During the past five decades, the U.S. has resettled over 3 million refugees, making it one of the leading countries for finding new homes for people fleeing violence, persecution, and war.
In 2021, then-President Donald Trump lowered the annual cap of refugees that could be admitted into the country to 15,000. Even as the Biden administration has raised the ceiling to 125,000, the annual number of refugees arriving in the U.S. didn’t immediately bounce back to pre-Trump administration levels. The numbers are increasing though, with over 25,000 refugees arriving in the U.S. in the 2022 fiscal year, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals during the 2023 fiscal year dramatically outpaced the prior two years, reaching over 60,000 from October 2022 to September 2023.
In December 2023, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
For the last three decades, Congo, also called the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been struggling with a series of civil wars and internal battles that have left millions of people displaced, both internally and externally, with many people fleeing to neighboring countries. Syria has seen more than 5 million refugees flee to neighboring nations since 2011 while a longstanding civil war rages, with an additional 6.8 million people forced from their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere in the country. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans.
Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Rhode Island in December 2023.
December refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in December
To Rhode Island:
#1. Guatemala: 6
#2. Syria: 4
#3. Eritrea: 3
#3. Nicaragua: 3
#5. Congo: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 1,910
#2. Syria: 1,215
#3. Afghanistan: 1,071
#4. Burma: 393
#5. Guatemala: 321
States that accepted the most refugees in December:
#1. California: 561
#2. Texas: 476
#3. Washington: 399
#4. New York: 387
#5. Ohio: 362
Read on to see the countries that Rhode Island has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
Canva
#1. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 21
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,903
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 597
#2. Virginia: 340
#3. Washington: 226
#4. Texas: 201
#5. New York: 139
hanohiki // Shutterstock
#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 20
To the U.S. as a whole: 4,481
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 443
#2. Michigan: 409
#3. Pennsylvania: 314
#4. California: 264
#5. Ohio: 244
Lauren Squire // Shutterstock
#3. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 785
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 99
#2. North Carolina: 64
#3. Texas: 59
#4. New York: 40
#5. Georgia: 39
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock
#4. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,711
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 573
#2. Texas: 471
#3. Arizona: 414
#4. Ohio: 407
#5. New York: 352
Dave Primov // Shutterstock
#5. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 344
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Maryland: 42
#2. Washington: 41
#3. North Carolina: 26
#4. Minnesota: 25
#5. Texas: 21
Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock
#5. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 424
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 75
#2. Minnesota: 31
#3. Tennessee: 30
#4. California: 27
#5. Washington: 26
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock
#7. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 283
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 50
#2. Texas: 23
#3. Washington: 21
#3. New York: 21
#5. Tennessee: 20
W_NAMKET // Shutterstock
#7. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 242
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 26
#2. Texas: 25
#3. Virginia: 21
#4. New Jersey: 20
#5. Maryland: 17
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 44 states.
