It seems to be beneficial for all parties when refugees are successfully integrated into their host country so that they can rebuild their lives and deploy their undoubted skills to the best of their abilities.  Alas, there are often systemic hurdles that prevent them from doing that.  A new study from the University of Colorado Denver highlights the barriers many refugees face and the way these heighten the risk of the refugee falling into chronic poverty.

The authors argue that by requiring refugees be financially self-sufficient in the first eight months of their arrival, the American resettlement program may actually be doing more harm than good.

“Refugees are on the lowest socioeconomic rungs in the U.S.,” they explain. “Many have a higher education or professional background in their home country, but those advantages are not fairly accounted for once they’re reduced to the category of ‘refugee.’ For those who arrive without these advantages to begin with, despite their efforts, their chance to realize social upward mobility is even lower.”

Systemic barriers

The authors highlight how the US resettlement program operates via a complex network of nonprofit and governmental organizations.  Often, the successful integration of refugees depends upon their access to a package of government support and finance that includes English language training, employment opportunities and affordable housing.

The problem is, as is so often the case, these programs lack adequate funding, which results in them being under resourced.  This in turn over-stretches staff, who provide refugees with inadequate support, and this can have a profound effect upon the ability of refugees to successfully integrate.  Indeed, the researchers suggest that it can take up to 15 years for refugees to begin earning a livable wage.

They reveal that there is often an intense pressure to get any kind of job when they first arrive to support their family before state support runs out.  Indeed, many have to start working within three months rather than the eight they’re promised because of the paucity of support provided.

“You find pressure from different sources adding up upon one family during this brief period when they’re trying to understand and navigate a society,” the researchers explain. “It not only leads to socioeconomic barriers, but also mental and emotional challenges for them.”

Successful integration

So how might these challenges be addressed?  The researchers suggest that the challenges faced by refugees are often the result of structural vulnerability.  They’re often forced to start on the lowest rungs of society and are therefore up against not only intense scrutiny as to their worth, but frequent reminders that they are ‘worthless’.

What’s more, their challenges often compound upon each other, which can significantly amplify the difficulties they need to overcome to climb out of poverty and craft the life they surely dreamed of when migrating.

The authors believe that government support should take greater account of local economics, and raise wage thresholds that in turn determine when reductions in financial and social support kick in.  They also argue that states should begin using a casework model that can better help to serve diverse populations and ensure they achieve successful levels of self-sufficiency in line with local and national living standards.

They’re under no illusions as to the challenge involved in integrating refugees successfully, but it’s in everyone’s interests to do so as well as possible, so the findings from this study should be heeded.