After the Last Border:Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America

In the aftermath of World War II, the US opened its doors to thousands of refugees from Europe. Reversing course from a policy of exclusion, the US overhauled its immigration laws in 1965. Priority in admission was henceforth given to refugees, merit-based applicants, and the families of those already in the US. While the US led the world in the acceptance of refugees in the 1960s and 1970s, it did so on an ad hoc basis. In 1980, the Refugee Act, which was a bipartisan bill, created a permanent and stable system for the identification, vetting, and resettlement of refugees. Each year, the president would set a ceiling for the numbers of refugees that could be admitted via this program. Although immigration policy is politically divisive, there was widespread and bipartisan support for the admission of qualified refugees until 2015.

Refugees are distinguished from asylum seekers, who present themselves in the country or apply directly for asylum. From 2000 through 2022, approximately 40% of asylum seekers have been accepted (Uribe, Maria Ramirez. “Fact Check: What Percentage of Immigrants are Granted Asylum in the U.S.?” WRAL News, 2023). Qualified refugees, in contrast, are referred to the US by the United Nations (UN). They have been forcibly displaced from their homes and are in fear of persecution. These refugees are processed through the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services. They are thoroughly vetted, with extensive interviews, background checks, and biometric tests. Once in the US, refugee services and voluntary organizations help to assist refugees with adjusting to life in a new country.

Between 2001 and 2015, Presidents Bush and Obama typically set the ceiling for refugee admissions between 70,000 and 80,000, though fewer than that were admitted. President Trump set the ceiling at 50,000 in 2017, 45,000 in 2018, 30,000 in 2019, and 18,000 in 2020. Admissions sharply declined and the agencies that serviced refugees closed or shifted focus. In the Trump years, the admission of refugees became an ideological issue. Prior to that, the debate was simply about the numbers to admit.