Local refugee integration policies in New York City

• In Event: 3251 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 16. Refugees in Europe and the U.S.

Abstract

In recent years refugee studies has increasingly been focusing on local integration policies and, more specifically, on the reception of asylum seekers (Doomernik and Glorius 2016). However, little attention has been paid to the horizontal and vertical aspects of integration policies (Jorgensen, 2012; Hooper, Desiderio and Salant, 2017). International migration scholars who study these aspects argue that local level policies are better tailored to the local needs, are more efficient and innovative than the national level integration policies (Jorgensen, 2012; Hooper, Desiderio, Salant, 2017). Using a case study of NYC, this article aims to analyze the horizontal and vertical aspects of local refugee integration policies during President Trump administration. This study argues against decentralization of integration policies due to a “lottery effect” of both better and worse policies and programs available for refugees. When national level administration pushes anti-refugee agenda, progressive local administrations instead extend the protection of refugees. Yet, when refugee policies are decentralized, services of different quality are provided even within one city. As a result, already from the beginning of their stay in host societies, refugees are granted unequal opportunities.

Authors

• Karolina Janina Lukasiewicz, New York Univeristy

• Tanzilya Oren, Fordham University

• Saumya Tripathi, Fordham University