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Where Are Refugees in Washington Arriving From?

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The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday, May 9 that roughly 6,000 Ukrainians were approved for temporary entry into the U.S. as part of a program designed to fast-track the admission of 100,000 people displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine. While similar expedited processes have been used in the past, refugee admissions to the U.S. are typically lower and slower.The U.S. passed the Refugee Act of 1980 to accommodate hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodians fleeing their homes in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The act pledges to respond to the urgent needs of people around the world who are subject to persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution often on the basis of race, religion, nationality, social affiliation, or political opinion in their home countries.Historically, the U.S. has resettled more refugees than any other country. However, despite a decade-long increase in the number of refugees around the world, America’s response to these urgent needs in recent years has been hindered by politics.

In 2021, just 11,411 refugees, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Burma, were admitted to the U.S. under a ceiling of 62,500—the lowest number since since 1980.

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Since 2017, refugee resettlement capacity in the U.S. has been reduced by 38%. The country’s resettlement rate dropped 86% in roughly that same period.

In addition to policies that have gutted government agencies responsible for resettlement and created processing roadblocks for applicants—it takes an average of two years to vet refugees for resettlement in the U.S.—fewer refugees in the last five years has resulted in less funding for the programs that still exist. More than 130 resettlement sites around the country have closed due to a lack of funding.

Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Washington in April 2022.

April Refugee Statistics

Countries where refugees arrived from in April

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Washington
#1. Afghanistan: 24
#2. Syria: 15
#3. Moldova: 13
#4. Ukraine: 10
#5. Somalia: 8
#6. Colombia: 4
#7. Burma: 3
#8. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2
#9. Iran: 1
#10. El Salvador: 1
#11. Guatemala: 1

National
#1. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 551
#2. Syria: 539
#3. Burma: 226
#4. Afghanistan: 151
#5. Ukraine: 105

States that accepted the most refugees in April
#1. California: 160
#2. Texas: 143
#3. Michigan: 129
#4. New York: 108
#5. Kentucky: 105

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Where has Washington Accepted Refugees From?

Below are the countries that Washington has accepted the most refugees from since October.

#1. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October
Washington: 243

National: 809
Top states
#1. Washington: 243
#2. California: 159
#3. Pennsylvania: 50
#4. Missouri: 42
#5. Ohio: 38

#2. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October
Washington: 52

National: 2,511
Top states
#1. California: 274
#2. Michigan: 263
#3. Pennsylvania: 182
#4. New York: 179
#5. Florida: 150

#3. Moldova

Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October
Washington: 30

National: 130
Top states
#1. California: 43
#2. Washington: 30
#3. Florida: 12
#4. North Carolina: 9
#5. South Carolina: 6

#4. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October
Washington: 26

National: 313
Top states
#1. Colorado: 39
#2. California: 38
#3. Virginia: 36
#4. Washington: 26
#5. Texas: 25

#5. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October
Washington: 23

National: 1,170
Top states
#1. Texas: 100
#2. North Carolina: 91
#3. New York: 65
#4. Idaho: 57
#5. Illinois: 56

#6. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October
Washington: 19

National: 219
Top states
#1. Minnesota: 62
#2. Ohio: 19
#3. Washington: 19
#4. Kentucky: 14
#5. New York: 13

#7. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Refugees that arrived from Democratic Republic of the Congo since October
Washington: 13

National: 2,528
Top states
#1. Kentucky: 304
#2. Texas: 243
#3. Michigan: 152
#4. Arizona: 147
#5. Ohio: 128

#8. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October
Washington: 12

National: 249
Top states
#1. Florida: 26
#2. Texas: 25
#3. Massachusetts: 24
#4. Virginia: 20
#5. North Carolina: 17

#9. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October
Washington: 12

National: 284
Top states
#1. California: 69
#2. Maryland: 34
#3. Virginia: 25
#4. New York: 19
#5. Texas: 18

#10. Russia

Refugees that arrived from Russia since October
Washington: 11

National: 13
Top states
#1. Washington: 11
#2. Ohio: 2

#11. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October
Washington: 10

National: 489
Top states
#1. California: 106
#2. Texas: 60
#3. New Jersey: 49
#4. Georgia: 30
#5. Arizona: 23

#12. Burma

Refugees that arrived from Burma since October
Washington: 9

National: 928
Top states
#1. New York: 133
#2. Wisconsin: 121
#3. Texas: 90
#4. Indiana: 59
#5. North Carolina: 58

#13. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October
Washington: 6

National: 41
Top states
#1. California: 7
#2. Virginia: 7
#3. Tennessee: 7
#4. New Jersey: 6
#5. Washington: 6

#14. Ethiopia

Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October
Washington: 5

National: 53
Top states
#1. Minnesota: 15
#2. Maryland: 9
#3. Texas: 6
#4. Colorado: 5
#5. Washington: 5

#15. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October
Washington: 5

National: 102
Top states
#1. Iowa: 14
#2. Minnesota: 10
#3. Arizona: 10
#4. Maryland: 9
#5. Ohio: 9

#16. Iran

Refugees that arrived from Iran since October
Washington: 4

National: 111
Top states
#1. California: 27
#2. Georgia: 16
#3. Virginia: 15
#4. Texas: 13
#5. Arizona: 5

#17. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October
Washington: 3

National: 19
Top states
#1. Nevada: 8
#2. Florida: 5
#3. Washington: 3
#4. Illinois: 2
#5. Georgia: 1

#18. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October
Washington: 2

National: 235
Top states
#1. California: 36
#2. Michigan: 36
#3. Pennsylvania: 19
#4. Texas: 17
#5. Ohio: 16

#19. Burundi

Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October
Washington: 1

National: 30
Top states
#1. Michigan: 8
#2. Maryland: 6
#3. Georgia: 5
#4. Iowa: 4
#5. Ohio: 2

#20. Armenia

Refugees that arrived from Armenia since October
Washington: 1

National: 26
Top states
#1. California: 24
#2. Ohio: 1
#3. Washington: 1

#21. Uganda

Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October
Washington: 1

National: 53
Top states
#1. California: 7
#2. Tennessee: 7
#3. Georgia: 6
#4. Texas: 5
#5. Colorado: 4

#22. Senegal

Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October
Washington: 1

National: 2
Top states
#1. Washington: 1
#2. Texas: 1

#23. Jordan

Refugees that arrived from Jordan since October
Washington: 1

National: 3
Top states
#1. Washington: 1
#2. Massachusetts: 1
#3. Utah: 1


The above article first appeared on Stacker and has been republished with permission. The Auburn Examiner ha snot independently verified its content.

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