Where Refugees in Rhode Island Are Arriving From

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Where refugees in Rhode Island are arriving from

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 March 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Afghanistan, and Myanmar. 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. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. In Myanmar, state-sponsored violence against the Rohingya people has displaced nearly 2 million people internally. Another million are in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

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 March 2024.

March refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in March
To Rhode Island:
#1. Congo: 11
#2. Burundi: 9
#3. Mali: 3
#4. Eritrea: 2
#5. Afghanistan: 1
#5. Mauritania: 1
#5. The Gambia: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 2,089
#2. Afghanistan: 1,031
#3. Myanmar: 765
#4. Syria: 594
#5. Venezuela: 563

States that accepted the most refugees in March:
#1. Texas: 916
#2. California: 495
#3. New York: 473
#4. Pennsylvania: 346
#5. Florida: 315

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.

People buying spices at a street market in Damascus

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hanohiki // Shutterstock

#1. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 44

To the U.S. as a whole: 7,412
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 702
#2. Michigan: 699
#3. Pennsylvania: 516
#4. Texas: 434
#5. California: 409

Cars, people and mopeds on the streets of Kinshasa.

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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#2. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 28

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,018
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,049
#2. Kentucky: 1,013
#3. Arizona: 854
#4. New York: 762
#5. Ohio: 761

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market

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Canva

#3. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 26

To the U.S. as a whole: 6,956
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,449
#2. Virginia: 710
#3. Texas: 700
#4. Washington: 482
#5. Maryland: 303

Daily scene of tuktuks, street stalls and motorbikes in San Pedro

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Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#4. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 20

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,220
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 301
#2. Texas: 210
#3. North Carolina: 163
#4. Florida: 141
#5. New York: 95

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#5. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,067
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 83
#2. Texas: 80
#3. Pennsylvania: 76
#4. Nebraska: 65
#5. Missouri: 60

People walking by a Cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua

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Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock

#5. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 939
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 161
#2. California: 78
#3. Texas: 65
#4. Minnesota: 46
#5. North Carolina: 40

Burundian people gather at an outside market

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Rostasedlacek // Shutterstock

#5. Burundi

Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 314
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 48
#2. New York: 35
#3. Arizona: 32
#4. Pennsylvania: 28
#5. Michigan: 17

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#8. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,067
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 612
#2. Texas: 429
#3. Georgia: 170
#4. Illinois: 163
#5. Tennessee: 120

Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#9. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 963
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 107
#2. Washington: 95
#3. Ohio: 67
#4. Maryland: 65
#5. North Carolina: 53

People walking through the Chitta Gate in the old town area of Lahore

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W_NAMKET // Shutterstock

#10. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 557
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 89
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 36

Muslim woman in hijab waking on streets of Hargeisa

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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#10. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,600
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 514
#2. Ohio: 126
#3. Arizona: 78
#3. New York: 78
#5. Georgia: 63

An aerial drone view of niarela Bakamo, Mali

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Canva

#12. Mali

Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 164
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 25
#2. New York: 24
#3. South Carolina: 23
#4. Connecticut: 13
#4. Michigan: 13

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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: 844
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 154
#2. Michigan: 105
#3. Texas: 50
#4. Nebraska: 47
#5. Washington: 42

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Artush // Shutterstock

#14. Ethiopia

Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 253
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 76
#2. Ohio: 25
#3. Washington: 24
#4. Georgia: 23
#5. lowa: 12

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#14. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 722
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 67
#3. Texas: 58
#4. New York: 52
#5. Washington: 46

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aleksander hunta // Shutterstock

#14. Cambodia

Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 35
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 14
#2. North Carolina: 6
#3. California: 5
#4. Maine: 3
#5. Minnesota: 2

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#17. Mauritania

Refugees that arrived from Mauritania since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 3
Top states receiving refugees from Mauritania
#1. Oregon: 1
#1. Rhode Island: 1
#1. Washington: 1

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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#17. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Rhode Island: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,018
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,049
#2. Kentucky: 1,013
#3. Arizona: 854
#4. New York: 762
#5. Ohio: 761