80,000 refugees from Iraq taken in since 2007... as far as anyone knows none have commited terrorist acts.
Iraqi Refugee Processing Fact Sheet
Updated: June 06, 2013
U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is an inter-agency effort involving a number of governmental and non-governmental partners, both overseas and domestically, whose mission is to resettle refugees in the United States. The U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) has overall management responsibility for the USRAP and has the lead in proposing admissions numbers and processing priorities.
Within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has responsibility for interviewing refugee applicants and adjudicating applications for refugee status. Through its cooperative agreements with Resettlement Support Centers (RSC), PRM handles the intake of refugee referrals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), U.S. embassies, and certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as the prescreening of cases and the out-processing of individuals for travel to the United States.
Iraqi Refugee Processing
Part of the humanitarian mission of the USRAP is to provide resettlement opportunities to especially vulnerable Iraqi refugees. Since large-scale Iraqi refugee processing was announced in February 2007, DHS and DOS have worked cooperatively to increase the number of Iraqi refugees admitted to the United States as part of the worldwide commitment. DHS and DOS have worked closely to expand processing capacity for Iraqi refugee applicants while ensuring the highest level of security. In support of these efforts, USCIS currently deploys approximately 55 officers per quarter to the Middle East to conduct refugee processing circuit rides. Since the inception of the program in 2007, 203,321 Iraqi nationals have been referred to the USRAP for resettlement to the United States. USCIS has interviewed 142,670 Iraqi refugee applicants; approved 119,202 for resettlement and, 84,902 Iraqi refugees have arrived in the United States.
FY 2007
FY 2008
FY 2009
FY 2010
FY 2011
*FY 2012
*FY 2013
*TOTAL
Referrals to USRAP
12,098
28,769
49,276
46,472
39,878
15,878
10,950
203,321
USCIS Interviews
4,437
23,862
29,096
27,277
26,831
20,073
11,094
142,670
Approved by USCIS
2,909
18,674
25,238
24,021
22,323
16,992
9,045
119,202
Admitted to US
1,608
13,823
18,838
18,016
9,388
12,163
11,066
84,902
*as of April 30, 2013
Process for Resettlement
In identifying Iraqi cases for referral to the USRAP, UNHCR and DOS have been prioritizing 11 categories of especially vulnerable refugees, including individuals who are affiliated with the U.S. government and religious minorities, among others.
Iraqi refugees may gain access to this program through referrals from UNHCR, a U.S. Embassy, or certain NGOs. In addition, Iraqi nationals who worked for the U.S. government, a U.S. contractor, or a U.S.-based media organization or NGO, and their family members can apply directly to the USRAP in Jordan, Egypt and Iraq without a UNHCR referral. Iraqi applicants will also be considered for resettlement if an eligible family member applies on their behalf in the United States by filing Form I-130, a Petition for Alien Relative. These latter two categories – direct application cases and Form I-130 beneficiaries – are known as Priority 2 (P-2) cases. Before 2012, the majority of cases processed by the USRAP were referrals from UNHCR. Since 2012, P-2 cases have comprised a larger share of cases.
USCIS officers are currently interviewing Iraqi refugee applicants primarily in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq. Refugee processing in Iraq focuses on certain Iraqis who are associated with the U.S. and their family members. USCIS officers have previously interviewed Iraqi refugee applicants in Syria as well, but have not been able to work in Syria to process refugee applications since March 2011.
Determining Eligibility for Refugees
Eligibility for refugee status is decided on a case-by-case basis. A USCIS officer conducts a personal interview of the applicant designed to elicit information about the applicant's admissibility and claim for refugee status. During the interview, the officer confirms the basic biographical data of the applicant; verifies that the applicant was properly given access to the USRAP; determines whether the applicant has suffered past persecution or has a well-founded fear of future persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion in his or her home country; determines whether the applicant is admissible to the United States and whether he or she has been firmly resettled in another country; and assesses the credibility of the applicant.
Ensuring Security
We are committed to conducting the most rigorous screening in order to ensure that those being admitted through the refugee program are not seeking to harm the United States. In May 2007, DHS announced and implemented an Administration-coordinated, enhanced background and security check process for Iraqi refugees applying for resettlement in the United States. The security check regime, including both biographic and biometric checks, has been enhanced periodically over the last several years as new opportunities and interagency partnerships with the law enforcement and intelligence communities have been identified. These enhancements are a reflection of the commitment of DHS and other agencies to conduct the most thorough checks possible to prevent dangerous individuals from gaining access to the United States through the refugee program. No case is finally approved until results from all security checks have been received and analyzed.
http://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/refugees/iraqi-refugee-processing-fact-sheet
