Order Code RL31269
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy
January 22, 2002
Andorra Bruno
Analyst in American National Government
Domestic Social Policy Division
Katherine Bush
Graduate Intern
Domestic Social Policy Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Refugee Admissions and Resettlement Policy
Summary
A refugee is a person fleeing his or her country because of persecution or a
well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. Typically, the annual number of
refugees admitted into the United States and the allocation of these numbers by region
are set by the President after consultation with Congress by the start of each fiscal
year. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, however, the usual process
was not followed for FY2002. President Bush did not issue the Presidential
Determination setting the FY2002 refugee numbers and allocations until November
21, 2001. In the absence of that Presidential Determination, no refugees could be
admitted into the country after October 1, 2001. In addition, following a post-
September 11 assessment of refugee-related security procedures, enhanced security
procedures are now in place. Refugee admissions into the United States resumed the
week of December 10, 2001.
The FY2002 refugee ceiling is 70,000, as compared to the FY2001 level of
80,000. The Administration maintains that the reduction is necessary in order
improve the quality of the refugee admissions program. For FY2002, the refugee
numbers are allocated, as follows: Europe (26,000), Africa (22,000), Near East/South
Asia (15,000), East Asia (4,000), and Latin America/Caribbean (3,000).
Overseas processing of refugees is conducted through a system of three priorities
for admission. Priority one includes cases involving persons facing compelling
security concerns in the countries of first asylum (i.e., foreign countries to which
refugees have fled). Priority two includes cases involving persons from specific
groups, e.g., certain Somali nationals. Priority three includes cases involving close
relatives of persons who have already resettled in the United States and possess legal
immigration status.
Special legislative provisions facilitate relief for certain former Soviet and
Indochinese nationals. The “Lautenberg amendment” allows certain former Soviet
and Indochinese nationals to qualify for refugee status based on their membership in
a protected category with a credible, but not necessarily individual, fear of
persecution. Another provision, initially proposed by Senator McCain and still
referred to as the “McCain amendment,” makes certain adult children of Vietnamese
re-education camp survivors eligible for U.S. refugee resettlement. Both provisions
expired at the end of FY2001. P.L. 107-116, enacted on January 10, 2002, extends
the “Lautenberg amendment” through FY2002. Also in the 107th Congress, a bill
(H.R. 1840) to revise and extend the “McCain amendment” through FY2003 has been
passed by the House and reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Refugee Resettlement
(HHS/ORR) administers an initial transitional assistance program for temporarily
dependent refugees and Cuban/Haitian entrants. For FY2002, P.L. 107-116 provides
$460.2 million for HHS/ORR. The FY2001 appropriation was $433.1 million.
Special refugee cash assistance (RCA) and refugee medical assistance (RMA)
typically account for over half the HHS/ORR annual budget.

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Contents
Background and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Refugee Admissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
FY2002 Refugee Ceilings and Allocations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Refugee Processing Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Lautenberg Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Vietnamese Refugees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Admissibility of Refugees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Waivers for HIV-positive Refugees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Refugee Resettlement Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
List of Tables
Table 1. Refugee Admissions Ceilings and Regional Allocations,
FY1997 - FY2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 2. Refugee Resettlement Funding, FY1997- FY2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table 3. Refugee Eligibility for Major Federal Public Assistance Programs . . . . . 9
Appendix. Refugee Admissions by Region, FY1987-FY2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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Refugee Admissions and Resettlement
Policy
Background and Definitions
The admission of refugees to the United States and their resettlement here are
authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended by the Refugee
Act of 1980.1 There have been very few changes in these procedures in the 20 years
since their enactment. The 1980 Act had two basic purposes: (1) to provide a
uniform procedure for refugee admissions; and (2) to authorize federal assistance to
resettle refugees and promote their self-sufficiency. The intent of the legislation was
to end an ad hoc approach to refugee admissions and resettlement that had
characterized U.S. refugee policy since World War II.
Under the INA, a refugee is a person who is outside his or her country and who
is unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of
persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion.2 In special circumstances, a refugee also may be a person
who is within his or her country and who is persecuted or has a well-founded fear of
persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion. Excluded from the INA definition of refugee is any
person who participated in the persecution of another.3
Refugees are processed and admitted to the United States from abroad. The
State Department handles overseas processing of refugees and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) of the Justice Department makes final determinations
about eligibility for admission. Separate provision is made in the INA for the granting
of asylum on a case-by-case basis to aliens who are physically present in the United
States or at a land border or port of entry and who meet the definition of refugee.
Once admitted to the United States, both refugees and asylees (those granted asylum)
are eligible generally to adjust to lawful permanent resident status after 1 year.4
1The INA is Act of June 27, 1952, ch. 477; 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq. The Refugee Act is P.L.
96-212, March 17, 1980.
2This definition conforms with the definition used in the United Nations Convention and
Protocol relating to the status of refugees.
3INA §101(a)(42); 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42).
4There are no numerical limitations on refugee adjustments of status. Asylee adjustments of
status are subject to an annual limit of 10,000.

