We are helpless but not hopeless
The Refugee Act of 1980 takes its definition of refugee from the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Until the late 19th century and the emergence of fixed and closed national boundaries, refugees were always absorbed by neighbouring countries. Later, immigration restrictions and increasing numbers of refugees necessitated special action to aid them. In 1921 Fridtjof Nansen created a League of Nations Passport to allow refugees to move freely across national boundaries. Refugee status at that time was accorded only if the migrant's departure was involuntary and asylum was sought in another country.