Shadows of group of people walking through the sunny streets with painted United States of America flag on the floor.

Where refugees in Alaska are arriving from

Written by:
October 9, 2024
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

Where refugees in Alaska 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 September 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Venezeula, Afghanistan, and Congo. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.

In Venezuela, over 7.5 million people have left the country due to extreme inflation, violence, food and medicine scarcity, and other factors. Most have resettled in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. 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.

Stacker referenced data from the Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Alaska in September 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

September refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in September
To Alaska:
#1. Venezuela: 4
#2. Republic of South Sudan: 3
#3. Congo: 2

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 3,653
#2. Congo: 2,296
#3. Afghanistan: 2,068
#4. Syria: 1,585
#5. Myanmar: 1,455

States that accepted the most refugees in September:
#1. Texas: 1,702
#2. California: 1,550
#3. New York: 918
#4. Florida: 768
#5. Illinois: 750

Read on to see the countries that Alaska has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

Woman carries basket through street in Bukavu
1 / 12
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#1. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Alaska: 45

To the U.S. as a whole: 19,922
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,791
#2. Kentucky: 1,735
#3. Ohio: 1,343
#4. New York: 1,295
#5. Arizona: 1,274

Woman carrying child to Lviv train station on snowy day
2 / 12
Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#2. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Alaska: 25

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,447
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 524
#2. California: 248
#3. New York: 90
#4. Florida: 74
#5. South Carolina: 61

Men gathered in the streets with motorcycles in Juba
3 / 12
punghi // Shutterstock

#3. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Alaska: 18

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,320
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 151
#2. Texas: 122
#3. New York: 94
#4. lowa: 88
#5. Colorado: 68

An aerial view of caracas, Venezuela.
4 / 12
Canva

#3. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Alaska: 18

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,878
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Texas: 2,039
#2. Florida: 1,883
#3. Illinois: 664
#4. New York: 514
#5. Georgia: 512

Muslim woman in hijab waking on streets of Hargeisa
5 / 12
Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#5. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Alaska: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 4,801
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 1,267
#2. New York: 366
#3. Ohio: 326
#4. Arizona: 280
#5. Missouri: 257

A horse-drawn taxi passes through a busy shopping area
6 / 12
Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#6. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Alaska: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 7,347
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 882
#2. Illinois: 761
#3. New York: 736
#4. Wisconsin: 570
#5. Georgia: 462

Daily scene of tuktuks, street stalls and motorbikes in San Pedro
7 / 12
Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#6. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Alaska: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,017
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 794
#2. Texas: 551
#3. Florida: 257
#4. North Carolina: 255
#5. New York: 219

Many people on a dirt street in Shendi
8 / 12
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#8. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Alaska: 7

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,180
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 194
#2. Texas: 170
#3. Ohio: 146
#4. Pennsylvania: 132
#5. Missouri: 124

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market
9 / 12
Canva

#9. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Alaska: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 14,707
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 3,171
#2. Texas: 1,574
#3. Virginia: 1,257
#4. Washington: 889
#5. New York: 658

People crossing a busy street near Moscow’s business center
10 / 12
YuryKara // Shutterstock

#9. Russia

Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Alaska: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 347
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 83
#2. California: 78
#3. Oregon: 43
#4. Minnesota: 22
#4. North Carolina: 22

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia
11 / 12
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#11. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Alaska: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,382
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 137
#2. Texas: 117
#3. New York: 114
#4. Washington: 95
#5. North Carolina: 93

Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara
12 / 12
Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#12. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Alaska: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,410
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 286
#2. Washington: 253
#3. lowa: 162
#4. North Carolina: 141
#5. Maryland: 129

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.

Trending Now