Migration and Refugee Assistance

Description

Through the State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and other partners, Migration and Refugee Assistance funds mitigate and resolve conflict-related displacement and support humanitarian action and diplomacy for displaced populations.

Use of Funds

Funds help meet the basic human needs of displaced people, including refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons (IDPs); support sustainable and dignified solutions to their displacement; and assist the countries hosting them. Durable solutions include the voluntary return of refugees to their place of origin if the conditions permit, safely remaining in the location of displacement with integration into host communities, or resettlement to a third country. Funds also support the admission, reception, and placement of refugees to the United States.

Justification

• In 2021, 3 million people were forced to flee worldwide. The vast majority of displaced persons are either hosted in low- and middle-income countries (83%) or neighboring countries (72%).
• “According to the World Bank, 23 countries, hosting a combined population of 850 million people, faced high- or medium-intensity conflicts in 2021,” double the number of conflict-affected countries in the last decade.
• 41% of displaced people are children, and between 2018 and 2021, 5 million children were born as refugees.
• The war in Ukraine has become one of the largest displacement crises in the world with more than 7.8 million refugees recorded across Europe since February 2022. There are also more than 6.5 million people internally displaced. As the war continues, many refugees are looking for ways to remain in their host country and are trying to incorporate themselves into society by, for example, reentering the workforce, taking classes in local languages, and using childcare services.