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CRS-2
Refugee Admissions
The United States admits about half the refugees identified by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as being in need of resettlement each
year. Typically, the annual number of refugee admissions and the allocation of these
numbers by region of the world are set by the President after consultation with
Congress. Each year, the President submits a report to the House of Representatives
and the Senate, known as the “consultation document,” which contains the
Administration’s proposed refugee ceiling and allocations for the upcoming fiscal
year. Following congressional consultations on the Administration’s proposal, the
President issues a Presidential Determination by the start of the new fiscal year setting
the refugee numbers for that year.5
The President submitted the FY2002 consultation document to the House and
Senate in August 2001.6 In the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks,
however, the congressional consultations and the issuance of the FY2002 Presidential
Determination did not take place in the usual time frame. Although the new fiscal
year began on October 1, 2001, President Bush did not issue the Presidential
Determination setting forth the refugee numbers for FY2002 until November 21,
2001.7 With the concurrence of the House and Senate, he did so without
Administration officials first holding formal congressional consultations. In the
absence of a Presidential Determination, no refugees could be admitted into the
United States after October 1. In another consequence of the September 11 attacks,
the Administration undertook a review of existing refugee-related security
procedures. The review has been completed, and new enhanced security procedures
are now in effect overseas and in the United States. Refugee admissions into the
United States resumed the week of December 10, 2001.
Table 1 shows refugee admissions ceilings and regional allocations for FY1997-
FY2002. For FY1997-FY2001 the table also contains data on actual admissions.8
5Asylees are not included in the refugee ceilings. There are no numerical limitations on the
granting of asylum.
6U.S. Dept. of State, U.S. Dept of Justice, and U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services,
Proposed Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2002: Report to the Congress (Washington:
August 2001). (Hereinafter cited as FY2002 Consultation Document)
7U.S. President (Bush), “Presidential Determination on FY 2002 Refugee Admissions
Numbers ...,” Presidential Determination No. 02-04, Federal Register, vol. 66, December 7,
2001, pp. 63487-63488.
8For annual data on refugee admissions by region since FY1987, see the appendix.

