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 February 2024, 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 February 2024.
February refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in February
To Rhode Island:
#1. Syria: 18
#2. Venezuela: 8
#3. Burma: 5
#3. Sudan: 5
#5. Somalia: 4
#6. Congo: 3
#6. Guatemala: 3
#8. Afghanistan: 2
#8. Cambodia: 2
#10. Burundi: 1
#10. Eritrea: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 2,426
#2. Afghanistan: 1,299
#3. Venezuela: 1,230
#4. Syria: 981
#5. Burma: 826
States that accepted the most refugees in February:
#1. Texas: 1,062
#2. California: 572
#3. Florida: 554
#4. New York: 507
#5. Arizona: 450
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.
hanohiki // Shutterstock
#1. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 44
To the U.S. as a whole: 6,818
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 673
#2. Michigan: 655
#3. Pennsylvania: 465
#4. Texas: 375
#5. California: 361
Canva
#2. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 25
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,925
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,228
#2. Virginia: 655
#3. Texas: 542
#4. Washington: 440
#5. Maryland: 272
Lauren Squire // Shutterstock
#3. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 20
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,920
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 270
#2. Texas: 172
#3. North Carolina: 148
#4. Florida: 113
#5. New York: 87
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock
#4. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,929
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 893
#2. Texas: 804
#3. Arizona: 747
#4. Ohio: 645
#5. New York: 600
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock
#5. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 870
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Missouri: 57
#2. Nebraska: 56
#3. Texas: 55
#3. New York: 55
#5. Pennsylvania: 54
Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock
#5. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 786
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 151
#2. California: 60
#3. Texas: 48
#4. Minnesota: 44
#5. North Carolina: 40
Canva
#7. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,504
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 501
#2. Texas: 304
#3. Georgia: 146
#4. Illinois: 143
#5. Tennessee: 110
Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock
#8. Burma
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,899
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Texas: 327
#2. Illinois: 297
#3. New York: 266
#4. Georgia: 192
#5. Arizona: 189
Dave Primov // Shutterstock
#9. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 735
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 73
#2. Washington: 68
#3. Maryland: 61
#4. North Carolina: 45
#5. Ohio: 41
W_NAMKET // Shutterstock
#9. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 481
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 63
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 30
Dave Primov // Shutterstock
#9. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,283
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 419
#2. Ohio: 110
#3. Georgia: 63
#4. New York: 62
#5. Arizona: 61
Focus and Blur // Shutterstock
#12. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 762
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 136
#2. Michigan: 95
#3. Nebraska: 45
#3. Texas: 45
#5. Washington: 38
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock
#13. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 685
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 59
#3. Texas: 54
#4. New York: 49
#5. Washington: 46
aleksander hunta // Shutterstock
#13. Cambodia
Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 22
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 10
#2. North Carolina: 6
#3. Maine: 3
#4. Rhode Island: 2
#5. Oklahoma: 1
Artush // Shutterstock
#13. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 232
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 67
#2. Ohio: 25
#3. Washington: 24
#4. Georgia: 21
#5. lowa: 11
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock
#16. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,929
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 893
#2. Texas: 804
#3. Arizona: 747
#4. Ohio: 645
#5. New York: 600
Rostasedlacek // Shutterstock
#16. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 217
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 32
#2. New York: 29
#3. Arizona: 28
#4. Pennsylvania: 14
#5. Maryland: 13
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.
