The Refugee Act of 1980: Suggested Reforms in the Overseas Refugee Program to Safeguard Humanitarian Concerns from Competing Interests

Authors

Tahl Tyson

Abstract

The Refugee Act of 1980 established an overseas refugee admissions program based on systematic consultations between Congress and the executive branch. The author suggests that refugee policy is subject to four competing influences: humanitarian concerns, foreign policy, special interest groups, and domestic concerns. Of these influences, the author argues that humanitarian concerns should be the primary basis for United States refugee policy. However, humanitarian concerns are currently overwhelmed by the other three influences. This Comment critiques the lack of safeguards in the Act for humanitarian concerns and proposes specific reforms.

First Page

921

Recommended Citation

Tahl Tyson, Comment, The Refugee Act of 1980: Suggested Reforms in the Overseas Refugee Program to Safeguard Humanitarian Concerns from Competing Interests, 65 Wash. L. Rev. 921 (1990).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol65/iss4/10