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 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 Alaska in March 2024.
March refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in March
To Alaska:
#1. Sudan: 7
#2. Russia: 5
#2. Ukraine: 5
#4. Myanmar: 4
#4. Congo: 4
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 Alaska has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
#1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Alaska: 26
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
#2. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Alaska: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 810
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 291
#2. California: 122
#3. New York: 42
#4. Ohio: 40
#5. Florida: 37
#3. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Alaska: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,664
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 416
#2. Illinois: 394
#3. New York: 349
#4. Georgia: 245
#5. Wisconsin: 232
#4. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Alaska: 7
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
#5. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Alaska: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 713
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Texas: 66
#2. Nebraska: 65
#3. Colorado: 57
#4. Connecticut: 53
#5. New York: 47
#5. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Alaska: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 248
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 75
#2. California: 57
#3. Oregon: 24
#4. Minnesota: 20
#5. North Carolina: 19
#5. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Alaska: 5
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
#8. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Alaska: 2
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
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 47 states.
