Reticketing Improvements for Asylum Seekers

Project Background

More than 189,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, seeking refuge from violence and political strife in countries like Venezuela, Ecuador, and China, among others. The city, with a desire and obligation to provide shelter for newcomers, is experiencing severely strained resources as it attempts to house over 120,000 people in its shelter system.

One option available to asylum-seekers is reticketing, a service that offers a no-cost, one-way ticket to a chosen destination (within the USA or to another country), available voluntarily at key points during their journey. However, not all who are offered a reticket choose to use it. Many people make their own arrangements for housing after temporary shelter and some opt to return to the shelter system.

PPL is partnering with OASO and NYCEM to increase the number of asylum seekers who accept reticketing offers, thus supporting more asylum seekers to connect with communities outside of NYC for long-term support.

Hours of interviews

Site visits

What We're Researching

Inquiry Areas

What are asylum seekers’ needs and motivations when considering options for reticketing?
What are the obstacles or roadblocks asylum seekers see in moving to a new location?
How can the reticketing system better support asylum seekers’ transition from shelter to longer-term housing outside of New York City?

Research Approach

Our team traveled to different locations in the asylum-seeker services network in New York City to speak with asylum seekers, frontline staff, and subject matter experts. Through site observation, semi-structured interviews, and intercept interviews, we began to unpack asylum seekers’ needs and motivations when considering options for reticketing.

To facilitate our conversation with participants, we used design artifacts such as ecosystem maps, journey maps, and card-sorting activities.

What We Heard

We’ve learned that many factors influence asylum seekers’ decisions to remain in New York City or seek relocation elsewhere.

Those opting to stay cite the city’s abundant resources tailored to migrants, facilitated by its robust infrastructure and comprehensive public transportation network. Additionally, misconceptions about the asylum application process or concerns surrounding work authorization and travel documentation play a pivotal role in their decision-making process. For some, the idea of starting over in a new place after starting to settle in is scary, especially if they’ve accrued financial debt over the course of their journey to the United States.

On the other hand, asylees who opt to relocate often do so because they have friends and family elsewhere who can help them. Asylees may also be motivated to relocate if they hear of better job and housing options in other places. For some asylees, elements of New York City are not what they expected. Asylees cite the food, the weather, and the cost of living as elements that may drive them to relocate.

“Yes, [community-based organizations] are very important because sometimes when you go there they'll advise you and give you hope and encourage you.”

“Most of the guests here are from Africa and in Africa important information is [often] passed orally rather than through posters or visual. We recognized that we needed to talk to the guests, to connect with them and communicate that this aspect of reticketing is not hostile. (...) It's an opportunity.”

”I decided to come to New York because of the easy access to public transportation, unlike in other states. In other states, you have to have your own car and everything is farther away.

“They think that when you come and get a ticket [through the reticketing service], you're getting deported and that sometimes you have to pay for the ticket.”

“I started going through Google to look for where I can get assistance. One name kept appearing. I went to YouTube, and I saw some of her activities, you know, taking migrants, especially Spanish-speaking people, and resettling them. ”

“They told me, this is the city you can go to. It’s New York, it's a sanctuary. They can help you there. That's why I came here.”

Common Themes:

Identity and Culture Asylum seekers’ cultural and language backgrounds influence how they experience the reticketing process. Nuances like varying motivations for seeking asylum, contrasting communication customs in home countries, and differences in socio-economic and educational background impact asylees’ experience navigating the system.

Perceptions and Beliefs Asylum seekers have different perceptions and beliefs about New York City and what they imagine the reticketing service is about. Some mistakenly perceive reticketing as a form of deportation, while others believe it enables them to bypass visa requirements to travel to other countries. Service providers struggle to provide clarity as the rapidly evolving nature of asylum laws makes it difficult to up-to-date information.
Sources of Information Asylum seekers receive information from a patchwork of word-of-mouth, social media, and formal communication channels. Many asylum seekers do not know about reticketing even though the staff reports talking about it at various touchpoints. As a result, they often resort to social media like TikTok or informal channels like Whatsapp groups to receive the latest information.

Project Implementation

This project is slated to share the newly designed tools and materials in July 2024.

Projects

Reticketing Improvements for Asylum Seekers

Partners & Funders

The Project

The Outcome

Reticketing Improvements for Asylum Seekers

Partners & Funders

The Project

The Outcome

Project Background

What We're Researching

Project Implementation

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Projects

Reticketing Improvements for Asylum Seekers

Partners & Funders

The Project

The Outcome

Reticketing Improvements for Asylum Seekers

Partners & Funders

The Project

The Outcome

Project Background

What We're Researching

Project Implementation

Menu

Get in Touch

Interested in partnering with us?

Join Us

We’re always open to talking to folks with the skills, experience, and passion to join our team. Share your interest with us through our general application. To hear about future job announcements, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn or subscribe to our newsletter.

Follow Along

Social Media

Donate

We’re always open to talking to folks with the skills, experience, and passion to join our team. Share your interest with us through our general application.

To hear about future job announcements, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn or subscribe to our newsletter.