Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

Reflecting the best humanitarian traditions of the American people, the U.S. Government funds protection and life-sustaining relief for millions of refugees and victims of conflict around the globe. The United States also admits tens of thousands of refugees annually for permanent resettlement. The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), headed by Acting Assistant Secretary Samuel M. Witten, is central to these efforts. Within the government, PRM has primary responsibility for formulating policies on population, refugees, and migration, and for administering U.S. refugee assistance and admissions programs.

PRM coordinates U.S. international population policy and promotes its goals through bilateral and multilateral cooperation. It works closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development, which administers U.S. international population programs. The Bureau also coordinates U.S. international migration policy within the U.S. Government and through bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

PRM administers and monitors U.S. contributions to international and non-governmental organizations to assist and protect refugees abroad. In overseeing admissions of refugees to the United States for permanent resettlement, the Bureau works closely with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, and various state and private voluntary agencies.