to the US policy contexts and programs. Juxtaposing refugee perspectives and policies, “lived experience” was compared with policies on paper. Central themes included participants’ language and employment struggles, social support networks that included Americans, congregational sponsorship, and participants’ faith in their belief that they could fully belong in American society. Implications included a reevaluation of American resettlement policy regarding language and employment, formal support for sponsorship, and an inclusion of refugee voices in planning and implementing resettlement programs.
Abstract
Refugee resettlement is not new to EU member states. But the EU only accounts for about 10 percent of resettlements globally. Before the 2015 European Council decisions to relocate about 160,000 persons from Italy and Greece only half of EU Member States participated in resettlement programs. Relocation of refugees has emerged as a new form of resettlement as an EU reaction to the growing refugee influx. It is likely to become a permanent part of Common European Asylum Policy. The refugee emergency has intensified discussions about the application of the solidarity principle to pressure member states not yet engaged in relocation to contribute to the joint efforts of the EU. But this has created serious political controversy in many of the new (eastern) member states.
The article outlines key elements of refugee resettlement and relocation that have recently emerged in the EU and discusses the prerequisites for the sustainable use of this tool in an unfavorable political and unclear legal environment, with particular focus on new member states. The main goal of the article is to identify factors that need to be considered for the design of sustainable resettlement and relocation programs, considering the aspects of political salience, legal conditions, burden-sharing, and member states’ capacity. The case study of Lithuania presented in this article suggests that such programs need to be carefully considered and adequately funded as there are ample pitfalls which can quickly discredit the idea among the citizens.
San Diego’s economy, fueled by its innovation ecosystem, has experienced meteoric growth over the past several decades, with the region now ranked amongst the top life sciences clusters in the world. This growth has been inextricably linked to the military presence over the decades and the region has benefited from the symbiotic presence of both the military and private and public sector innovation partners, creating an ecosystem that may be unique in the nation. This unique combination of market forces is turbo-charging the creation of “multi-use” technologies and startups, through regional collaborations and associated programs that align the research discoveries and capabilities of universities, with the strategic needs of the government, while feeding the growth of commercial industry partners and the economy as a whole. One key to the continued competitiveness and success of San Diego will be to strengthen this virtuous cycle, to drive productivity and propagate the impact of the engagement across multiple innovation sectors or clusters.
Implementing the Refugee Resettlement Process: Diverging Objectives, Interdependencies and Power Relations