Latest News from the Refugee and Migration Affairs Office
The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which assists refugees who are particularly vulnerable or trapped in protracted crisis situations, continues to expand and will eventually consider refugees from all of the nine Burmese temporary transit centers (refugee camps) in Thailand.
On Monday, December 1, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began interviewing residents of Baan Mai Nai Soi camp in Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province to determine whether they are eligible for resettlement under U.S. law. The interviews were the first from the four camps in Mae Hong Song province, which are home to primarily ethnic Karenni refugees. Already active in all three camps in Tak province, the USRAP program has given tens of thousands of Burmese refugees – more than 14,000 last year from Thailand alone – the opportunity for a new life in the U.S. After DHS approval, the refugees will be given medical examinations and a cultural orientation program prior to final departure.
The first Karenni Burmese refugees from Mae Hong Song province will likely enter the U.S. in March or April 2009. After arrival, they will be assisted by local voluntary agencies throughout the U.S. in obtaining housing, enrolling in schools and English as a Second Language programs, and in locating employment.
Learn more about the USRAP program here.
To learn more about the U.S. resettlement program in Mae Lo Oon and Mae Ra Ma Luang camps in Mae Hong Son province, please consult the IOM publication “Migration Spring 2009” (page 14-16).