The private sponsorship plan under discussion mimics a decades-old program in Canada that allows private individuals or groups to provide “emotional and financial support” to refugees for a period usually one year in length. Since November 2015, Canada has taken in about 31,000 Syrians, of whom 11,700 were privately sponsored, according to the nation’s government.

Under current law, the president can determine the number of refugees allowed each year. The State Department works with the United Nations and other agencies to screen refugees abroad, which can take two years. Advocacy groups and state agencies administer cash assistance, job training, housing and other aid.

The U.S. briefly tested a private sponsorship program in the 1980s when President Ronald Reagan used it to admit roughly 16,000 refugees, primarily Soviet Jews and Cubans. The program was ended in the early 1990s due to rising costs, said La Corte, from the Niskanen Center.

For fiscal 2016, Congress appropriated $3.1 billion for refugee and migration assistance programs, the same level as two years earlier, according to figures from the agency.

Private sponsorship “is a good option in terms of increasing numbers without increasing budget outlays,” said Kevin Appleby, senior director of international migration policy at the Center for Migration Studies in New York.

Due Diligence

Refugee Council USA and the state department began talks about private sponsorship this summer, said Steinberg, director at the Washington-based agency, which is an umbrella group for 22 organizations.

The State Department plans to work on the issue “in the year to come,” according to a statement from Mark Storella, a deputy assistant secretary.

“We are deeply impressed with what Canada has been able to achieve in welcoming refugees, especially in the past year,” Storella said. “We have been learning a great deal from our Canadian colleagues and are eager to benefit from some of their lessons learned.”

Before any program is launched, critical points must be addressed, said Steinberg. The group wants to ensure that sponsorship does not replace existing government programs.