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 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 Illinois in March 2024.
March refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in March
To Illinois:
#1. Myanmar: 97
#2. Congo: 51
#3. Afghanistan: 39
#4. Venezuela: 20
#5. Syria: 12
#6. Congo: 11
#7. Nicaragua: 9
#8. Guatemala: 7
#9. Eritrea: 3
#9. Iraq: 3
#9. Somalia: 3
#9. Sudan: 3
#13. Ukraine: 2
#14. Central African Republic: 1
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 Illinois 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 Illinois: 411
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. Myanmar
Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Illinois: 394
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
#3. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Illinois: 283
To the U.S. as a whole: 7,412
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 702
#2. Michigan: 699
#3. Pennsylvania: 516
#4. Texas: 434
#5. California: 409
#4. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Illinois: 193
To the U.S. as a whole: 6,956
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,449
#2. Virginia: 710
#3. Texas: 700
#4. Washington: 482
#5. Maryland: 303
#5. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Illinois: 163
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,067
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 612
#2. Texas: 429
#3. Georgia: 170
#4. Illinois: 163
#5. Tennessee: 120
#6. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Illinois: 39
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,220
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 301
#2. Texas: 210
#3. North Carolina: 163
#4. Florida: 141
#5. New York: 95
#7. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Illinois: 36
To the U.S. as a whole: 844
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 154
#2. Michigan: 105
#3. Texas: 50
#4. Nebraska: 47
#5. Washington: 42
#8. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Illinois: 25
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
#8. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Illinois: 25
To the U.S. as a whole: 939
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 161
#2. California: 78
#3. Texas: 65
#4. Minnesota: 46
#5. North Carolina: 40
#10. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Illinois: 22
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
#11. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Illinois: 19
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
#12. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Illinois: 13
To the U.S. as a whole: 556
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 95
#2. Florida: 72
#3. Georgia: 40
#4. California: 37
#5. New York: 32
#13. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Illinois: 12
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
#14. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Illinois: 11
To the U.S. as a whole: 563
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 64
#2. Texas: 55
#3. Michigan: 54
#4. Georgia: 40
#5. Massachusetts: 34
#15. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Illinois: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 557
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 89
#2. Virginia: 57
#3. Texas: 53
#4. North Carolina: 46
#5. Maryland: 36
#15. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Illinois: 10
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
#15. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Illinois: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 789
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 100
#2. California: 93
#3. Maryland: 78
#4. North Carolina: 62
#5. Virginia: 59
#18. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Illinois: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 234
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 133
#2. Texas: 19
#3. Washington: 10
#3. North Carolina: 10
#5. Illinois: 9
#18. Nigeria
Refugees that arrived from Nigeria since October 2023
To Illinois: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 86
Top states receiving refugees from Nigeria
#1. Missouri: 14
#2. Arizona: 13
#2. North Carolina: 13
#4. Illinois: 9
#5. Massachusetts: 8
#18. Palestine
Refugees that arrived from Palestine since October 2023
To Illinois: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 16
Top states receiving refugees from Palestine
#1. Illinois: 9
#2. New Jersey: 3
#3. Georgia: 2
#4. Ohio: 1
#4. Texas: 1
#18. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Illinois: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 314
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 48
#2. New York: 35
#3. Arizona: 32
#4. Pennsylvania: 28
#5. Michigan: 17
#22. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Illinois: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 722
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 98
#2. North Carolina: 67
#3. Texas: 58
#4. New York: 52
#5. Washington: 46
#23. Kyrgyzstan
Refugees that arrived from Kyrgyzstan since October 2023
To Illinois: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 58
Top states receiving refugees from Kyrgyzstan
#1. New York: 37
#2. Oregon: 8
#3. Illinois: 7
#4. Pennsylvania: 6
#24. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Illinois: 6
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
#24. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Illinois: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 123
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 33
#2. North Carolina: 11
#3. South Carolina: 10
#3. Kansas: 10
#5. Kentucky: 9
#26. Belarus
Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Illinois: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 223
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 61
#2. California: 42
#3. Pennsylvania: 21
#4. Massachusetts: 20
#5. New York: 19
#26. Haiti
Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To Illinois: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 116
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 24
#2. Florida: 18
#3. Georgia: 14
#4. Colorado: 9
#5. California: 8
#28. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2023
To Illinois: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 60
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Massachusetts: 15
#2. Texas: 8
#3. Georgia: 6
#4. South Carolina: 5
#5. Ohio: 4
#28. Vietnam
Refugees that arrived from Vietnam since October 2023
To Illinois: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 87
Top states receiving refugees from Vietnam
#1. Minnesota: 49
#2. North Carolina: 25
#3. Arkansas: 5
#4. Illinois: 3
#5. Oregon: 2
#30. Kenya
Refugees that arrived from Kenya since October 2023
To Illinois: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 3
Top states receiving refugees from Kenya
#1. Illinois: 2
#2. Minnesota: 1
#30. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Illinois: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 76
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 7
#2. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5
#30. Ivory Coast
Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Illinois: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 62
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 5
#5. Florida: 4
#33. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Illinois: 1
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
#33. Peru
Refugees that arrived from Peru since October 2023
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Peru
#1. Illinois: 1
#33. Indonesia
Refugees that arrived from Indonesia since October 2023
To Illinois: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Indonesia
#1. Illinois: 1
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 47 states.
