12-14-2023 10:52am

RE: REFUGEES

Alan Earls Editor

Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

Where refugees in Massachusetts are arriving from

Written by Stacker.
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 November 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 Massachusetts in November 2023.

November refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in November
To Massachusetts:
#1. Syria: 75
#2. Afghanistan: 28
#3. Congo: 21
#4. Iraq: 13
#5. Venezuela: 10
#6. Burma: 8
#7. Guatemala: 5
#7. Sudan: 5
#9. Belarus: 4
#9. Somalia: 4
#9. Ukraine: 4
#12. Eritrea: 3
#12. Senegal: 3
#14. Jordan: 2
#15. Cameroon: 1
#15. El Salvador: 1
#15. Iran: 1
#15. Ivory Coast: 1
#15. Norway: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 1,884
#2. Syria: 1,359
#3. Afghanistan: 1,080
#4. Burma: 606
#5. Guatemala: 247

States that accepted the most refugees in November:
#1. New York: 602
#2. Texas: 579
#3. California: 462
#4. Ohio: 356
#5. Washington: 349

Read on to see the countries that Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts: 134

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,266
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. Michigan: 328
#2. New York: 314
#3. Pennsylvania: 219
#4. California: 194
#5. Illinois: 170

Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#2. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 49

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,804
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 445
#2. Texas: 325
#3. New York: 241
#4. Arizona: 234
#5. Ohio: 225

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#3. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 38

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,832
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 311
#2. Virginia: 224
#3. Washington: 137
#4. Texas: 125
#5. New York: 100

Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#4. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 24

To the U.S. as a whole: 336
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. Michigan: 37
#2. California: 34
#3. Virginia: 26
#4. Massachusetts: 24
#4. Nebraska: 24

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#5. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 585
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 129
#2. Texas: 58
#3. Tennessee: 42
#4. Georgia: 31
#5. Washington: 28

Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#6. Burma

Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 915
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. New York: 108
#2. Illinois: 106
#3. Texas: 95
#4. Wisconsin: 60
#5. Indiana: 57

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#7. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 256
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. North Carolina: 39
#2. California: 37
#3. Maryland: 33
#4. Virginia: 26
#5. New Jersey: 13

Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#7. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 255
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Pennsylvania: 33
#2. Maryland: 24
#3. Tennessee: 18
#4. New York: 17
#5. Arizona: 12

Omri Eliyahu // Shutterstock

#7. Kazakhstan

Refugees that arrived from Kazakhstan since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 72
Top states receiving refugees from Kazakhstan
#1. Washington: 20
#2. California: 19
#3. Oregon: 10
#4. Pennsylvania: 6
#5. Massachusetts: 5

Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#7. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 464
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 49
#2. North Carolina: 39
#3. Texas: 34
#4. Florida: 26
#4. New York: 26

karp5 // Shutterstock

#11. Belarus

Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 50
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. California: 22
#2. Pennsylvania: 8
#3. Washington: 6
#4. New York: 5
#5. Illinois: 4

Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#11. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 466
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 179
#2. Arizona: 37
#3. Ohio: 33
#4. New York: 22
#5. Nebraska: 19

Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#11. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 277
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 102
#2. California: 48
#3. Ohio: 21
#4. Florida: 14
#5. Minnesota: 13

Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#14. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 242
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Washington: 29
#2. Maryland: 24
#2. Minnesota: 24
#4. Michigan: 17
#5. Pennsylvania: 14

Salvador Aznar // Shutterstock

#14. Senegal

Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 7
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 3
#2. Illinois: 2
#3. Georgia: 1
#3. Texas: 1

kozer // Shutterstock

#16. Jordan

Refugees that arrived from Jordan since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 3
Top states receiving refugees from Jordan
#1. Massachusetts: 2
#2. Pennsylvania: 1

JackKPhoto // Shutterstock

#16. Moldova

Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 160
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 62
#2. California: 53
#3. Oregon: 9
#4. North Carolina: 8
#5. New York: 7

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#16. Haiti

Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 52
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 15
#2. California: 8
#3. Georgia: 5
#4. Colorado: 3
#4. Connecticut: 3

Andrew V Marcus // Shutterstock

#19. Iran

Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 113
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 58
#2. Georgia: 7
#3. Illinois: 6
#3. Washington: 6
#5. Indiana: 5

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#19. Cameroon

Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Massachusetts: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 20
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. New Jersey: 4
#2. Michigan: 3
#3. Georgia: 2
#3. Indiana: 2
#3. Maryland: 2