According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the official definition of a refugee is someone who due to a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, nationality, religion, political opinion, or affiliation with a particular social group, has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. Refugees cannot return home safely. The process of being resettled takes several years as refugees go through a rigorous vetting process with the UNHCR. Most families spend one to two decades, or sometimes more, in a refugee camp before being approved for resettlement.

Refugees are a type of immigrant, but they differ from other immigrants to the U.S. by way of choice. While immigrants choose to migrate to the U.S., whether it’s for a job, new opportunities, family etc., refugees do not. Refugees have no choice; they are forced to leave their homes for fear of their lives and get to the U.S. through a resettlement path where they start a new life calling the US their home. Human rights and international law protects them from being driven back to where they came from.

There are three main ways in which the international community supports refugees:

Financially – Financial support is through aid promised to countries accepting refugees or asylum seekers and donations made to international agencies such as the UNHCR.

Politically – Political support includes changes in foreign policy that either addresses the causes for displacement or allows for easier exit from dangerous situations for those fleeing their homes by opening borders and welcoming asylum seekers as first asylum countries

Physically – Physical support means either accepting asylum seekers who cross international borders or accepting refugees through resettlement programs organized by the UNHCR to reduce pressures on the first asylum countries.