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Where refugees in Arkansas are arriving from

Written by:
September 9, 2024
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Where refugees in Arkansas 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 August 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 Arkansas in August 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

August refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in August
To Arkansas:
#1. Venezuela: 19
#2. Liberia: 8
#3. Guatemala: 2

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 2,310
#2. Congo: 1,503
#3. Afghanistan: 1,460
#4. Syria: 695
#5. Guatemala: 655

States that accepted the most refugees in August:
#1. Texas: 1,213
#2. California: 808
#3. Florida: 527
#4. New York: 514
#5. Washington: 507

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

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

#1. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Arkansas: 107

To the U.S. as a whole: 17,626
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,574
#2. Kentucky: 1,505
#3. Ohio: 1,217
#4. Arizona: 1,196
#5. New York: 1,112

An aerial view of caracas, Venezuela.
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Canva

#2. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Arkansas: 55

To the U.S. as a whole: 9,225
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Texas: 1,488
#2. Florida: 1,425
#3. Illinois: 522
#4. New York: 379
#5. Georgia: 362

People walking by a Cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua
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Milosz Maslanka // Shutterstock

#3. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Arkansas: 43

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,776
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 331
#2. Texas: 256
#3. California: 225
#4. Minnesota: 124
#5. Arizona: 108

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

#4. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Arkansas: 22

To the U.S. as a whole: 9,689
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 972
#2. Michigan: 964
#3. Pennsylvania: 808
#4. Texas: 581
#5. California: 552

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

#5. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Arkansas: 12

To the U.S. as a whole: 4,320
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 631
#2. Texas: 492
#3. Florida: 235
#4. North Carolina: 230
#5. New York: 187

An aerial view of El Salvador.
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#6. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Arkansas: 9

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,176
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 169
#2. California: 149
#3. Maryland: 112
#4. Virginia: 80
#5. North Carolina: 79

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#6. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Arkansas: 9

To the U.S. as a whole: 825
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 132
#2. Florida: 104
#3. New York: 57
#4. California: 42
#4. Georgia: 42

Fishermen sorting nets on wooden boat at beach in Robertsport
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Fabian Plock // Shutterstock

#8. Liberia

Refugees that arrived from Liberia since October 2023
To Arkansas: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 31
Top states receiving refugees from Liberia
#1. New York: 16
#2. Arkansas: 8
#3. Colorado: 4
#4. Kansas: 3

People standing in front of shops by roadside
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Beata Tabak // Shutterstock

#9. Ivory Coast

Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Arkansas: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 66
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 6
#5. Florida: 4

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market
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#10. Afghanistan

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

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,634
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 2,611
#2. Texas: 1,299
#3. Virginia: 1,042
#4. Washington: 777
#5. New York: 582

An aerial view of islands an boats in Vietmnam.
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Canva

#10. Vietnam

Refugees that arrived from Vietnam since October 2023
To Arkansas: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 110
Top states receiving refugees from Vietnam
#1. Minnesota: 52
#2. North Carolina: 37
#3. Oklahoma: 7
#4. Arkansas: 5
#5. Illinois: 3

Aerial drone shot of Conakry, Guinea.
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Flightseeing-Germany // Shutterstock

#12. Guinea

Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Arkansas: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 75
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5

People selling bananas at a street market in Huye
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Oscar Espinosa // Shutterstock

#12. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Arkansas: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 216
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 49
#2. Arizona: 16
#3. South Carolina: 12
#3. Kentucky: 12
#5. Illinois: 11

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

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