As defined by the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is someone who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.”[1] The term “refugee” is similarly defined under Section 101(a)15P of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act, which also allows the president the authority to identify conditions where nationals may be granted refugee status within their country of origin. In addition, it narrows the term “refugee” to exclude any persons who “ordered, incited, assisted or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”[2]
In the United States, the number of refugees admitted per year is limited by geographic area. This number is determined annually by the President in consultation with Congress.[3] An example of a refugee is someone from Somalia who fled the country into a refugee camp in neighboring countries in order to escape violence after the Somali government collapsed.