Why U.S. Refugee Assistance Abroad Matters

Understanding Refugee Overseas Assistance Programs

U.S. refugee overseas assistance programs are a critical part of the humanitarian safety net for millions of forcibly displaced people around the world. Funded through the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (DOS-PRM), these programs support life-saving services including education, healthcare, psychosocial support, and livelihood opportunities.

Yet despite their impact, these programs represent only a tiny fraction of U.S. federal spending. Polling shows that many Americans believe the U.S. spends far more on foreign aid than it does. In reality, U.S. international affairs spending averages only about 1% of the federal budget—and refugee overseas assistance programs represent just a small fraction of that.

How These Programs Are Funded

Refugee overseas assistance, along with some refugee resettlement efforts, is funded through the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations process, specifically under Title III of the Foreign Operations component. Three main humanitarian assistance accounts receive funding through this process:

• International Disaster Assistance (IDA)

• Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA)

• Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA)

Together, these accounts made up roughly 12% of SFOPS funding in FY2023 and FY2024. That translates to just 0.0012% of the total U.S. federal budget—a remarkably small investment with a global impact.

The Impact of Suspended Funding

In 2024, funding for these programs was suspended for a 90-day “review” period, with the intention of evaluating whether programs aligned with U.S. interests. While a waiver process was created to allow narrowly defined “life-saving” work to continue, even approved waivers often failed to deliver actual funds.

As a result, many DOS-PRM-funded programs—already operating on limited resources—were forced to downsize or shut down. On February 26, JRS/USA received notice of termination for five of its nine cooperative agreements with DOS-PRM, including programs in Thailand, Iraq, Chad, Ethiopia, and Uganda. By March 3, its program in India had also been terminated.

What These Programs Do

JRS/USA’s overseas programs demonstrate how effective U.S. humanitarian aid can be. These programs:

• Provide life-saving medicine and medical transportation

• Offer food, nursing care, and cash assistance to vulnerable families

• Employ community healthcare workers and teachers in refugee camps

• Offer physical therapy for the severely disabled

• Provide education, daycare, and foster care for unaccompanied children

• Deliver training, entrepreneurship, and job support for refugees

These services build the resilience and dignity of displaced people while helping them become self-reliant, educated, and integrated into their communities.

JRS/USA’s Policy Position

JRS/USA supports these programs not out of political calculation but out of moral conviction. We believe forcibly displaced people have the right to live in safety, pursue education, and rebuild their lives with dignity.

At the same time, we believe these programs serve the national interest by contributing to a more stable, peaceful, and rights-respecting world. When refugee aid is suspended, it threatens not just individual lives—but global security and U.S. leadership.

What We’re Advocating For

JRS/USA is calling for the immediate restoration and expansion of U.S. refugee overseas assistance programs. We are actively advocating for:

• U.S. investment in long-term conditions that allow people to thrive in their home communities and reduce forced migration

• Legal, safe pathways for forced migrants to seek protection and return voluntarily when conditions permit

• Access to integration, third-country resettlement, and safe, permanent homes for refugees

The loss of these programs is devastating—not just for refugees, but for their host communities and for the U.S.’s role in global peacebuilding.

Why This Matters

As former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff explained:

“The sheer number of people moving not only puts those people themselves at risk… but can cause a real dislocation in society. You don’t want to have a situation where people are just stagnating in camps… you’re creating a hospitable environment for people to recruit extremists and criminals.”

Investing in refugee assistance is a moral obligation—and a strategic imperative.