Number: R40117
Title: Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Inflows in the United States and Other OECD Member States
Authors: Chad C. Haddal, Analyst in Immigration Policy 
Abstract: The data in this report shows that there is no uniform inflow trend across OECD countries relating to refugees or asylum-seekers. One of the main findings is that several OECD countries with historically greater numbers of asylum-seekers (such as the United States) have had the levels of their asylum-seeker inflows converge.5 Moreover, the level at which these asylumseeker levels have converged is in most cases markedly lower than asylum-seeker inflows during the 1990s. Other OECD countries-mainly those on the periphery of the EU-have recently experienced an upward trend in the asylum-seeker inflows. This pattern is likely due to their geographic proximity to non-EU countries and the existence of safe third country provisions (a concept discussed later in this report). Additionally, refugee data demonstrates that the United States continues to be the main host country of resettled refugees, both in the OECD and worldwide. Despite lower numbers of refugee resettlements in the United States from a decade ago, the number of refugee resettlements in other OECD countries has also declined. Therefore, the resettlement burden of the United States as compared to other OECD countries has remained consistent.
Pages: 32
Date: January 6, 2009