U.S. Resettlement Policies and Their Impact on Refugee Wellbeing: A Case Study of New York City Agency Response

Background and Purpose: The number of people that are forcibly displaced from their communities is at its highest with over 67 million individuals, and of these, over 17 million are refugees. The process of forced migration with its elements of stress and uncertainty, as well as the adaptation to a new habitat creates a heightened sense of security and fear. Although studies have examined different aspects of the life of refugees, there are no studies providing a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of refugee wellbeing in the U.S., either in relation to the resettlement process or to integration. The multilevel governance system in the U.S. complicates assessing the determinants of refugee wellbeing under the influence of multilevel policies. Nevertheless, examining the effect of refugees’ access (particularly women refugees’ access) to the federal, state and organizational policies and programs on refugee wellbeing is crucial to assessing the efficient use of financial resources and the impact on refugees’ human rights.

Due to the uniqueness of the policy field in New York City, this study aims to address aforementioned gaps in the literature by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the wellbeing of refugees resettled in the NYC, and by examining the impact of organizational, city, state and federal welfare policies on refugees in general and on women in particular, from the perspective of service providers working in state and local government and non-for-profit organizations.

The core research question that guides this study is:

What are the main factors influencing wellbeing of refugees resettled in the U.S. from the perspective of the service providers?

More specifically, to address the aim of this study, the study focuses on questions about gender differences in wellbeing, and experiences of refugee resettlement and integration process.

Methods: The study used qualitative case study design, with a purposive sample of ten refugee service providers working at governmental and non-governmental organizations. Data for the study were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews.

Results:  The study shows that employment, language proficiency, access to resources and services (including housing, health insurance, and internet) determine the refugee wellbeing in the U.S. from the perspective of the service providers. Particularly, wellbeing of women refugees depends on their culture, number of children, and existence of social network. From the organizational perspective, the definition of refugee wellbeing mostly associated with self-sufficiency, which refers to refugees’ employment status and ability to meet their basic needs. While policies provide several services (such as cash assistance, job search and skills development assistance) impacting the refugee wellbeing positively, they also restrict organizational activities to the extent of terminating services for the refugees.

Conclusions and Implications: The observations in this study suggest that there are certain areas of wellbeing (like shelter and environment, and mental health) that are not addressed by the existing policies and services. Gender does not seem to have a significant impact on practice from the perspective of service providers. Yet, women’s vulnerability and traditional caregiving role was consistently mentioned to have an impact on their resettlement and integration experiences.