Investing In Impact For Refugees Hope
© USA for UNHCR/Nicholas Feeney

USA for UNHCR Partners with Georgetown University to Measure Impact

In 2016, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, launched Programa de Integración (PIL/ Local Integration Program), an innovative program that helps relocate asylum seekers and refugees from southern states of Mexico to states in northern and central Mexico where more meaningful employment is available. 

Since 2016, more than 30,000 refugees have participated in the program, relocating to 11 cities in central and northern Mexico. Families and individuals participating in PIL receive critical support, including employment assistance, housing, and access to education and healthcare services. PIL aims to help refugees become self-reliant and build stronger futures for themselves and their families.

USA for UNHCR partnered with Georgetown University’s Institute for International Migration, to measure the program’s impact. Some key takeaways from the research and report: 

  • Employment during PIL: After one month in the program, more than half of refugees were employed; 90 percent were employed after six months of living in northern Mexico. 
  • Employers report high satisfaction with the program, noting low turnover rate (0.7 percent per month for refugee employees, compared to a local average fluctuating between 6 and 10 percent) and high levels of motivation and morale. 
  • Refugees become self-reliant as they gain access to education, employment, and housing, but they are still on their way to integration, which typically includes strong ties to the community and feelings of belonging.