Definition
of Terms
Several
terms mentioned in clearinghouse resources hold different
meanings in different countries or contexts. The following
notes are meant to inform readers about these different meanings.
Refugees
International agreements define refugees as persons who are
outside their country and cannot return as a result of a well-founded
fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality,
political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
Refugees
in the U.S. are persons who fit this description, have been
adjudicated as such by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
and have received legal status as a refugee prior to resettling
in the U.S.
The
clearinghouse collection includes information on groups of
people that may be considered refugees in other countries,
but which have not received refugee status in the U.S. in
significant numbers. In some countries, unlike in the U.S.,
a person may be granted refugee status after arriving in that
country. Such resources are included when our reviewers determine
the content to be useful for U.S. service providers.
For
more information on who is considered to be a refugee in the
U.S., see:
For
more information on refugees in the international context,
see:
Separated
Children and Unaccompanied Refugee Minors
In
recent years, the international community has begun using
the phrase “separated children” to refer to refugee
children who are “under 18 years of age and are separated
from both parents or from their previous legal or customary
primary caregiver,” as noted in the UNHCR’s 2001
Report of the Secretary-General, titled “Protection
and assistance to unaccompanied and separated refugee children.”
Thus,
on the international level, the term “separated children”
may be used to refer both to children who are temporarily
unaccompanied by parents or caregivers, or those who are completely
alone.
The
term “separated children” is increasingly being
used by U.S. service providers to refer to refugee children
who are reunifying with relatives or parents in the U.S.,
or those who travel to this country in the company of non-parental
relatives designated to be their caregivers in the U.S.
Children
in the United States’ Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program
(URM) are refugees under the age of 18 who are without a parent
or guardian, and who are eligible for resettlement in the
U.S. They are granted URM status overseas, prior to resettling
in the U.S. The URM program provides specialized refugee foster
care services to children for whom parents or other guardians
cannot be located.
Certain
other children are also eligible for URM program benefits,
including those who may be reclassified to URM status after
arriving in the U.S. For more information see:
The
term “separated children” is new and is beginning
to take hold. In the past, other countries of resettlement
have referred to refugee children who were reunifying with
non-parental relatives as “unaccompanied refugee minors.”
Thus, both the terms “separated children” and
“unaccompanied refugee minors” have been used
in different ways in different contexts. Clearinghouse resources
may reflect the changing nature of these terms.
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