Where refugees in Maine 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 Maine 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 Maine:
#1. Iraq: 22
#2. Nicaragua: 10
#3. Afghanistan: 7
#3. Congo: 7
#5. Rwanda: 3
#6. Guatemala: 2
#7. Burundi: 1
#7. Venezuela: 1
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 Maine 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 Maine: 135
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
#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Maine: 115
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
#3. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Maine: 52
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
#4. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Maine: 48
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,897
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 283
#2. Michigan: 219
#3. Texas: 173
#4. Nebraska: 127
#5. Washington: 114
#5. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Maine: 47
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
#6. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Maine: 38
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,940
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 1,118
#2. New York: 278
#3. Ohio: 261
#4. Missouri: 224
#5. Arizona: 214
#7. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Maine: 24
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
#8. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Maine: 14
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
#9. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Maine: 13
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,242
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 135
#2. Texas: 104
#3. New York: 95
#4. North Carolina: 93
#5. Washington: 89
#10. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Maine: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 527
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 65
#2. Arizona: 49
#3. New York: 41
#4. Pennsylvania: 38
#5. Nebraska: 30
#10. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Maine: 8
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
#12. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Maine: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 797
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 80
#2. Texas: 75
#3. Georgia: 60
#4. Colorado: 56
#5. Michigan: 55
#13. Republic of Congo
Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To Maine: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 352
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 32
#2. Pennsylvania: 28
#3. Wisconsin: 26
#4. New York: 25
#4. Illinois: 25
#13. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Maine: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,135
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 122
#2. Texas: 107
#3. New York: 91
#4. Colorado: 66
#4. Arizona: 66
#15. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Maine: 4
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
#15. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Maine: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 376
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 111
#2. Washington: 31
#2. Texas: 31
#4. Ohio: 27
#5. Georgia: 26
#17. Cambodia
Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To Maine: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 54
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 17
#2. North Carolina: 7
#3. Rhode Island: 6
#4. California: 5
#4. Oregon: 5
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.