Strengthening the USRAP

Rebuilding and Enhancing the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)

For the third year in a row, the Biden-Harris Administration reaffirmed the United States’ humanitarian leadership and commitment to welcoming refugees by maintaining a target of 125,000 refugee arrivals in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.  As a result of intensive efforts to restore, strengthen, and modernize the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), we have made significant progress since 2021 toward fulfilling the President’s target for resettling refugees from around the world. These efforts are a critical part of the Administration’s robust response to humanitarian crises globally. The total number of refugee arrivals in FY 2023 (60,014) was more than double FY 2022 refugee arrivals. Refugee admissions are nearing a monthly pace that will, if sustained over the course of a year, enable arrival of 125,000 refugees, the highest number in more than three decades. The Administration’s efforts to rebuild the USRAP, in partnership with communities and organizations across the country and the world, have put the FY 2024 goal within reach.

In FY 2024, the Administration aims to build on the momentum of the last year and affirm refugee resettlement as a core component of the United States’ global humanitarian response. The USRAP is central to U.S. efforts to extend hope and relieve suffering globally, as record numbers of people around the world have been forced to flee war, persecution, and instability.  Nearly 110 million people are now forcibly displaced worldwide, more than at any other time in history. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2.4 million refugees are now in need of protection through third-country resettlement. Through resettlement, the United States provides an opportunity for refugees to pursue a life of safety and dignity without fear of persecution. In turn, the United States benefits from the meaningful economic, social, and cultural contributions of refugees in the communities where they are resettled.

USRAP in FY 2024: Building on Progress to Strengthen the Program for the Future

The Departments of State, Homeland Security (DHS), and Health and Human Services (HHS), alongside other U.S. government agencies involved in refugee resettlement, continue to implement and expand on the President’s vision to rebuild and enhance the USRAP as outlined in Executive Order 14013, Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration. The Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized rebuilding the USRAP’s global overseas refugee processing infrastructure and domestic reception capacity to warmly welcome significantly greater numbers of refugees. We have done so while strengthening the program’s policies, processes, and procedures to respond to evolving needs and position the program on a durable foundation for the future. A few of the Administration’s objectives and innovations in FY 2024, building on activities and progress made in FY 2023, are highlighted below.

Private Sponsorship and the Welcome Corps: In January 2023, the Department of State launched the Welcome Corps, a groundbreaking private sponsorship program to empower everyday Americans to welcome refugees and support their resettlement and integration as they build new lives in the United States. The Welcome Corps builds on Americans’ generosity by creating a durable program in communities across the country to privately sponsor refugees from around the world and is the boldest innovation in the U.S. refugee resettlement program in four decades. By tapping into the goodwill of American communities, the Welcome Corps will expand our country’s capacity to provide a warm welcome to refugees and broaden our geographic resettlement landscape. The first privately sponsored refugees arrived in June 2023. In December 2023, the Department of State expanded the Welcome Corps to enable private sponsors to identify specific refugees they wish to support and to refer those refugees for consideration to the USRAP. Throughout FY 2024, the Department of State will also implement targeted pilot programs that facilitate education and labor mobility pathways under the umbrella of the Welcome Corps. Find more information at www.welcomecorps.org.

Refugee Referrals: The Department of State is working with existing and new NGO partners to increase equitable access to the USRAP for highly vulnerable refugees in need of resettlement who are unlikely to be reached through other referral mechanisms.  This effort intends to provide particularly vulnerable populations including LGBTQI+ persons, victims of severe xenophobic violence, gender-based violence survivors, journalists, political dissidents and other human rights defenders, and others without access to resettlement as a durable solution. In 2023 PRM approved two new P-1 processes by which senior government officials have been designated with refugee referral authority. The U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons may refer individuals who face persecution as a result of their work promoting respect for LGBTQI+ rights as well as individuals who face persecution on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics.  The Assistant Secretary or Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor (DRL) and referred by the DRL Assistant Secretary (or Senior Bureau Official) has been given referral authority for refugees who are human rights defenders and others.

These efforts prioritize refugee populations that may have historically had difficulty accessing U.S. resettlement. These new partners will provide greater access to durable solutions and a new life for those who are unable to integrate in their current country of asylum and face marginalization, discrimination, or worse, in their current location.

Resettlement Diplomacy: The United States leverages its humanitarian leadership to expand resettlement as a durable solution for refugees globally. As part of this effort, the United States leads the Resettlement Diplomacy Network (RDN), a multilateral initiative aimed at convening like-minded refugee resettlement states to act collectively to expand and strengthen third-country pathways for refugees.  PRM established the RDN on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 77 in 2022 to fill a critical gap in the multilateral architecture on refugee resettlement.  Existing resettlement forums have historically focused on sharing technical knowledge and operational best practices.  The RDN facilitates senior-level engagement to advance concrete strategic actions to grow pathways for refugees. RDN membership is comprised of a core group of states that operate small to large resettlement programs. Under the chairmanship of the United States, the RDN is made up of ministers and representatives from Australia, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission. The Refugee Hub and the Migration Policy Institute serve as the inaugural secretariat for the RDN to support the U.S. chairmanship. The RDN’s initial workplan, agreed to at UNGA 78, is organized around three pillars: (1) strengthening the global resettlement infrastructure; (2) addressing current situations of concern in specific regions; and (3) identifying opportunities for strategic solidarity.

Additional Resources

The Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2024

Ministerial Meeting of the Resettlement Diplomacy Network – United States Department of State

Resettlement Diplomacy Network Senior Officials Meeting – United States Department of State