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Where refugees in Minnesota are arriving from

Written by:
Stacker
July 11, 2024
Robsonphoto // Shutterstock

Where refugees in Minnesota 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 June 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Venezuela, 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 Minnesota in June 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.

June refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in June
To Minnesota:
#1. Somalia: 63
#2. Nicaragua: 17
#3. Afghanistan: 14
#4. Syria: 12
#5. Eritrea: 11
#6. Myanmar: 9
#7. Venezuela: 8
#8. Sudan: 4
#9. Ethiopia: 3
#9. Vietnam: 3

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 1,163
#2. Afghanistan: 1,093
#3. Congo: 615
#4. Syria: 422
#5. Somalia: 403

States that accepted the most refugees in June:
#1. Texas: 619
#2. California: 370
#3. New York: 355
#4. Florida: 339
#5. Arizona: 243

Read on to see the countries that Minnesota has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

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

#1. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Minnesota: 959

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,185
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 959
#2. Ohio: 219
#3. New York: 208
#4. Arizona: 171
#5. Missouri: 150

A horse-drawn taxi passes through a busy shopping area
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Chantal de Bruijne // Shutterstock

#2. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To Minnesota: 146

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,034
Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar
#1. Texas: 581
#2. Illinois: 545
#3. New York: 492
#4. Wisconsin: 369
#5. Georgia: 362

Woman carries basket through street in Bukavu
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Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#3. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Minnesota: 144

To the U.S. as a whole: 15,226
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,392
#2. Kentucky: 1,286
#3. Arizona: 1,050
#4. New York: 1,002
#5. Ohio: 966

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

#4. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To Minnesota: 108

To the U.S. as a whole: 8,653
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 857
#2. Michigan: 806
#3. Pennsylvania: 640
#4. Texas: 510
#5. California: 479

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

#5. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To Minnesota: 107

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,921
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 245
#2. Texas: 147
#3. California: 143
#4. Minnesota: 107
#5. Arizona: 88

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People walking on the street in Aksum
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Artush // Shutterstock

#6. Ethiopia

Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2023
To Minnesota: 98

To the U.S. as a whole: 339
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 98
#2. Texas: 31
#3. Washington: 28
#4. Ohio: 27
#5. Georgia: 25

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

#7. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To Minnesota: 95

To the U.S. as a whole: 9,974
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 2,006
#2. Texas: 1,012
#3. Virginia: 854
#4. Washington: 605
#5. New York: 462

Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara
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Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#8. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To Minnesota: 89

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,613
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Washington: 162
#1. Texas: 162
#3. North Carolina: 104
#4. Iowa: 98
#5. Ohio: 97

An aerial view of caracas, Venezuela.
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Canva

#9. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Minnesota: 83

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,616
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 933
#2. Texas: 802
#3. Illinois: 352
#4. Georgia: 253
#5. North Carolina: 204

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

#10. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Minnesota: 55

To the U.S. as a whole: 3,253
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 425
#2. Texas: 340
#3. Florida: 204
#4. North Carolina: 199
#5. Georgia: 136

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An aerial view of islands an boats in Vietmnam.
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Canva

#11. Vietnam

Refugees that arrived from Vietnam since October 2023
To Minnesota: 52

To the U.S. as a whole: 100
Top states receiving refugees from Vietnam
#1. Minnesota: 52
#2. North Carolina: 27
#3. Oklahoma: 7
#4. Arkansas: 5
#5. Illinois: 3

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

#12. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To Minnesota: 49

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,045
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. Texas: 101
#2. Nebraska: 95
#3. New York: 85
#4. Colorado: 66
#4. Arizona: 66

Many people on a dirt street in Shendi
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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#13. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To Minnesota: 32

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,544
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. New York: 134
#2. Ohio: 118
#3. Texas: 112
#4. Missouri: 100
#5. Pennsylvania: 95

Woman carrying child to Lviv train station on snowy day
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Ruslan Lytvyn // Shutterstock

#14. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To Minnesota: 28

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,263
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 483
#2. California: 201
#3. New York: 75
#4. Florida: 66
#5. Ohio: 54

