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Where refugees in Alabama are arriving from

Written by:
September 11, 2023
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

Where refugees in Alabama 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 2022, twice the 2021 total.

Refugee arrivals in 2023 are on track to outpace the two previous years, with over 44,000 refugees arriving since January.

In August 2023, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Syria, Congo, 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 Alabama in August 2023.

August refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in August
To Alabama:
#1. Guatemala: 6
#2. Haiti: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Syria: 1,429
#2. Congo: 1,085
#3. Afghanistan: 710
#4. Burma: 479
#5. Guatemala: 292

States that accepted the most refugees in August:
#1. California: 562
#2. Texas: 422
#3. New York: 384
#4. Illinois: 283
#5. North Carolina: 274

Read on to see the countries that Alabama has accepted the most refugees from since October 2022.

Woman carries basket through street in Bukavu
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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#1. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2022
To Alabama: 38

To the U.S. as a whole: 15,675
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,551
#2. Kentucky: 1,542
#3. Ohio: 1,173
#4. Arizona: 1,021
#5. New York: 821

People buying spices at a street market in Damascus
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hanohiki // Shutterstock

#2. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2022
To Alabama: 15

To the U.S. as a whole: 8,238
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. Michigan: 810
#2. New York: 645
#3. Texas: 594
#4. Pennsylvania: 557
#5. California: 541

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia
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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#3. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2022
To Alabama: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,085
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. New York: 126
#2. Florida: 119
#3. North Carolina: 108
#4. New Jersey: 85
#5. Pennsylvania: 75

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 2022
To Alabama: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,563
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 219
#2. Florida: 139
#3. Pennsylvania: 109
#4. North Carolina: 97
#5. New York: 87

An aerial view of El Salvador.
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Canva

#5. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2022
To Alabama: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 957
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 96
#2. Texas: 95
#3. North Carolina: 87
#4. New York: 82
#5. Maryland: 81

An aerial view of islands an boats in Vietmnam.
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Canva

#5. Vietnam

Refugees that arrived from Vietnam since October 2022
To Alabama: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 30
Top states receiving refugees from Vietnam
#1. Texas: 11
#2. North Carolina: 8
#2. Oregon: 8
#4. Alabama: 3

A distant view of homes on a hillside in Haiti.
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Canva

#7. Haiti

Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2022
To Alabama: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 32
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. New York: 5
#1. Ohio: 5
#3. Colorado: 4
#3. Pennsylvania: 4
#5. California: 3

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