The Missing Link: Connecting Eligible Asylees and Asylum Seekers with Benefits and Services

The United States has a long history of providing humanitarian protection, including by resettling refugees who seek protection from abroad and granting asylum to individuals who apply from within the country or at its borders. But even though refugees and asylees are granted protection after fleeing similar forms of harm and their status makes them eligible for many of the same public benefits and services, the system for connecting asylees with this support is much weaker than for refugees.

Multiple options exist under current law to improve asylees’ links to the benefits and services for which they are eligible, as this report explores, and doing so would help support asylees’ well-being and integration. The U.S. communities in which they live would also reap benefits from these investments as asylees upskill to meet staffing shortages, contribute to local economies, and become active members of their communities.

The situation for many asylum seekers is different. While they wait for their asylum cases to be decided—a process that can take several years, given the considerable backlog in immigration courts—they are typically eligible for far fewer public benefits. Nonetheless, support with navigating and accessing the limited programs for which they qualify can help ensure asylum seekers are able to meet their families’ basic needs.

This report describes the benefits and services for which asylees and asylum seekers are eligible, the mechanisms currently in place to connect them with these programs, and opportunities to improve their access to these forms of assistance.