James N. Purcell Jr.

James N. Purcell Jr. (1938 – January 5, 2024) was an American author and diplomat who wrote "We're in Danger! Who Will Help Us? Refugees and Migrants: A Test of Civilization" (2019). The book is a history of events and teamwork among members of the U.S. Refugee Programs Bureau and its protection and resettlement programs, domestic and with international cooperation. It includes data and commentary on U.S. refugee policies from bygone eras up to the Fall of Saigon, then to the war in Syria that dispersed populations in-country, regionally, and worldwide. After retiring from IOM, Purcell returned to the United States and served until 2022 as board chair of USA for IOM.

Purcell was United States Director of the Bureau of Refugee Programs from 1983 to 1986, a bureau whose design and implementation he was assigned to create in 1979 and where he stayed until leaving for Geneva, Switzerland in 1988, to become director-general of the International Organization for Migration, an office he held for two terms – from 1988 to 1998.