The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) is a bureau within the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
.
It has primary responsibility for formulating policies on population, refugees, and migration, and for administering U.S. refugee assistance and admissions programs. The Bureau is headed by the
; this office is currently vacant. The current Bureau head is PRM Deputy Assistant Secretary Richard Albright in his capacity as Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. Albright has headed PRM since
January 20, 2021.
The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) provides aid for and seeks to enhance the protection of refugees, victims of conflict and stateless people around the world, and manages the US Refugee Admissions Program to resettle refugees in the United States. PRM is a major funder of the
UN Refugee Agency
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...
(UNHCR), the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
(ICRC), the
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
The IOM was ...
(IOM) and other aid groups. PRM also promotes the United States' population and migration policies in international fora and with other governments.
PRM's principal authorities derive from statutes, including the
Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 and the
Refugee Act of 1980
The United States Refugee Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-212) is an amendment to the earlier Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962, and was created to provide a permanent and systematic procedu ...
.
History
The bureau's predecessor, the Bureau of Refugee Programs, began in late-1979. In 1993, the bureau added population issues to its portfolio, and the bureau was changed into its current form, the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
Organization
The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration is divided into ten unique offices.
*Front Office
*Office of the Comptroller
*Office of the Executive Director
*Office of Policy and Resource Planning
*Office of Multilateral Coordination and External Relations
**Communicates U.S. policy in multilateral organizations, including
UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
, the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
, and the
International Organization for Migration
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
The IOM was ...
*Office of Refugee Admissions
**Refugee Processing Center
*Office of Population and International Migration
**Represents the United States in the
United Nations Population Fund
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies ...
and the UN Commission on Population and Development
*Office of Assistance for Africa
*Office of Assistance for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas
*Office of Assistance for Asia and the Near East
References
External links
*
{{authority control
PRM
Refugees in the United States
Human migration
Population organizations
Government agencies established in 1993