ABSTRACT

The case study of this project compares and contrasts US Refugee policies towards Afghans and Ukrainians. In order to decipher the similarities and variations in the policies, I used designated refugee resettlement pathways contained in legal documents on the United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) and US State Department websites, specifically between 2021 and 2023. Longitudinally, the project explores the US refugee policy attitude towards both countries from the Cold War to present.
To grasp an understanding of the policy variations, I examine the United States’ historical and diplomatic relations with both countries. US refugee resettlement is founded on the liberal ideology of humanitarianism; as a durable solution for those seeking protection but will also analyze the US Refugee Policies through the prism of foreign policy behavior towards different countries. Although the US Refugee laws are founded on the Liberal theory of universal human rights and humanitarianism, applying classical realism, I argue that power politics, strategic self-interests and geopolitical dynamics influence the US refugee policies. I also opine that the securitization of muslims influences refugee policy-making in the US. The historical, theoretical and speech analysis will enable us to understand the differences in US refugee policies towards Afghans and Ukrainians in the international relations perspective.

KEYWORDS: Refugees, US immigration policy, Ukraine, Afghanistan, foreign policy, USRAP, USCIS