Remaking the Map of Refugee Resettlement: A Community-Based, Nationwide Case Study of Refugee-Driven Vis-a-Vis Policy-Driven Refugee Geography

Background. Refugee resettlement policy, in its function as anti-poverty welfare program, prioritizes as goal refugees’ socio-economic integration, which is prefigured by placement in appropriate contexts of reception. ‘Placement’ of refugees is important but has long been a problematic aspect of resettlement policy (GAO 2011). After placement in primary cities of arrival, refugees commonly move or relocate domestically, termed as secondary migration, disarraying the planned dispersion strategy of federal policy (ORR Report to Congress 2010). Migrants’ voluntary movements are natural and expected but difficult to predict as well as track, and complicate policy funding appropriations and service provision (Ellis, 2005). Local resources and services in places of relocation may not be sufficiently adequate for resettled refugees in their new American communities. The US resettlement program lacks proper mechanisms (Weine et al 2011) and has been considered as being “ill-prepared” (Kenny 2011) for addressing secondary migration. Not much is known due to lack of official data and research (GAO 2011), particularly about the new cohorts of refugees in the post-September 11 era.

Methods. Community-based and official data were used to examine the domestic resettlement of one refugee population, Bhutanese refugees, from 2008 to 2016. Data collection entailed Community Knowledge Mapping, a community-based approach developed by geography scholars for understanding migration patterns of hard-to-reach populations such as refugees (Harte et al, 2012). Official population data in cities of arrival from the US Office of Refugee Resettlement and community-based population data in cities of secondary migration were compared to quantify a population change rate for each city of resettlement (n=287). Data were analyzed to visually describe resettlement patterns in maps, using the Geographic Information Systems software ARCGIS. US Census data and other publicly available sources were then used to construct city-level indicators for factors previously identified in studies as influencing migrants’ domestic movements, including: unemployment, foreign-born population, job quality (low/high skill labor), urban/rural, region, city-level immigrant policy, state-level resettlement policy. Systematic comparative case analysis techniques were used to examine city-level factors as conditions for in and out-migration of refugees.

Results. Maps of primary arrival and secondary migration visually describe Bhutanese refugees’ out-migration from urban localities, western regions and traditional immigrant gateways; and in-migration into medium-sized, Midwestern cities, considered new immigrant destinations. Comparative case analysis results indicate job quality, specifically low-skill labor demand, and affordability in cities as necessary conditions for in-migration of Bhutanese refugee population in the US.

Implications. Findings suggest that refugee-driven resettlement diverges from federal policy of dispersal, as Bhutanese refugees pursue low-wage, low-skill employment and more affordable living conditions, centering in mostly medium-sized, Midwestern cities. Service providers and policy planners assisting refugees could take into account labor demand and affordability in cities when planning appropriate placement of refugees. Importantly, the primacy of low-wage employment as driver of resettlement and indicator of socio-economic integration calls for more appropriate supports for refugees as new workers in new immigrant destinations.