Where Refugees in New Mexico Are Arriving From

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Where refugees in New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico:
#1. Colombia: 17
#2. Venezuela: 14
#3. Myanmar: 5
#3. El Salvador: 5
#3. Nicaragua: 5
#6. Cameroon: 4
#7. Guatemala: 2
#8. Cuba: 1
#8. Congo: 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 New Mexico has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

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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 New Mexico: 82

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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#2. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To New Mexico: 69

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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#3. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To New Mexico: 51

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

Pedestrians on a street in Bogota, Columbia

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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#4. Colombia

Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To New Mexico: 44

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 walking by a Cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua

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#5. Nicaragua

Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To New Mexico: 35

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

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Men gathered in the streets with motorcycles in Juba

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#6. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2023
To New Mexico: 34

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

People buying spices at a street market in Damascus

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#7. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To New Mexico: 32

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

Daily scene of tuktuks, street stalls and motorbikes in San Pedro

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#8. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To New Mexico: 26

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

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

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#9. Pakistan

Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To New Mexico: 24

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

A horse-drawn taxi passes through a busy shopping area

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#10. Myanmar

Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023
To New Mexico: 14

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

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#11. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To New Mexico: 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

People selling bananas at a street market in Huye

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#11. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2023
To New Mexico: 7

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

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 New Mexico: 6

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

A distant view of the Havana skyline in Cuba.

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#13. Cuba

Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To New Mexico: 6

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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Matyas Rehak // Shutterstock

#13. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2023
To New Mexico: 6

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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A distant view of Mount Victoria in Cameroon.

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#16. Cameroon

Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To New Mexico: 4

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

Woman crossing road by Medlar Market in Asmara

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#16. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To New Mexico: 4

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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#16. Cambodia

Refugees that arrived from Cambodia since October 2023
To New Mexico: 4

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

A distant view of homes on a hillside in Haiti.

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#19. Haiti

Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To New Mexico: 3

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

Group of children playing soccer on a rural road

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#20. Central African Republic

Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2023
To New Mexico: 2

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

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#20. Guinea

Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To New Mexico: 2

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

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 48 states.