Relocating Refugees to Enhance Integration Opportunities

As durable solutions for refugees are becoming more difficult, governments and humanitarian actors are increasingly focused on enhancing opportunities for refugees to integrate locally in the countries where they arrive. An innovative program to support refugee integration was launched by UNHCR-Mexico in 2016 in which refugees are relocated from Mexico’s southern states of Chiapas and Tabasco – where jobs are scarce and the standard of living is low – to central and northern states where opportunities are much better for refugees. To date, almost 30,000 refugees have participated in the program. After being selected by UNHCR for relocation through personal interviews, refugees are transported north to cities where jobs are plentiful. By working with over 600 private companies, UNHCR refers refugees to employers where they are offered well-paying entry-level jobs with benefits. UNHCR provides a range of supportive services from helping refugees find housing in their new host communities to securing documentation and supporting refugees’ efforts to become Mexican citizens. Although not without its challenges, the program is helping refugees to become self-reliant – an essential step toward their full inclusion in Mexican society.

ISIM researchers Elizabeth Ferris and Katharine Donato, together with graduate students David Guzmán and Jackie Lamas, carried out an assessment of this innovative program, analyzing data on participants and outcomes and conducting field research in Monterrey and Saltillo, Mexico. The assessment concluded that: “The program not only provides opportunities for refugees to become self-reliant but it also increases their protection. Compared to their home countries or to their experiences in Chiapas and Tabasco, they are safe in their new homes in central and northern Mexico. Compared to the lives of undocumented migrants in the United States, those who have been relocated in Mexico do not have to live with the constant fear of apprehension and deportation by authorities. In sum, this relocation program enables refugees to live in security and dignity, to have development opportunities and access to public services on a par with Mexican citizens. While this is the aspiration the dream of most of the world’s 25+ million refugees, in Mexico refugees are given the chance through this program to realize their dreams.”

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