Federal and Local Acceptance of Refugees: The Dual Structures Promoting Community Inclusion

• Main Author: Garrett, Benjamin Troy
• Other Authors: Political Science
• Format: Others
• Published: Virginia Tech 2019
• Subjects: Refugee resettlement; public-private partnership; hierarchical; community-based; nonprofits; local government; integration; inclusion
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/91426

This thesis asks the question: what roles do local governments and nongovernmental organizations play in resettling refugees in U.S. cities? To answer this question, I conducted a case study of the refugee resettlement structure and process as it occurs in the city of Roanoke, Virginia. I find that two governance structures dictate how refugees are resettled into the city. The first stems from federal refugee policy, which establishes the use of a public-private partnership between federal and state governments and federated civic organizations. The second is an evolving local-level grassroots organizational structure that assesses the needs of refugees in Roanoke following their initial resettlement. In the case study on Roanoke I examine the support roles and practices of government institutions and nongovernmental organizations during the initial refugee resettlement period. Additionally, I examine aspects of long-term service provision and additional supports that move refugees towards social and economic inclusion. I conducted interviews with government and non-governmental leaders to grasp their understandings of existing practices and norms of local-level refugee resettlement. I also examined local survey data, economic and demographic data, media reports, and other public documents prepared by government agencies and nonprofit organizations. I identify who offers, or influences decisions about, specific supports for refugees at different times throughout the resettlement/integration process. I will suggest further implications of the supports provided for how they structure the pattern of refugees' economic and social inclusion. This thesis is designed to contribute to the limited literature on the process of local-level refugee resettlement in U.S. cities. === Master of Arts === This thesis asks the question: How are refugees resettled by government agencies and private organizations at the local level? To answer this question, I examine how the U.S. preference of public-private partnerships to initially resettle refugees in U.S. cities produces a hierarchical structure that flows from federal policies and agency oversight to state and local level policies and practices. This structure exhibits a quasi-governance phenomenon in which both public and private actors make discretionary decisions on policy implementation throughout the resettlement process. I find also that besides the initial federal structure, a second local network structure forms among grassroots organizations that work to extend federal objectives and address service gaps in the formal resettlement structure. These unaddressed gaps primarily concern longer-term supports to promote refugees being socially and economically included in their communities. I performed a qualitative case study analysis of local refugee resettlement as it occurs in the City of Roanoke, Virginia. I conducted interviews with resettlement stakeholders among government agencies and private organizations in order to grasp their understandings of local-level refugee resettlement service provision. I also examined local survey data, economic and demographic data, media reports, and other public documents prepared by government agencies and nonprofit organizations. This thesis is designed to contribute to the limited literature on local-level refugee resettlement and the use of public-private partnerships for the provision of social services in the U.S.