Legislative Authority

The current U.S. refugee resettlement program is largely an outgrowth of the Refugee Act of 1980, which amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1954 (INA).  Refugees are discussed primarily in INA Sections 207 209 and 411 414.

You can find the Immigration and Nationality Act on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration website, Title IV, Chapter 2.

To find out more about the Refugee Act of 1980, please visit the website of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. You can find a summary of the Act (S.643, P.L. 96-212, 3-17-1980) on the Library of Congress website (Thomas).