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CRS-3
Table 1. Refugee Admissions Ceilings and Regional
Allocations, FY1997 - FY2002
Region
FY1997
FY1998
FY1999
FY2000
FY2001
FY2002
Africa
7,000
7,000
12,000
18,000
20,000
22,000
East Asia
10,000
14,000
9,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
Europe
Former
18,000
25,000
38,000d
27,000
20,000
9,000
Yugoslavia
Former Soviet
30,000
26,000
23,000
20,000
17,000
17,000
Union (FSU)a
Latin America/
Caribbean
4,000
4,000
3,000
3,000
3,000
3,000
Near East/South Asia
4,000
4,000
4,000
8,000
10,000
15,000
Unallocated
5,000
3,000
2,000
6,000
4,000
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Total Ceilings
78,000
83,000c
91,000f
90,000
80,000
70,000
Actual Admissionsb
70,488
77,080
85,525
73,147
68,426
NA
Sources: For ceiling and allocation data: PD 96-59, September 30, 1996; PD 97-37, September 30,
1997; PD 98-39, September 30, 1998; PD 99-33, August 12, 1999; PD 99-45, September 30, 1999;
PD 2000-32, September 29, 2000; PD 02-04, November 21, 2001; U.S. Dept. of State, U.S. Dept of
Justice, and U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Proposed Refugee Admissions ..., Fiscal
Years 1997-2001. For actual admissions data: U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees
and Migration.
aIncludes the New Independent States and three Baltic Republics.
bAs of September 30, 2001.
cIncludes 5,000 unfunded numbers for the FSU to be used if necessary and if funding is available.
dIncludes 13,000 numbers for Kosovar refugees added by Emergency Presidential Determination (PD 99-33).
fIncludes 3,000 unfunded numbers for the FSU to be used if necessary and if funding is available.
FY2002 Refugee Ceilings and Allocations
The FY2002 worldwide refugee ceiling is 70,000, a decrease from the FY2001
ceiling of 80,000. In the consultation document, the Administration maintained that
a reduced FY2002 ceiling was necessary in order to focus on improving the quality
of the refugee admissions program. It proposed to make FY2002 “a year of
consolidation and capacity building, both in terms of overseas processing and
domestic reception and placement of arriving refugees.”9 Caseloads, which were once
dominated by refugees from a few regions of the world with family or ethnic ties in
the United States, have become more diverse in recent years. According to the
consultation document, identifying these new caseloads overseas and integrating them
into the United States have posed myriad challenges for the refugee program.
The Former Yugoslavia and the Former Soviet Union (FSU), with a combined
allocation for Europe of 26,000, account for 37% of the total ceiling. The FSU’s
9FY2002 Consultation Document, p. 4.

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CRS-4
allocation of 17,000 is unchanged from FY2001. The allocation of 9,000 for the
Former Yugoslavia is less than half the 20,000 ceiling for FY2001 due to the more
stable political situation there.
Continuing the trend of recent years, the Bush Administration increased the
ceiling for Africa. The FY2002 allocation of 22,000 slots (31% of the total) is a
threefold increase since FY1998 and a historical high. The consultation document
characterized the situation in Africa, as follows:
The very rapid expansion of the refugee admission program in Africa, a five-year
period of increasingly complex regional strife in West, East, and Central Africa,
and internal conflict in countries that had been relatively stable politically have
created new refugee populations and new challenges for processing the already
existing populations.10
As in FY2001, the program in Africa is expected to be diverse but dominated by
refugees from five countries (Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone).
The Near East/South Asia allocation of 15,000 numbers (21% of the total) is a
significant increase from the FY2001 allocation of 10,000. In FY1999, the ceiling
stood at 4,000. The Near East/South Asia program primarily resettles Iraqis,
Iranians, and Afghans. According to the consultation document, the Administration
particularly “welcome[s] referrals from UNHCR ... of refugees who are persecuted
religious minorities or ‘Women-at-Risk’.”11 The latter refers to women, often single
heads of households, who are not safe in the countries of first asylum (i.e., foreign
countries to which they have fled).
The East Asian allocation of 4,000 slots, down from 40,000 in FY1995, is the
lowest for that region in more than 15 years. Direct resettlement from first asylum
countries is not expected to exceed 500. Most of the East Asian numbers will likely
be used for in-country processing in Vietnam of residual Resettlement Opportunity
for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR) applicants, Amerasian applicants,12 sons and
daughters of re-education camp survivors (McCain amendment cases, discussed
below), and former U.S. government employees. As in the past, the 3,000 slots for
Latin America/Caribbean are expected to be used primarily for in-country processing
in Cuba.
Refugee Processing Priorities
The State Department conducts overseas processing of refugees through a
system of three priorities for admission. These priorities are separate and distinct
from whether such persons qualify for refugee status. Priority assignment, however,
10Ibid., p. 17.
11Ibid., p. 27.
12Although Amerasians and their family members enter as immigrants under a special
statutory provision (in P.L. 100-202), they receive the same benefits as refugees and are
therefore included in the refugee admissions ceiling.

