The Institute for the Study of International Migration recently completed a study of UNHCR’s program to relocate asylum-seekers and refugees from Mexico’s southern states – where poverty and unemployment rates are high – to northern Mexico where jobs are plentiful and conditions are better. Since its inception in 2016, the program – known as the Programa de Integración Local – has relocated some 30,000 refugees to ten different cities in central and northern Mexico. UNHCR provides support to the relocated refugees – arranging their transportation, providing orientation, visiting them at home and helping them find jobs and access health care, education and other social services. Supported by USA for UNHCR, the study highlights the key role of UNHCR staff, but also the network of civil society organizations and over 500 private sector employers who provide opportunities to the relocated refugees. The report, authored by ISIM’s Elizabeth Ferris and Katharine Donato, and with the support of graduate students Jackie Lamas and David Guzman, is based on analysis of data collected by UNHCR as well as field research in Saltillo and Monterrey. The report is available in English and Spanish.
Category: Featured, News
Title: New Report: “Refugee Relocation in Mexico”
Date Published: January 18, 2024