Exploring Private Refugee Sponsorship Option(s) for the United States The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:37799753 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Exploring Private Refugee Sponsorship Option(s) for the United States Shahana Bhaduri A Thesis in the Field of International Relations for the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University March 2018 i Abstract The research goal of this thesis is to identify areas where the current United States government funded refugee sponsorship program can be augmented by private refugee sponsorships. The idea is not to replace government funded refugee sponsorship program, it is simply to augment it so that the collaborative resources can be leveraged to help more refugees given an average of 24 people were being forced to flee a minute worldwide as recently as 2015. United States and Canada have many similarities. Canada has a private sponsorship model that it augments with its government sponsorship model. If this approach has been working in Canada since the 1970s, it is also worth considering in the United States. One out of 100 humans are now displaced from their homes per a Pew Research Center publication as of October 2016. If all of these individuals created a country, it would be the world’s 24th biggest country. To put it in perspective, this is more than the population of United Kingdom, or more than 65.3 million people. This has created an international humanitarian crisis. Unless addressed, it will only lead to other types of challenges, as people get desperate. At the same time, finding government funding to meet the challenges of the refugee and migrant crises has been difficult worldwide. In the United States, which has accepted over 3 million refugees since 1980, and was projected to accept over 110,000 refugees in 2017, only 53,716 refugees were actually accepted under President Trump’s Administration. It does not look any better for 2018 as his administration has proposed to only accept 45,000 for this year. Meanwhile, countries like Greece, Jordan, Turkey, and others that were already struggling with an economic crisis prior to the migrant crisis, are now struggling to juggle both an economic and iii migrant/humanitarian crises as they are inundated with refugees and migrants pouring in from their war-torn neighboring countries. World leaders must collectively make it a priority to innovate humane, practical, sustainable and logical solutions before this crisis spiral into more destabilization worldwide. This research explores whether private sponsorships of refugees can be part of the solution. This research uses qualitative method and uses the current U.S. government funded refugee sponsorship and Canada’s private sponsorship model as case studies. The research identifies the refugee screening steps and processes for entry into the United States, as well as the reception and resettlement steps and processes, once the refugee arrives at the United States. It identifies the costs based on data provided by the U.S. government and its non-profit partners. Then, it takes a similar case study approach towards the Canadian Private Sponsorship model. It is understood that Canada also has a government-funded refugee sponsorship model like in the United States. Their government-funded model is not the focus of this research. However, this research focuses on studying the Canadian private sponsorship model since it augments to their already available government funded model, and enables them to accept additional refugees. As part of the research background, the thesis also lays out why addressing the international refugee crises is of importance to the United States and the world for national security, stability, our role as a world leader, our identity as a nation, and humanitarian reasons. In the findings and conclusion portion of the research, the thesis identifies areas where the United States can leverage from a private sponsorship model similar to the Canadian model. It concludes that the reception and resettlement steps and costs, once the refugee enters in the United States, is an area where United States should consider leveraging an expanded private refugee sponsorship model. iv Dedication To the voiceless, you are not forgotten. To those who I met at various refugee camps in Greece, to those waiting for hours in long lines for a piece of bread, dry clothes, or medicine from a makeshift clinic; to those who I met in villages in Tanzania that were not yet on Google Maps, to the orphaned cerebral palsy children in Ecuador, to the community in Nepal that suffered an earthquake and a fuel crises that made even getting water and vegetables a luxury, to the kids studying in the remote Himalayan Mountain villages of India and orphans in Chennai, to the village in Ghana that asked us to build a library so that one day they can have internet for their community and connect with the rest of the world, and to all the volunteers, staff, community members, and teachers that tirelessly and silently dedicate their lives working selflessly to make someone else’s life better, you inspire me to use this privileged life to tell your stories. You give me strength. I remember you. I see you. I hear you. v Acknowledgements Thank you to my parents, family, friends, coworkers, and clients. Thank you to the U.S. Government, Government of Canada, Non-Profit organizations, Migration Policy Institute, Institute of Migration, and Niskanen Center whose websites have provided a wealth of information that was crucial to my research. Thank you to Stichting Bootvluchteling (Boat Refugee Foundation) & Greece for the opportunity to volunteer at the Greek Refugee Camps. Thank you to all the other NGOs that allowed me to volunteer with them, fellow volunteers, asylum seekers in Greek camps that shared their stories, and the helping Greek citizens. Thank you to my thesis advisors and director, Dr. Doug Bond, Dr. Nicholas Burns, and Dr. Donald Ostrowski for your guidance and help. Thank you Harvard Extension program for allowing an education at Harvard University while working full time, constantly traveling, and volunteering in-between. Thank you to the teachers and faculty at Cathedral School (New Delhi, India), Raisina Bengali School (New Delhi, India), Anna F. Doerfler (Milwaukee, WI, USA), Shorewood Middle and High School (Shorewood, WI, USA), University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI, USA), the larger Harvard University community (Cambridge, MA, USA), and each person and organization whose work I’ve referenced in this thesis, and also to all those who have informally educated me even outside of this thesis in so many ways. I’m grateful for all of you. vi Table of Contents Dedication!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"# Acknowledgements !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"$# List of Tables!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$%# List of Figures !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!%# Chapter I. Introduction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!&# Chapter II. Background of the Problem !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'# Chapter III. U.S. Response to Refugee Crises !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!()# Chapter IV. Refugee Facts and Figures at a Glance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!('# Chapter V. U.S. Security Measures for Refugee Screening !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(*# Chapter VI. U.S. Refugee Program !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!+,# U.S. Government Agencies and Their Current Responsibilities!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -)# How Does Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Process Refugees? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ,.# Chapter VII. What are the Current Costs for U.S. Government? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!',# Chapter VIII. How Are Canadians Doing It? Canadian Private Sponsorship Program!!!!/)# What Is the Canadian Group of Five (G5) Private Sponsorship Program? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /(# How Many Refugees Has Canada Sponsored? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /-# Who Can Be Sponsored?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .)# Who Is Ineligible to Privately Sponsor a Refugee?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .+# How Much Financial Support Will Be Required? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .*# Chapter IX. Research Methodology!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!