The Department of State Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration
The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration provides aid and sustainable solutions for refugees, victims of conflict and stateless people around the world, through repatriation, local integration, and resettlement in the United States. PRM also promotes the United States' population and migration policies.
What is the Bureau's role in the Department of State? The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) is one of the State Department's "functional," as opposed to "geographic" bureaus. This indicates a Bureau that focuses on a particular issue wherever it arises around the world. As described in our mission statement, our focus is refugees, other migrants, and conflict victims. Our goal is to protect these people, who are often living in quite dangerous conditions.
The Bureau's mission statement:
The mission of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) is to provide protection, ease suffering, and resolve the plight of persecuted and uprooted people around the world on behalf of the American people by providing life-sustaining assistance, working through multilateral systems to build global partnerships, promoting best practices in humanitarian response, and ensuring that humanitarian principles are thoroughly integrated into U.S. foreign and national security policy.
What does the Bureau do internationally? The Bureau works with the international community to develop humane and what are termed "durable" solutions to their displacement. The three durable solutions are:
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), fewer than 1% of refugees worldwide are ever resettled. However, although resettlement often is the durable solution of "last resort," it remains a vital tool for providing international protection and for meeting the special needs of individual refugees who are unable to return home.
Are internally displaced persons (IDPs) part of the Bureau's portfolio? Internally displaced persons are people who have been displaced from their homes but who have not crossed an internationally recognized border. The Bureau supports the work of UNHCR and ICRC when these organizations respond to the needs of internally displaced persons.
Numerous other organizations, such as UNICEF, the World Food Program, and others also provide assistance to IDPs that complement the activities of UNHCR and ICRC. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funds the work of these other international organizations as well as non-governmental organizations to respond to IDP needs as well.
Who does the work? The Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) has approximately 130 civil service and Foreign Service staff. On the foreign aid side, we are divided into geographic offices. Our program to resettle refugees in the United States is handled by our Admissions Office. We also have a policy office that monitors and evaluates the relief work conducted by the organizations we fund.
How does the Bureau deliver assistance to refugees? The Bureau does not operate refugee camps, or otherwise give aid directly to refugees. Instead, in the interests of effectiveness and efficiency, we work with the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations, as well as with non-governmental organizations, that operate these programs. The Bureau manages the contributions to these organizations, and monitors the programs we fund: we make sure they are working properly and ascertain that they are in line with U.S. government policies.
For instance, take the refugee relief set-up on the border between Thailand and Burma. Many of the camps were built with assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The Burmese refugees receive health services, in part, from a private American charity, International Medical Corps. In Bangkok, the refugee resettlement center, called an "overseas processing entity," handles cases of Burmese referred for resettlement, and is managed by another U.S.-based group, the International Rescue Committee. All these groups receive funding from the Bureau.
Syrian Refugee Response
The United States remains committed to helping the innocent children, women, and men affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria. Total U.S. humanitarian assistance since the start of the conflict in March 2011 is now more than $5.9 billion. The United States remains the single-largest donor of humanitarian aid for those affected by Syria crisis, which has become the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era.
However, no amount of humanitarian aid can meet the tremendous needs of the Syrians displaced inside the country and beyond its borders. To bring an end to the suffering and violence, the United States continues to work with the international community to reach a negotiated political solution to the conflict in Syria. Until there is a negotiated political settlement, the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) will continue to support international efforts to deliver aid and alleviate suffering.
RECENT UPDATES
12/22/16 DipNote: #RefugeesWelcome: U.S. Companies Setting the Standard for Inclusive Hiring
12/21/16 DipNote: U.S. Corporate Leadership Amidst the Refugee Crisis: A View from Jordan
11/22/16 DipNote: Fulfilling International Commitments to Refugees Globally
11/09/16 DipNote: Sharing Youth Perspectives on the Global #RefugeeCrisis with One of America's Top Diplomats
10/31/16 DipNote: Meeting the Unprecedented Challenge of the Global Refugee Crisis
10/20/16 DipNote: Supporting Refugees and Host Communities: A Holistic Approach to Foreign Assistance in Jordan
09/27/16 Briefing on Syria Humanitarian Assistance; Assistant Secretary Anne C. Richard, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration; Washington, DC
09/27/16 U.S. Humanitarian Assistance in Response to the Syrian Crisis; Office of the Spokesperson; Washington, DC
08/30/16 DipNote: #RefugeesWelcome: U.S. Admits 10,000 Syrian Refugees This Year
08/29/16 Syrian Refugee Admissions; Secretary of State John Kerry; Washington, DC
08/29/16 Statement by National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice on Syrian Refugee Admissions
07/12/16 U.S. Humanitarian Assistance in Response to the Syrian Crisis; Office of the Spokesperson; Washington, DC
07/12/16 Remarks at a Reception in Celebration of Eid al-Fitr; Secretary of State John Kerry; Washington, DC
07/01/16 DipNote: A Call to Action for the Private Sector Amidst the Global Refugee Crisis
06/30/16 Private Sector Call to Action on Refugees
06/30/16 DipNote: Department Officials #EngageAmerica on the Global Refugee Crisis
06/24/16 DipNote: Looking Back on World Refugee Day
06/22/16 DipNote: Welcoming and Celebrating Refugees: An Interfaith Iftar in Honor of World Refugee Day
06/20/16 Remarks at the Interfaith Iftar Reception; Secretary of State John Kerry; ADAMS Center; Sterling, Virginia
06/20/16 Remarks With College Students at the U.S. Diplomacy Center Refugee Simulation; Secretary of State John Kerry; Harry S. Truman Building; Washington, DC
06/16/16 DipNote: U.S.-Jordan Partnership Delivers Assistance for Syrian Refugees
05/24/16 DipNote: Borderless Hack Istanbul: Harnessing Creative Talent to Benefit Syrian Refugees in Turkey
05/18/16 DipNote: Record Population Displacement Shows Needs Are Rising
05/05/16 DipNote: Universities Are Helping Refugees...and So Can You!
05/04/16 University Engagement Toolkit: How Campuses Are Helping Refugees