Woman and child on busy market street of Copan
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amnat30 // Shutterstock

#14. Honduras

Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To Minnesota: 28

To the U.S. as a whole: 727
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 118
#2. Florida: 87
#3. New York: 55
#4. California: 42
#4. Georgia: 42

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

#16. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To Minnesota: 20

To the U.S. as a whole: 967
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 124
#2. North Carolina: 91
#3. Texas: 81
#4. New York: 64
#5. Washington: 63

People crossing a busy street near Moscow’s business center
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YuryKara // Shutterstock

#16. Russia

Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2023
To Minnesota: 20

To the U.S. as a whole: 295
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. Washington: 77
#2. California: 62
#3. Oregon: 24
#4. North Carolina: 22
#5. Minnesota: 20

A panoramic view of Minsk, Belarus.
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karp5 // Shutterstock

#16. Belarus

Refugees that arrived from Belarus since October 2023
To Minnesota: 20

To the U.S. as a whole: 295
Top states receiving refugees from Belarus
#1. Washington: 70
#2. California: 50
#3. New York: 27
#4. Massachusetts: 26
#5. Pennsylvania: 24

People shopping at Pieta Central market in Chisinau
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JackKPhoto // Shutterstock

#19. Moldova

Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2023
To Minnesota: 17

To the U.S. as a whole: 320
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 100
#2. California: 97
#3. Florida: 24
#4. Oregon: 22
#5. Minnesota: 17

Elevated view of Baghdad street scene
20 / 29
Focus and Blur // Shutterstock

#20. Iraq

Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023
To Minnesota: 12

To the U.S. as a whole: 1,300
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. California: 209
#2. Michigan: 172
#3. Texas: 106
#4. Nebraska: 71
#5. Arizona: 67

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People walking through the Chitta Gate in the old town area of Lahore
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W_NAMKET // Shutterstock

#21. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To Minnesota: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 704
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 101
#2. Texas: 73
#3. Virginia: 62
#4. New York: 49
#5. North Carolina: 46

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

#21. Republic of Congo

Refugees that arrived from Republic of Congo since October 2023
To Minnesota: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 338
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of Congo
#1. Missouri: 32
#2. Pennsylvania: 28
#3. New York: 25
#3. Illinois: 25
#5. South Carolina: 24

People standing in front of shops by roadside
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Beata Tabak // Shutterstock

#23. Ivory Coast

Refugees that arrived from Ivory Coast since October 2023
To Minnesota: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 63
Top states receiving refugees from Ivory Coast
#1. Pennsylvania: 10
#2. Minnesota: 8
#3. Massachusetts: 7
#4. Arkansas: 6
#5. Florida: 4

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

#24. Central African Republic

Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To Minnesota: 7

To the U.S. as a whole: 725
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Missouri: 75
#2. Texas: 72
#3. Michigan: 55
#4. Georgia: 43
#5. North Carolina: 40

A distant view of homes on a hillside in Haiti.
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Canva

#24. Haiti

Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To Minnesota: 7

To the U.S. as a whole: 187
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 29
#2. Florida: 26
#3. Texas: 14
#3. Georgia: 14
#5. Missouri: 12

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

#26. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To Minnesota: 6

To the U.S. as a whole: 201
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Texas: 49
#2. South Carolina: 12
#2. Kentucky: 12
#2. Arizona: 12
#5. North Carolina: 11

An aerial view of El Salvador.
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Canva

#27. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Minnesota: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 987
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 134
#2. California: 114
#3. Maryland: 107
#4. Virginia: 74
#5. North Carolina: 70

An aerial view of the Sahara in Chad.
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Canva

#28. Chad

Refugees that arrived from Chad since October 2023
To Minnesota: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 2
Top states receiving refugees from Chad
#1. Minnesota: 2

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

#28. Cambodia

Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To Minnesota: 2

To the U.S. as a whole: 53
Top states receiving refugees from Cambodia
#1. Texas: 17
#2. North Carolina: 6
#2. 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 46 states.

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