The Migration Policy Institute’s report titled The Faltering US Refugee Protection System details the setbacks potential refugees and asylees have faced in the past 20 years because of flawed government policies, especially since 9/11 and during the current economic downturn. According to the report, added security measures in place since 9/11 to prevent terrorist infiltration are too strict, thus preventing worthy refugees and asylees from gaining lawful documentation. The report also finds that refugee employment rates sunk as low as 40% in 2009, even though 37% of refugees have higher degrees.
For Iraqi refugees, the government’s switch from importing large amounts of refugees from select regions with well publicized struggles to fewer refugees from a broader range of countries has limited the number of Iraqi refugees allowed in the U.S. The report states that the number of Iraqi refugees who gain passage to the United States is extremely “modest” in comparison to the number in need.
Finally, the report notes that although the U.S. accepts more refugees for resettlement than other resettlement countries, the number of refugees taken in by the U.S. pales in comparison to the millions taken in by certain “host” countries of first asylum.
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