the office of refugee resettlement was established in 1980.
the office of refugee resettlement was established in 1980.
when was the office of refugee resettlement established?
1980
the office of refugee resettlement was officially established with the passage of the refugee act of 1980. it was created in "an attempt to design a coherent and comprehensive refugee admission and resettlement policy". the act (a) gave recognition to the office of the u.s. coordinator for refugee affairs, which was given authority over the development of u.s. “refugee admission and resettlement policy”, and (b) established the office of refugee resettlement (orr) within the u.s. department of health and human services, which was given the authority to provide grants with nonprofits for resettlement services (including training and healthcare), and reimbursed states for efforts undertaken within the first three years of a refugee’s living in the united states.
office of refugee resettlement
on april 25, 2016, brownback issued executive orders barring state agencies from facilitating refugee resettlement from syria and other majority muslim countries, in concert with the federal office of refugee resettlement (orr). he maintained they presented security risks. his decision entirely removed the state from the program. the federal office of refugee resettlement served notice that it would instead work directly with local refugee resettlement organizations. mark greenberg of the federal administration for children and families said, "if the state were to cease participating in the refugee resettlement program, it would have no effect on the placement of refugees by the state department in kansas, or the orr-funded benefits they can receive." although states are legally entitled to withdraw from the program, the initial withdrawal for claimed security reasons, is the first in the nation. micah kubic, the kansas aclu's executive director said brownback's policy removed the state from the process of protecting those seeking safety jeopardized by their religious beliefs, despite such refugees receiving thorough screenings: "it's very sad and very unfortunate that the governor is allowing fear to get in the way of hospitality and traditional kansas values." earlier in 2016, brownback directed state agencies to use the state department's list of state-sponsors of terrorism to exclude refugees whose presence might constitute security risks. refugees who were fleeing danger in iran, sudan and syria were singled out for exclusion. thanks to brownback's initiative, kansas would lose about $2.2 million annually that had been provided to support resettlement agencies. the state had been working with three such agencies, among them catholic charities of northeast kansas, to in making appropriate placements. in the seven months preceding his order, 354 refugees from all countries have been resettled in kansas, she said, with thirteen syrians placed in the wichita or kansas city areas of the state in prior sixteen months. democratic representative jim ward, from wichita, characterized brownback's announcement as "a distraction," intended solely for political purposes, as kansas faced a $290 million budget deficit.
sam brownback