According to UNHCR, registration is a key tool for providing protection to  refugees. UNHCR uses ProGres to log and maintain biographic  information such as names and family information, and uses the  Biometric Identity Management System (BIMS) and IrisGuard to collect  and store biometric information such as iris scans and fingerprints. The United States Refugee Admissions Process

State manages the USRAP admissions process in conjunction with DHS,  and both agencies work with other government agencies, UNHCR, IOM,  and various NGOs to process applications for refugees seeking  resettlement to the United States. From fiscal year 2011 through June  2016, 61 percent of all refugee cases referred to the United States for  resettlement consideration were referred by UNHCR, or roughly 405,000  referrals out of the 655,000 total. The resettlement application process continues at one of the nine RSCs. State Has Worked with UNHCR on Various Measures Designed to Ensure the Integrity of the Resettlement Referral Process

State and UNHCR have worked together on several measures designed  to ensure integrity in the resettlement referral process. The organizations  have developed a Framework for Cooperation to guide their partnership,  emphasizing measures such as oversight activities and risk management. According to UNHCR officials, these visits have resulted in  strengthening refugee protection and resettlement operations. UNHCR Has Various Procedures and Systems Designed to Help Ensure Program Integrity in the Resettlement Referral Process and Works with State to Implement Them

UNHCR has developed guidance documents, baseline SOPs, and  identity management programs that it notes are meant to help ensure the  integrity of their operations, including the refugee resettlement referral  process. To Address Staff Fraud Risks, State and RSCs Have Taken Steps to Follow Many Leading Antifraud Practices but Could Improve Implementation of Controls and Assessment of Risk

State and RSCs report instituting a number of activities to combat the risk  of fraud committed by RSC staff. State and RSCs Have Taken Steps to Combat Staff Fraud but Have Not Followed Some Leading Practices

To address instances of fraud committed by staff at RSCs, State and  RSCs report instituting a number of antifraud activities, many of which  correspond with leading practices identified in GAO’s Fraud Risk  Framework. All nine RSCs stated that they  had assigned staff fraud risk management responsibilities to specific staff  members. State and RSCs Report that RSCs Have Shared Information on and Designed Control Activities to Address Staff Fraud Risk, but Implementation Gaps Remain

To help prevent or mitigate fraud committed by staff at RSCs, State and  RSC officials said that they had established collaborative relationships  with both internal and external partners to share information, which is  consistent with another leading practice identified in the Fraud Risk  Framework. State works with RSCs to implement the control  activities identified in the Program Integrity Guidelines to mitigate staff  fraud risks. State required RSCs to comply with the original Program Integrity  Guidelines by October 2014. Without requiring RSCs to conduct regular staff fraud risk assessments  that are tailored to their specific operating environments and reviewing  these assessments to examine the suitability of existing fraud controls,  State may lack necessary information about staff fraud risks and therefore  not have reasonable assurance that existing controls effectively reduce  these risks. To reduce these risks,  State and RSCs have instituted several antifraud activities, many of which  correspond with leading antifraud practices. Pursuing efforts to ensure RSC compliance with these controls is  essential to reducing the risks of staff fraud. To better identify risks from RSC staff fraud, the Secretary of State  should direct the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to  update guidance, such as the Program Integrity Guidelines, to require  each RSC to conduct regular staff fraud risk assessments that are  tailored to each RSC’s specific operations.
Why GAO Did This Study

According to UNHCR, as of the end of 2015, more than 21 million people had become refugees. In fiscal year 2016, the United States admitted nearly 85,000 refugees. State manages the U.S. refugee admissions program (USRAP). UNHCR referred 61 percent of the refugees considered by the United States for resettlement from October 2011 to June 2016, and State worked with staff hired by nine RSCs to process their applications. Deterring and detecting fraud is essential to ensuring the integrity of USRAP.
GAO examined (1) how State works with UNHCR to ensure program integrity in the UNHCR resettlement referral process and (2) the extent to which State and RSCs follow leading practices to reduce the risk of fraud committed by RSC staff. GAO analyzed State and UNHCR data and documents; interviewed relevant officials; conducted fieldwork at UNHCR offices in Denmark, El Salvador, Jordan, Kenya, and Switzerland; interviewed senior officials from all nine RSCs; and visited RSCs in Austria, Jordan, Kenya, and a suboffice in El Salvador. This report is based on GAO-17-446SU , with certain sensitive information removed.

What GAO Found

The Department of State (State) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have worked together on several measures designed to ensure integrity in the resettlement referral process. State and UNHCR have established a Framework for Cooperation to guide their partnership, emphasizing measures such as effective oversight structures, close coordination, and risk management. Working with State, UNHCR has implemented standard operating procedures and other guidance that, according to UNHCR officials, provide baseline requirements throughout the referral process. UNHCR also uses databases to help verify the identities of and manage information about refugees. These systems store biographic information such as names, personal histories, and the types of persecution refugees experienced in their home countries. They also maintain biometric information, such as iris scans and fingerprints.
To reduce the risk of fraud committed by staff at the nine Resettlement Support Centers (RSC) worldwide, State and RSCs have instituted several antifraud activities, many of which correspond with leading antifraud practices, but key gaps remain. Overseen by State, the organizations that operate RSCs hire staff to process and prescreen applicants who have been referred for resettlement consideration. According to State and RSC officials, RSCs have experienced staff fraud. Officials said that instances of staff fraud are uncommon, but they illustrate risks to the integrity of RSC operations. To manage these risks, State and RSCs have established a number of activities consistent with leading antifraud practices. For example, officials from all nine RSCs stated that they assign staff fraud risk management responsibilities to designated individuals. State has also worked with RSCs to develop and implement controls to ensure program integrity. However, RSCs face challenges implementing some of these controls. Additionally, State has not required RSCs to conduct regular staff fraud risk assessments tailored to each RSC or examined the suitability of related control activities. Without taking additional steps to address these issues, State and RSCs may face challenges in identifying new staff fraud risks or gaps in the program's internal control system as well as designing and implementing new control activities to mitigate them.

What GAO Recommends

To better assess and manage risks of fraud committed by staff at RSCs, State should actively pursue efforts to ensure RSCs comply with program integrity measures; require each RSC to conduct regular risk assessments tailored to its operations; and use these assessments to design, implement, and revise control activities to mitigate risks of staff fraud. State agreed with GAO's recommendations.