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CRS-5
does reflect an assessment of the urgency with which such persons need to be
resettled. Priority one includes cases identified by UNHCR or U.S. embassy
personnel as involving “persons facing compelling security concerns in countries of
first asylum.” Such persons may be in danger of attack or of being returned to the
country they fled. They include women who are at risk of gender-related persecution,
victims of torture, the mentally disabled, and persons in need of medical treatment
unavailable in the country of first asylum. Priority two includes cases involving
persons from specific groups, e.g., certain Somali nationals, Cuban dissidents, Iranian
religious minorities, and certain former Soviet and Indochinese nationals. Priority
three includes cases involving spouses, unmarried sons and daughters, and parents of
persons who have already resettled in the United States and possess legal immigration
status (lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, conditional residents, certain
parolees, and naturalized citizens).
Priority three refugee applications are based upon affidavits of relationship
(AORs) and are usually submitted by voluntary organizations that assist refugees in
resettlement, rather than from representatives of UNHCR. The number of
nationalities eligible for priority three processing has varied in recent years. A high
point was reached in May 1999 during FY1999, when 21 nationalities were eligible
for such processing.13 During the late 1990s, the State Department found that a large
number of priority three applications were received from persons who did not qualify
for refugee status and that there was a significant amount of fraud associated with
these applications. To address these problems, the U.S. government reduced the
number of nationalities eligible for such refugee slots. For FY2002, six nationalities
are eligible for refugee status based on a familial relationship under priority three
(Angolans, Burundians, Congolese (Brazzaville), Congolese (Democratic Republic
of Congo), Sierra Leoneans, and Sudanese).
Lautenberg Amendment
The “Lautenberg amendment” is a provision of the FY1990 Foreign Operations
Appropriations Act.14 It requires the Attorney General to designate categories of
former Soviet and Indochinese nationals for whom less evidence is needed to prove
refugee status (§599D of P.L. 101-167), and that provides adjustment to permanent
resident status for certain Soviet and Indochinese nationals granted parole15 after
being denied refugee status (§599E). Applicants for refugee status under the special
provision are only required to prove that they are members of a protected category
with a credible, but not necessarily individual, fear of persecution. By contrast, the
INA requires prospective refugees to establish a well-founded fear of persecution on
a case-by-case basis.
13U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, “U.S. Refugee
Admissions Program, Eligibility for Refugee Processing Priorities FY1999" (fact sheet), May
1999. Nationalities can be added or removed from the eligible list during a fiscal year.
14P.L. 101-167, November 21, 1989.
15Parole is a temporary authorization to enter the United States and is normally granted when
the alien’s entry is determined to be in the public interest.

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CRS-6
The Lautenberg amendment has been regularly extended. The FY2001
Consolidated Appropriations Act16 extended the amendment through FY2001. The
FY2002 Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Act,17 enacted on January 10, 2002, extends
the Lautenberg Amendment through FY2002.
Vietnamese Refugees
The “McCain amendment” was first enacted in the FY1997 Omnibus
Consolidated Appropriations Act.18 It covered certain adult children, whose parents
both were Vietnamese re-education camp survivors and had been accepted for U.S.
refugee resettlement. The amendment made the adult children eligible for U.S.
refugee resettlement. It was subsequently amended and extended through FY1999.
In November 1999, the McCain amendment was re-enacted in revised form for
FY2000 and FY2001 in the FY2000 Consolidated Appropriations Act.19 As revised,
it applied to the adult children of a re-education camp survivor who was residing in
the United States or awaiting departure from Vietnam and who, after April 1995, was
accepted for U.S. refugee resettlement or for admission as an immediate relative
immigrant. The April 1995 date restriction did not apply to children who were
previously denied refugee resettlement because their documents did not show
continuous co-residency with their parent.
Legislation to amend and extend the provision through FY2003 (H.R. 1840) was
passed by the House on October 30, 2001, and reported by the Senate Judiciary
Committee on December 13, 2001. H.R. 1840 would eliminate the existing April
1995 date restriction. Thus, children who were previously denied refugee
resettlement for reasons other than co-residency could also have their cases
reconsidered. Another bill, the “Viet Nam Human Rights Act” (H.R. 2833), would
offer U.S. refugee resettlement to Vietnamese nationals who were eligible for any
U.S. refugee program, but who were deemed ineligible due to administrative error or
who for reasons beyond their own control were unable to meet application deadlines.
H.R. 2833 was passed by the House on September 6, 2001.
Admissibility of Refugees
In order to be admitted to the United States, a refugee must be admissible as an
immigrant under immigration law. The INA sets forth various grounds of
inadmissibility for immigrants, which include health-related grounds, security-related
grounds, public charge (i.e. indigence), and lack of proper documentation. Some
inadmissibility grounds (public charge, lack of proper documentation) are not
applicable to refugees. Others can be waived by the Attorney General for
16P.L. 106-554, December 21, 2000.
17P.L. 107-116, January 10, 2002.
18P.L. 104-208, September 30, 1996.
19P.L. 106-113, November 29, 1999.

