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 Michigan 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 Michigan:
#1. Syria: 222
#2. Congo: 98
#3. Venezuela: 90
#4. Iraq: 41
#5. Myanmar: 36
#6. Sudan: 23
#7. Afghanistan: 19
#7. Yemen: 19
#9. Guatemala: 14
#10. Republic of South Sudan: 9
#10. Colombia: 9
#12. Central African Republic: 8
#13. Somalia: 7
#14. Nicaragua: 6
#15. Eritrea: 5
#16. Cuba: 4
#17. El Salvador: 3
#17. Haiti: 3
#17. Palestine: 3
#20. Ethiopia: 2
#21. Burundi: 1
#21. Guinea: 1
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 Michigan has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
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hanohiki // Shutterstock
1 / 35Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Michigan: 1,186
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
Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock
2 / 35Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Michigan: 862
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
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3 / 35Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Michigan: 356
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
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4 / 35Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Michigan: 302
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
Focus and Blur // Shutterstock
5 / 35Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Michigan: 260
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
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Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock
6 / 35Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Michigan: 106
To the U.S. as a whole: 7,347
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 882
#2. Illinois: 761
#3. New York: 736
#4. Wisconsin: 570
#5. Georgia: 462
Lauren Squire // Shutterstock
7 / 35Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Michigan: 68
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
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8 / 35Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Michigan: 63
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
Dave Primov // Shutterstock
9 / 35Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Michigan: 57
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
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock
10 / 35Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Michigan: 55
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,180
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 194
#2. Texas: 170
#3. Ohio: 146
#4. Pennsylvania: 132
#5. Missouri: 124
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11 / 35Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2023
To Michigan: 46
To the U.S. as a whole: 198
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 46
#2. New York: 26
#3. Georgia: 17
#4. Texas: 15
#5. North Carolina: 13
Dave Primov // Shutterstock
12 / 35Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Michigan: 35
To the U.S. as a whole: 2,410
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Texas: 286
#2. Washington: 253
#3. lowa: 162
#4. North Carolina: 141
#5. Maryland: 129
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13 / 35Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Michigan: 33
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
Rostasedlacek // Shutterstock
14 / 35Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2023
To Michigan: 28
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
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15 / 35Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Michigan: 22
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
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16 / 35Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Michigan: 19
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,447
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 524
#2. California: 248
#3. New York: 90
#4. Florida: 74
#5. South Carolina: 61
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17 / 35Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Michigan: 18
To the U.S. as a whole: 901
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 144
#2. Florida: 108
#3. New York: 62
#4. California: 48
#5. Georgia: 44
Andrew V Marcus // Shutterstock
18 / 35Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2023
To Michigan: 17
To the U.S. as a whole: 470
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. California: 277
#2. Texas: 53
#3. Michigan: 17
#4. Washington: 14
#4. Georgia: 14
Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock
19 / 35Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Michigan: 15
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
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20 / 35Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2023
To Michigan: 13
To the U.S. as a whole: 185
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 27
#2. New York: 24
#3. South Carolina: 23
#4. Missouri: 16
#5. Connecticut: 13
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21 / 35Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Michigan: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 856
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 120
#2. Texas: 88
#3. Virginia: 62
#4. Illinois: 57
#5. North Carolina: 56
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22 / 35Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To Michigan: 10
To the U.S. as a whole: 255
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Florida: 98
#2. Texas: 33
#3. New York: 12
#3. Maryland: 12
#5. Tennessee: 10
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23 / 35Refugees that arrived from Libya since October 2023
To Michigan: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 49
Top states receiving refugees from Libya
#1. Michigan: 9
#1. Pennsylvania: 9
#1. Texas: 9
#4. Utah: 8
#5. lowa: 7
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24 / 35Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Michigan: 7
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
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25 / 35Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To Michigan: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 120
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Pennsylvania: 13
#1. Texas: 13
#3. Minnesota: 9
#4. Nevada: 8
#5. Maryland: 7
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26 / 35Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Michigan: 6
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
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27 / 35Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To Michigan: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 78
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. Michigan: 6
#5. Arizona: 5
Oscar Espinosa // Shutterstock
28 / 35Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Michigan: 5
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
Vlad Karavaev // Shutterstock
29 / 35Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2023
To Michigan: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 46
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Missouri: 12
#2. Massachusetts: 6
#3. Michigan: 5
#3. Ohio: 5
#5. Washington: 4
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30 / 35Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To Michigan: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 256
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 41
#2. Florida: 31
#3. Nevada: 16
#3. Texas: 16
#5. Georgia: 15
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31 / 35Refugees that arrived from Nigeria since October 2023
To Michigan: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 111
Top states receiving refugees from Nigeria
#1. Illinois: 16
#2. Missouri: 14
#3. Arizona: 13
#3. North Carolina: 13
#5. Texas: 11
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32 / 35Refugees that arrived from Palestine since October 2023
To Michigan: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 30
Top states receiving refugees from Palestine
#1. Illinois: 10
#2. New Jersey: 4
#2. Ohio: 4
#2. Oregon: 4
#5. Michigan: 3
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33 / 35Refugees that arrived from The Gambia since October 2023
To Michigan: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 13
Top states receiving refugees from The Gambia
#1. Illinois: 4
#1. Texas: 4
#3. Michigan: 3
#4. Georgia: 2
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34 / 35Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Michigan: 3
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
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35 / 35Refugees that arrived from Jamaica since October 2023
To Michigan: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 12
Top states receiving refugees from Jamaica
#1. California: 2
#1. Colorado: 2
#1. Connecticut: 2
#1. Michigan: 2
#1. North Carolina: 2
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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