Find Information
US Refugee Policies in General
- Ten Facts about Refugee Resettlement (Oct. 2015)This fact sheet by the Migration Policy Institute answers a lot of questions about numbers and benefits. Check out the footnotes for the sources of the data.
- US Citizenship and Immigration ServicesOne of the US government agencies that deals with refugees.
- Refugee Processing and Security Screening (Dec. 2015)Details about the whole process from the US CIS.
- Refugee Processing CenterRun by the State Department, the RPC has great data about who's a refugee and where they are from.
- Office of Refugee ResettlementThe US Department of Health and Human Services office details the services provided for all refugees.
- "Integrating refugees in the United States"A great article that looks at the economic integration of refugees to the US as well as Canada and Scandinavia.
Syrian Refugees in the US
- U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for Iraqi and Syrian RefugeesThe Refugee Processing Center (RPC) is operated by the U.S Department of State. This page has information just for Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
- NY Times Summary of Syrian Refugees (Nov. 2015)A summary of the numbers and issues. See the bottom of the article for the sources of the data.
Public Opinion
- U.S. public seldom has welcomed refugees into countryA great historical summary by the Pew Research Center.
- Gallup Polls comparing historical attitudes to refugeesSummary article of the Gallup poll's findings about Americans (generally negative) attitudes to refugees.
- Roper Center Immigration PollsThe Roper Center is the largest archive of public opinion data. This link goes straight into immigration questions. You can also search "Syria."
- Polling the Nations This link opens in a new windowPublic opinion polls containing 350,000 questions and responses from 14,000 surveys in the U.S. and 80 other countries, 1986-present. Search "Syria" or "Syrian."
Library Databases
EconLit -- The best economic database we have. Search "immigration and united states" to find articles about immigrants' impact and integration.
CQ Researcher -- Full-text reports of current issues in the United States. Type "immigration" into the search box. Reports include background, chronologies, maps, graphs, and pro/con sections.
PAIS International -- An database full of articles about global public policy and social issues. Search your topic "and United States". To find the full-text of an article, click on the JournalFinder icon.
SocINDEX -- A full-text sociology database. A good source for articles about health care, immigration, education, and other issues involving people and society. Search your topic "and United States."
Sociological Abstracts -- Another sociology database that indexes different journals.
ERIC -- THE education database. Contains articles about educational policy as well as historical and pedagological studies. Some documents are currently unavailable full text; just search the title in Google and you can often find another source for the article.
Data
The US Census -- This is the best site for US population statistics. Check out the links under "People" as well as some more targeted information under "Foreign Born".
The Department of Homeland Security -- Since the DHS guards the borders, they also collect and analyse data about immigration. Check out the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics for the fullest compilation.
Pew Research Center -- An American think tank that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends. They have a number of posts about refugees.
US Dept. of Labor -- Use the search box at the top to search "Immigration". Lots of good links to data and summaries. Check ot this precis on the impact of immigrants on the economy or this table on educational attainment of immigrants.
Center for Immigration Studies - An independent non-partisan group that collects data on immigration. Their 2011 welfare use study is quoted by many writers on both sides of the immigration issue.
Migration Policy Institute -- An independent, nonpartisan think-tank. Search for "Syria" and check out this 2015 Fact Sheet.
Cato Institute -- A libertarian think tank, funded by the Koch brothers. Amongst other issues, the Institute focuses on immigration from an economic standpoint. Search for "Syrian refugees" and check out some of their commentaries on integrating refugees and terrorism risk.
Law Library of Congress -- The Library produces reports for members of Congress and the public on many issues, including immigration. There are reports about citizenship pathways from various other countries.
Greensboro NC Refugee Services
Did you know that Greensboro has an relatively large refugee community? Many of your fellow students have volunteered with these organizations.