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CRS-7
humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public
interest.20
Waivers for HIV-positive Refugees. The health-related grounds of
inadmissibility include infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Prior
to June 1999, HIV-infected refugees could qualify for a waiver by showing the
following: (1) the danger they posed to the public health was minimal; (2) the
possibility that they would spread the disease was minimal; and (3) they would not
create additional costs for government agencies at any level, unless they had the
consent of the relevant agencies. On June 16, 1999, INS revised this policy, easing
the waiver requirements for HIV-infected refugees. Under the new policy, HIV-
positive refugees are no longer required to show that they would not create additional
costs for government-funded programs. The rationale for this change is that there are
federally-funded programs and services available to such refugees, e.g., Refugee
Medical Assistance, Medicaid, and other services supported through the Ryan White
CARE Act. This eligibility, according to INS, serves as the U.S. government’s
consent to incur costs for HIV-positive refugees. The new regulations still require
that such refugees have counseling and agree to take precautions to prevent the
spread of HIV.
Refugee Resettlement Assistance
The Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Refugee Resettlement
(HHS/ORR), within the Administration for Children and Families, administers an
initial transitional assistance program for temporarily dependent refugees and
Cuban/Haitian entrants. Since its establishment in 1980, the refugee resettlement
program has been justified on the grounds that the admission of refugees is a federal
decision, entailing some federal responsibility. Unlike immigrants who usually enter
through family or employment ties, refugees are admitted on humanitarian grounds,
and there is no requirement that they demonstrate economic self-sufficiency. P.L.
106-104 extended the authorization for HHS/ORR through FY2002.
For FY2002, the Administration requested $445.2 million for HHS/ORR. The
FY2002 Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Act provides $460.2 for these programs. For
FY2001, Congress appropriated $433.1 million for refugee assistance in the FY2001
Consolidated Appropriations Act. Table 2 details refugee resettlement funding for
fiscal years 1997 through 2002.
20Specified grounds of inadmissibility, including most security-related grounds, cannot be
waived.

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CRS-8
Table 2. Refugee Resettlement Funding, FY1997- FY2002
(budget authority in millions)
FY1997
FY1998
FY1999
FY2000
FY2001
FY2002
Programs
actual
actual
actual
actual
enacteda
enacted
Transitional/Cash and
Medical Services
$254.1
$234.0
$220.5
$220.7
$220.2
$227.3
Victims of
Traffickingb
5.0
10.0
Social Services
110.9
130.0
205.7
143.9
143.6
158.6
Victims of Torturec
—
—
—
7.3
10.0
10.0
Preventive Health
4.8
4.8
4.8
4.8
4.8
4.8
Targeted Assistance
54.9
54.5
49.5
49.5
49.5
49.5
Total
$424.7
$423.3
$480.5
$426.2
$433.1
$460.2
Source: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Justifications of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, Fiscal Years 1999-2002.
aFY2001 amounts reflect final congressional action, but are anticipatory due to carryover and other
budget uncertainties.
bFunding used primarily for administrative cost of certifying that an alien is a trafficking victim for
purposes of receiving benefits and services.
cFunding used for rehabilitation services, social services, and legal services for torture victims and
for provision of research and training to health care providers.
Activities funded by HHS/ORR include cash and medical assistance, social
services intended to assist refugees in becoming socially and economically self-
sufficient, and targeted assistance for impacted areas. Special refugee cash assistance
(RCA) and refugee medical assistance (RMA) are the heart of the refugee program,
accounting for over half the HHS/ORR annual budget in most years (see Table 2).
RCA and RMA, which are administered by the states, are intended to help needy refu-
gees who are ineligible to receive benefits from mainstream federal assistance pro-
grams. RCA and RMA are currently available to refugees for 8 months after entry.21
RMA benefits are based on the state’s Medicaid program. Similarly, RCA payments
are now based on the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
payment to a family unit of the same size. For example, an able-bodied couple below
age 65 would receive an RCA benefit equal to that of a two-person TANF family.
21INA §412(e)(1) authorizes HHS/ORR to reimburse states for RCA and RMA for 36
months. Initially, beginning in April 1980, RCA and RMA were available for the full 36
months. As appropriations levels decreased in subsequent years, however, the period of
coverage was reduced. Since October 1991, RCA and RMA have been available to refugees
for 8 months after entry.

