Refugees 101 with a religious perspective An adult education program presented by the Tikkun Olam Committee of the Keys Jewish Community Center Inspired by HIAS

How people enter the U.S. Immigrants (permanent status unless revoked or relinquished) Family Petitions Business or Investment Petitions Cuban Adjustment Non- immigrants (temporary status) Students, Business, Investors, Journalists, ambassadors, Humanitarian Refugees /Asylum medical TPS DACA Without inspection

Definitions Refugees Asylum Seeker Internally displaced person Migrant

Refugee A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their home country due to persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group (e.g., members of the LGBTQ community). The persecution a refugee experiences may include harassment, threats, abduction or torture. A refugee is often afforded some sort of legal protection, either by their host country’s government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or both. In the United States, refugees are hand-selected by the U.S. government and are screened in advance. They are subject to background checks and security screenings by multiple U.S. agencies. Only after everything is approved are they brought to the U.S. to reside permanently

Asylum Seeker An asylum seeker is a person who has fled persecution in their home country and is seeking safe haven in a different country, but has not yet received any legal recognition or status. In several countries, including the U.S., asylum seekers are sometimes detained while waiting for their case to be heard.

Internally displaced person An internally displaced person, or IDP, is a person who fled their home but has not crossed an international border to find sanctuary. Even if they fled for reasons similar to those driving refugees (armed conflict, generalized violence, human rights violations), IDPs legally remain under the protection of their own government – even though that government might be the cause of their flight.

Migrant A migrant is a person who chooses to move from their home for any variety of reasons, but not necessarily because of a direct threat of persecution or death. Migrant is an umbrella category that can include refugees but can also include people moving to improve their lives by finding work or education, those seeking family reunion and others

Magnitude of Crisis During 2015, conflict and persecution forced an average of nearly 34,000 individuals per day to leave their homes and seek protection elsewhere, either within the borders of their own country or in other countries. This number has increased four-fold over the last four years. In 2015, 51% of refugees were under 18 years old. Provisional data indicates that the number of unaccompanied or separated children seeking asylum on an individual basis has reached levels unprecedented since the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees started systematically collecting this data. All refugees resettled in the United States are screened by the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State department. Any time new information about the refugee is provided (e.g., a different phone number) the screening process is repeated again. In 2011, Lebanon hosted only 10,000 refugees and asylum-seekers. Today, they host upwards of 1.1 million in a country of under 5 million people.

Voices in the Dark Children on the Run

Durable Solutions Refugee advocates often refer to three durable solutions for refugees. These durable solutions include: local integration (for refugees who can safely rebuild their lives in the country to which they fled), resettlement (for the most vulnerable refugees for whom life is not safe in the country to which they fled and so require permanent resettlement in a 3rd country), and repatriation (for refugees for whom circumstances in their homeland change significantly enough that it is safe to return).

Where do refugees come from and where are they being hosted http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html http://www.unhcr.org/56701b969.html

Myths and facts about refugee resettlement http://www.hias.org/sites/default/files/myths_and_facts_about_syri an_refugee_resettlement.pdf

Resettlement in the U.S. The maximum number of refugees resettled in the U.S. in a given year, which is referred to as the ceiling for refugee admissions, is determined by the annual Presidential Determination. For 2016, the administration raised the ceiling from 70,000 to 85,000. President Obama then announced an increase to 110,000 for 2017, which includes both Syrian refugees and refugees from all other countries. President Trump reduced this to 50,000.   There are 9 refugee resettlement agencies in the United States: HIAS, Church World Service, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Episcopal Migration Ministries, International Rescue Committee, Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and World Relief. HIAS is the only Jewish agency among them. Any refugee resettled in the U.S. is resettled through one of these nine agencies.

Refugee screening process https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/11/20/infographic- screening-process-refugee-entry-united-states

Executive Action – January 27, 2017   Suspension of U.S. Refugee Admission Program – 120 days Reduction of refugee admission from 110,000 to 50,000 Ban on Syrian Refugees – indefinitely Ban on Entry (immigrant and non-immigrant) for 90 + days of nationals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen Suspension of Visa Waiver Interview process Misc. other provisions

How and Where refugees are resettled in the U.S. https://www.state.gov/j/prm/ra/receptionplacement/index.htm Factors in determining where to resettle refugees family in U.S. cultural, religious resources, interpreters, faith based organizations, affordable housing, employment opportunities, transportation, special health needs

Where do the refugees in the U.S. come from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/17/where-refugees- to-the-u-s-come-from/ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/syria-iraq-refugees- vermont-rutland-plan.html?_r=0

Local integration Ecuador https://hias.org/blog/how-one-refugee-family-ecuador-turned- cheese-business-success Kenya http://www.hias.org/blog/coolest-handbags-weve-ever-seen-were- made-lgbt-refugee Jordan and Lebanon and Turkey http://www.forbes.com/sites/nishacharya/2016/09/29/finding- talent-entrepreneurs-among-21-million-global- refugees/#27f3e0ee1f98

65 million people There are over 65 million internally displaced people, asylum seekers, and refugees worldwide. As of June 2015, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, identified 19.5 million refugees worldwide. Of the total global refugee population, less than 1% are resettled each year; in Fiscal Year 2014, 0.42% were resettled in the United States

To Make the World Better, Think Small * To combat Moral Numbness – Compassion Fatigue Talmud – if you save one life, it is as if you saved the whole world Tikkun Olam – repair the world – it is not our responsibility to finish the job but we must do our part * Op-ed by Arthur C. Brooks, NY Times

We do not help them because they are Jewish- we help them because we are Jewish https://hias.org/blog/video-after-17-years-refugee-brothers-find- new-country-new-home