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Where refugees in Maine are arriving from

Written by:
October 9, 2024
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

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 September 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 September 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

September refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in September
To Maine:
#1. Venezuela: 48
#2. Congo: 10
#2. Somalia: 10
#4. Burundi: 6
#4. Guatemala: 6
#4. Syria: 6
#7. Afghanistan: 5
#8. Iraq: 3

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 3,653
#2. Congo: 2,296
#3. Afghanistan: 2,068
#4. Syria: 1,585
#5. Myanmar: 1,455

States that accepted the most refugees in September:
#1. Texas: 1,702
#2. California: 1,550
#3. New York: 918
#4. Florida: 768
#5. Illinois: 750

Read on to see the countries that Maine 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 Maine: 145

To the U.S. as a whole: 19,922
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,791
#2. Kentucky: 1,735
#3. Ohio: 1,343
#4. New York: 1,295
#5. Arizona: 1,274

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

#2. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Maine: 121

To the U.S. as a whole: 11,274
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. Michigan: 1,186
#2. New York: 1,112
#3. Pennsylvania: 954
#4. California: 763
#5. Texas: 676

An aerial view of caracas, Venezuela.
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Canva

#3. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Maine: 100

To the U.S. as a whole: 12,878
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Texas: 2,039
#2. Florida: 1,883
#3. Illinois: 664
#4. New York: 514
#5. Georgia: 512

Afghan women in burkas pass by a man outside a market
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Canva

#4. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Maine: 52

To the U.S. as a whole: 14,707
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 3,171
#2. Texas: 1,574
#3. Virginia: 1,257
#4. Washington: 889
#5. New York: 658

Elevated view of Baghdad street scene
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Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#5. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Maine: 51

To the U.S. as a whole: 2,278
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 364
#2. Michigan: 260
#3. Texas: 189
#4. Nebraska: 136
#5. Illinois: 122

Muslim woman in hijab waking on streets of Hargeisa
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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#6. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Maine: 48

To the U.S. as a whole: 4,801
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 1,267
#2. New York: 366
#3. Ohio: 326
#4. Arizona: 280
#5. Missouri: 257

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

#7. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Maine: 24

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,299
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 382
#2. Texas: 313
#3. California: 259
#4. North Carolina: 139
#5. Minnesota: 135

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

#8. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Maine: 20

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,017
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 794
#2. Texas: 551
#3. Florida: 257
#4. North Carolina: 255
#5. New York: 219

Burundian people gather at an outside market
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Rostasedlacek // Shutterstock

#9. Burundi

Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Maine: 14

To the U.S. as a whole: 588
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Texas: 79
#2. Arizona: 50
#3. Pennsylvania: 44
#4. New York: 43
#5. lowa: 37

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia
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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#10. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Maine: 13

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,382
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 137
#2. Texas: 117
#3. New York: 114
#4. Washington: 95
#5. North Carolina: 93

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

#11. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Maine: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 220
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 49
#2. Arizona: 19
#3. Kentucky: 13
#4. South Carolina: 12
#5. Illinois: 11

Group of children playing soccer on a rural road
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sandis sveicers // Shutterstock

#12. Central African Republic

Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Maine: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 864
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 89
#2. Texas: 82
#3. Michigan: 63
#4. Georgia: 60
#5. Colorado: 56

Cars, people and mopeds on the streets of Kinshasa.
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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#13. Republic of Congo

Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To Maine: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 353
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 32
#2. Pennsylvania: 28
#3. Wisconsin: 26
#4. New York: 25
#4. Illinois: 25

Men gathered in the streets with motorcycles in Juba
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punghi // Shutterstock

#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: 1,320
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Nebraska: 151
#2. Texas: 122
#3. New York: 94
#4. lowa: 88
#5. Colorado: 68

An aerial view of El Salvador.
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Canva

#15. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Maine: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,331
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 187
#2. Texas: 174
#3. Maryland: 119
#4. Virginia: 99
#5. North Carolina: 83

People walking on the street in Aksum
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Artush // Shutterstock

#15. Ethiopia

Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Maine: 4

To the U.S. as a whole: 501
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 152
#2. Washington: 46
#3. Texas: 38
#4. Ohio: 33
#5. Georgia: 29

People on a busy street in Phnom Penh
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aleksander hunta // Shutterstock

#17. Cambodia

Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To Maine: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 58
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 17
#2. Rhode Island: 10
#3. North Carolina: 7
#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.

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