Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

By: James Porter

“1 refugee without hope is too many” – The theme of this year’s World Refugee Day as established by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reflects some of the realities of the current refugee population in the world.  The number of people forcibly displaced has reached a 15-year high with more than half being children.  Almost 44 million people (15.4 million refugees, 27.5 million internally displaced people, and 850,000 people seeking refugee status), were forcibly displaced in 2010.  Additionally, 4/5 of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing countries, where many stay for years with little hope. (Read more in UNHCR’s report: Global Trends 2010)