"Not Just a Barcode": A Descriptive Analysis of Data Privacy Protection for Refugees Resettling in the United States
Creators: name: Liu, Lily "Zimeng"
Publisher: name: Stanford Digital Repository
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Refugee data privacy
subject: Data privacy
subject: Informed consent (Medical law)--U.S. states
subject: Refugee resettlement
subject: Data protection
subject: Data protection--Government policy
subject: Migration, Internal--Social aspects
subject: Human rights
subject: Privacy
subject: Privacy Act of 1974 (United States)
subject: Data security
subject: Political refugees
subject: Asylum seeker
subject: United States. Office of Refugee Resettlement
subject: United States. Department of State
subject: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
subject: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
subject: United States. Department of Homeland Security
subject: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (United States)
subject: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
subject: International Organization for Migration
subject: Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
subject: Data privacy policy
subject: Refugee surveillance
subject: Refugee privacy
subject: Nonprofit data privacy
subject: United States. Resettlement Administration
subject: U.S. resettlement agency
subject: Operation Allies Welcome
subject: Afghanistan
subject: Afghan refugee
subject: Humanitarian assistance
subject: Digital rights
subject: Reception and Placement
subject: Resettlement Support Center
subject: Data minimization
subject: GDPR
subject: Refugee interview
subject: International Rescue Committee
subject: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
subject: Non-governmental organizations
subject: Identity theft
subject: Refugee data protection
subject: Catholic Social Services (Mobile, Ala.). Refugee Resettlement Program

description: Protecting the data privacy of refugees is important because unauthorized disclosure of refugees' sensitive information or coerced data collection can endanger their safety, well-being, and agency. This thesis evaluates the extent to which the US government, nonprofits, and international organizations protect refugees’ data privacy during refugee resettlement in the United States. Through analyzing relevant data privacy policies and in-depth interviews with both refugees and practitioners, I track the quality of nine key components of data privacy, stakeholder incentives and challenges in protecting refugee’s data privacy both in theory and in practice. This thesis finds that federal government actors are responsible for the most significant data privacy violations against resettled refugees, while international organizations have the most robust data privacy regulations. The lack of legal guarantee for refugees’ data privacy rights, meaningful barriers to informed consent, and over-retention of sensitive personal data present the most significant regulatory vulnerabilities. Unauthorized data access without consent, data security breaches, and inaccessibility of complaint systems comprise the most severe data privacy violations against US resettled refugees in practice. Interviews with refugees also suggest that power dynamics and lack of language accessibility create meaningful barriers that prevent refugees from objecting to unwanted information disclosure. Potential causes of data privacy violations against refugees (such as resource constraints), data-flow mapping, and policy recommendations identified in this thesis can inform future studies and policymakers to improve data privacy protection for a wider range of refugees in the future.