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Refugee Act of 1980
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The Refugee Act is a federal immigration law that was adopted in 1980. The Refugee Act of 1980 amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, standardizing the process for admitting refugees into the United States. Although the Refugee Act of 1980 set an annual limit on refugee admissions, the law also authorized the President of the United States to exceed this limit for humanitarian purposes. The act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter (D) on March 18, 1980.[1][2][3]
- For more information on the admission of refugees, see this article.
Background
Legislative history
The Refugee Act was introduced in the United States Senate on March 13, 1979, by Senator Ted Kennedy (D). The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 88-0 on September 6, 1979. On December 20, 1979, the United States House of Representatives approved its version of the Refugee Act by a vote of 328-47. A conference committee was convened to reconcile the differences between the two bills. On February 22, 1980, the conference committee made its report on the bill. The Senate approved the conference committee version of the bill on February 26, 1980. The House followed suit on March 4, 1980, by a vote of 211-195. The act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter (D) on March 18, 1980.[1][4]
Provisions
Definition
The Refugee Act of 1980 defined a refugee as "any person who is outside of his country of nationality (or in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which he last habitually resided), and who is unable or unwilling to return to such country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group." This definition adheres to that used by the United Nations Refugee Agency, which adopted its definition in 1951.[1][5]
Admissions limits and presidential authority
- See also: Admission of refugees
The Refugee Act of 1980 provided for an initial refugee admissions limit of 50,000 between fiscal years 1980 and 1982. The law authorized the President to exceed this limit "if, at the beginning of a fiscal year and after appropriate consultation, he determines it to be for humanitarian purposes." The law defines "appropriate consultation" as follows:[1]
| “ | [Personal] discussions by Cabinet-level representatives of the President with members of [the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate] to review the refugee situation or emergency refugee situation, to project the extent of possible United States participation therein, to discuss the reasons for believing that the proposed refugee admission is in the national interest, and to provide such members with information that shall include: (1) a description of the nature of the refugee situation; (2) a description of the number and allocation of of refugees to be admitted, and an analysis of conditions within their home countries; (3) an analysis of the anticipated social, economic, and demographic impact of their admission to the United States; (4) a description of the proposed resettlement plans, including estimated costs involved; (5) a description of the extent to which other countries will admit and assist in such refugee resettlement; (6) an analysis of the impact of United States participation in the resettlement of such refugees on United States foreign policy; and (7) any other appropriate information.[6] | ” |
| —Refugee Act of 1980 | ||
The table and chart below compares refugee admission limits and levels from 2007 to 2015.
| Annual refugee admissions, fiscal years 2007-2015 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Limit | 70,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 | 80,000 | 76,000 | 70,000 | 70,000 | 70,000 |
| Admissions | 48,282 | 60,191 | 74,654 | 73,311 | 56,424 | 58,238 | 69,926 | 69,987 | 69,933 |
| Source: U.S. Department of State, "Refugee Admissions Statistics" | |||||||||
Offices and agencies
The Refugee Act of 1980 created the office of Coordinator for Refugee Affairs. Appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the Coordinator for Refugee Affairs was tasked with developing and coordinating refugee admissions and resettlement policies and reporting to Congress on refugee policy.[1]
The law also created the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. According to its website, the Office of Refugee Resettlement "provides benefits and services to assist the resettlement and local integration of specific eligible populations, including refugees." [1][7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Congress.gov, "S. 643 - Refugee Act of 1979," accessed March 27, 2017
- ↑ Office of Refugee Resettlement, "The Refugee Act," August 29, 2012
- ↑ National Archives Foundation, "Refugee Act of 1980," accessed March 27, 2017
- ↑ GovTrack, "S. 643: Refugee Act of 1980," accessed March 27, 2017
- ↑ United Nations Refugee Agency, "The 1951 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol," accessed March 27, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Office of Refugee Resettlement, "ORR Benefits-At-A-Glance," accessed March 27, 2017
