The Report: Toward Empowerment and Sustainability – Reforming America’s Syrian Refugee Policy – is a product of research, including field research in Jordan, by a team of Rutgers law students, Professor Sahar Aziz (Rutgers) and Professor Jeena Shah (CUNY Law), as part of the work of the Center for Security, Race and Rights. The report is available here,
The report examines Jordan as a case study for informing U.S. Syrian refugee policy. Jordan’s experience exemplifies the myriad challenges facing neighboring countries that warrant a rethinking of America’s approach to the Syrian refugee crisis.
Four recommendations for government policy makers would contribute toward more sustainable and effective U.S. refugee policies:
- Increase U.S. aid to fund programs that empower refugees to be economically independent in their host countries rather than indefinitely dependent on international aid. Refugees unable to survive off of limited international and domestic subsidies are forced to take their sons out of school to work, borrow money from friends and family, and marry off their daughters at a young age.
- Use development aid to strengthen both state institutions and the private sector. A promising model is the Jordan Compact, an agreement between the Jordanian government and several European and international non-state actors launched in 2016.
- Fund humanitarian projects with need-based eligibility criteria not limited solely to Syrian refugees.
- Increase the number of Syrian refugees admitted into the United States. Less than 100 Syrian refugees were admitted in fiscal year 2018 as compared to 12,000 in 2017.
To read the full report, click here.
KJ