Where refugees in Illinois 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 Illinois in August 2023.
August refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in August
To Illinois:
#1. Burma: 79
#2. Syria: 77
#3. Afghanistan: 26
#4. Congo: 19
#4. Venezuela: 19
#6. Sudan: 18
#7. Guatemala: 10
#7. Ukraine: 10
#9. Iran: 7
#9. Moldova: 7
#11. Haiti: 3
#11. Iraq: 3
#11. Nicaragua: 3
#14. Honduras: 1
#14. Yemen: 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 Illinois has accepted the most refugees from since October 2022.
#1. Burma
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2022
To Illinois: 484
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,717
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Wisconsin: 637
#2. Texas: 598
#3. Indiana: 580
#4. New York: 523
#5. Illinois: 484
#2. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2022
To Illinois: 441
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
#3. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2022
To Illinois: 309
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
#4. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2022
To Illinois: 177
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,725
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,105
#2. Texas: 623
#3. Virginia: 614
#4. New York: 364
#5. Washington: 341
#5. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2022
To Illinois: 99
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,505
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Ohio: 116
#2. Illinois: 99
#3. Georgia: 96
#4. New York: 85
#5. Nebraska: 79
#6. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2022
To Illinois: 63
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,061
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. Michigan: 146
#2. California: 142
#3. Texas: 126
#4. Washington: 65
#5. Illinois: 63
#7. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2022
To Illinois: 61
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
#8. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2022
To Illinois: 49
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
#9. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2022
To Illinois: 44
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,129
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 236
#2. Texas: 131
#3. Pennsylvania: 62
#4. North Carolina: 53
#5. Colorado: 51
#10. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2022
To Illinois: 29
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,303
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 412
#2. California: 241
#3. New York: 95
#4. Ohio: 72
#5. Pennsylvania: 61
#11. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2022
To Illinois: 28
To the U.S. as a whole: 597
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Texas: 92
#2. Colorado: 52
#3. Georgia: 40
#4. Arizona: 39
#5. Oregon: 37
#12. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2022
To Illinois: 27
To the U.S. as a whole: 391
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 56
#2. New York: 43
#3. Virginia: 40
#4. California: 38
#5. Georgia: 35
#13. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2022
To Illinois: 24
To the U.S. as a whole: 675
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. Texas: 150
#2. California: 145
#3. Washington: 75
#4. Georgia: 43
#5. Nevada: 27
#14. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2022
To Illinois: 22
To the U.S. as a whole: 867
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Ohio: 81
#2. Washington: 73
#3. Texas: 65
#4. Colorado: 48
#5. New York: 46
#15. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2022
To Illinois: 21
To the U.S. as a whole: 547
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Florida: 72
#2. Texas: 71
#3. North Carolina: 42
#4. Maryland: 31
#4. Massachusetts: 31
#16. Yemen
Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2022
To Illinois: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 158
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 21
#1. New York: 21
#3. Illinois: 17
#4. Virginia: 15
#4. North Carolina: 15
#17. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2022
To Illinois: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,034
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 330
#2. Ohio: 88
#3. Arizona: 58
#4. Washington: 51
#5. New York: 44
#18. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2022
To Illinois: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 86
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Illinois: 12
#2. Texas: 9
#2. Massachusetts: 9
#4. South Carolina: 8
#5. North Carolina: 7
#18. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2022
To Illinois: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 272
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Iowa: 38
#2. Texas: 32
#3. Pennsylvania: 23
#4. Missouri: 21
#5. Michigan: 15
#20. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2022
To Illinois: 11
To the U.S. as a whole: 23
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Illinois: 11
#2. Pennsylvania: 3
#3. Kentucky: 2
#3. Massachusetts: 2
#3. Ohio: 2
#20. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2022
To Illinois: 11
To the U.S. as a whole: 66
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Ohio: 14
#2. Illinois: 11
#3. North Carolina: 6
#3. Pennsylvania: 6
#3. South Carolina: 6
#22. Moldova
Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2022
To Illinois: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 442
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 116
#2. California: 99
#3. Massachusetts: 54
#4. Minnesota: 32
#4. North Carolina: 32
#23. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2022
To Illinois: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 455
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. New York: 49
#2. North Carolina: 32
#3. Maryland: 30
#4. Minnesota: 28
#4. Washington: 28
#23. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2022
To Illinois: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 362
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 145
#2. Washington: 31
#3. New York: 19
#4. Georgia: 17
#5. Colorado: 16
#25. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2022
To Illinois: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 156
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 29
#2. Texas: 20
#3. Arizona: 10
#3. Maryland: 10
#3. Massachusetts: 10
#26. Nepal
Refugees that arrived from Nepal since October 2022
To Illinois: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 18
Top states receiving refugees from Nepal
#1. Ohio: 5
#2. Illinois: 4
#3. Pennsylvania: 2
#3. Tennessee: 2
#3. Vermont: 2
#26. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2022
To Illinois: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 38
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Ohio: 6
#2. Arizona: 4
#2. Colorado: 4
#2. Illinois: 4
#2. New Jersey: 4
#26. Palestine
Refugees that arrived from Palestine since October 2022
To Illinois: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 50
Top states receiving refugees from Palestine
#1. New York: 15
#2. California: 9
#3. Nebraska: 8
#4. Michigan: 6
#5. Illinois: 4
#29. Haiti
Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2022
To Illinois: 3
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
#29. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2022
To Illinois: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 29
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. New Mexico: 8
#2. Michigan: 4
#3. Illinois: 3
#3. Nevada: 3
#5. Colorado: 2
#31. Ivory Coast
Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2022
To Illinois: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 21
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Arkansas: 2
#1. Illinois: 2
#1. Iowa: 2
#1. Maine: 2
#1. Maryland: 2
#31. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2022
To Illinois: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 234
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. California: 67
#2. Washington: 57
#3. Oregon: 26
#4. Ohio: 11
#5. Minnesota: 9
#33. Jordan
Refugees that arrived from Jordan since October 2022
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 4
Top states receiving refugees from Jordan
#1. Maryland: 2
#2. Illinois: 1
#2. Michigan: 1
#33. Egypt
Refugees that arrived from Egypt since October 2022
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 5
Top states receiving refugees from Egypt
#1. New York: 2
#2. Illinois: 1
#2. Kentucky: 1
#2. Nevada: 1
#33. Nigeria
Refugees that arrived from Nigeria since October 2022
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Nigeria
#1. Illinois: 1
#33. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2022
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 26
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 6
#2. North Carolina: 4
#3. Arizona: 2
#3. Louisiana: 2
#3. Massachusetts: 2
#33. Kyrgyzstan
Refugees that arrived from Kyrgyzstan since October 2022
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 141
Top states receiving refugees from Kyrgyzstan
#1. Pennsylvania: 39
#2. Washington: 36
#3. New York: 23
#4. Florida: 11
#5. Massachusetts: 8
#33. Lebanon
Refugees that arrived from Lebanon since October 2022
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Lebanon
#1. Illinois: 1