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CRS-9
HHS/ORR published a final rule in March 2000 to amend its regulations to
reflect changes resulting from the replacement of AFDC by TANF.22 Most of the
amendments became effective on April 21, 2000. The rule gives states the option to
establish RCA programs that are a “public/private partnership” between states and
private volunteer agencies, or to maintain state administration of RCA programs. In
addition, the HHS/ORR program was significantly affected by the 1996 welfare
reform act and subsequent amendments.23 Prior to this legislation, refugees who
otherwise met the requirements of federal public assistance programs were
immediately and indefinitely eligible to participate in them just like U.S. citizens.
Now, refugees and other specified humanitarian entrants are time-limited. Table 3
summarizes the time limits on refugee eligibility for four major public assistance
programs.
Table 3. Refugee Eligibility for Major Federal Public Assistance
Programs
Program
Eligibility
Supplemental Security Income
Eligible for 7 years after entry.
(SSI) for the Aged, Blind and
Disabled
Medicaid (non-emergency care)
Eligible for 7 years after entry, then state
option.
TANF
Eligible for 5 years after entry, then state
option.
Food Stamps
Eligible for 7 years after entry.
22U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement, “Refugee
Resettlement Program; Requirements for Refugee Cash Assistance; and Refugee Medical
Assistance,” Federal Register, vol. 65, no. 56, March 22, 2000, pp. 15409-15450.
23The 1996 welfare reform law is the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act, P.L. 104-193, August 22, 1996. For additional information, see CRS
Report RL31114, Noncitizen Eligibility for Selected Major Public Assistance Programs:
Policies and Legislation.

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CRS-10
Appendix. Refugee Admissions by Region, FY1987-FY2001
Fiscal
Africa
East Asia
Eastern
Former Soviet
Latin America/
Near East/
Total
Year
Europe
Union
Caribbean
South Asia
1987
1,990
40,099
8,396
3,699
323
10,021
64,528
1988
1,593
35,371
7,510
20,411
3,230a
8,368
76,483
1989
1,902
45,722
8,752
39,602
4,116a
6,976a
107,070
1990
3,453
51,604a
6,094
50,628
5,308a
4,979
122,066
1991
4,420
53,522
6,837
39,226
4,042a
5,342
113,389
1992
5,470
51,899
2,915
61,397
3,947a
6,903
132,531
1993
6,967
49,817
2,582
48,773
4,322a
6,987
119,448
1994
5,860
43,564
7,707
43,854
6,156
5,840
112,981
1995
4,827
36,987
10,070
35,951
7,629
4,510
99,974
1996
7,604
19,321
12,145
29,816
3,550
3,967
76,403
1997
6,065
8,594
21,401
27,331
2,996
4,101
70,488
1998
6,887
10,854
30,842
23,557
1,627
3,313
77,080
1999
13,043
10,206
38,658
17,410
2,110
4,098
85,525
2000
17,561
4,561
22,561
15,103
3,232
10,129
73,147
2001
18,979
3,725
15,776
14,888
2,972
12,086
68,426
Source: U.S. Dept. of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
Note: All data are as of September 30, 2001.
aIncludes refugees admitted under the Private Sector Initiative (PSI). Most refugees admitted under PSI were Cuban.

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