Which States Take in the Most Refugees?

In the year 2016, the US government admitted 84,995 refugees. Settlement of these refugees varied differently in that depending on states. Some states were found to take a large number of refugees while other states settled few with some counties in some states not resettling any refugee at all. According to the analysis by the Pew Research Centre, California, Texas and New York admitted the highest number of refugees in the fiscal year 2016 while Arkansas and the District of Columbia resettled very few refugees resettling less than 10 each. Hawaii and Delaware did not admit any refugee at all.

Analysis

1. California – 7,909

In the fiscal year 2016, California resettled the highest number of refugees, topping the list with 7,909 refugees who represented 9.3% of the total amount of refugees admitted in the nation. A big number of the refugees that settled in California were from Syria. Out of the 7,909 refugees admitted 1,454 were of Syrian origin.

2. Texas – 7,803

Texas recorded the second highest number of resettlement in the fiscal year 2016. This represented the second highest percentage of refugees resettled in a single state that fiscal year. The high admission led the Texan Governor declaring that they his state would not participate in refugee resettlement any longer because the security of the Texans was at stake.

3. New York – 5,026

New York comes third after resettling 5,026 refugees in the fiscal year 2016. In that year one Onondaga County settled 1,466 refugees that were from the Democratic Republic of Congo that is found in Central Africa. The rest of the refugees came from all over the world. 94% of the number of refugees accepted in New York did not live in the New York City. The county to record the highest resettlement was the Erie County at 36% followed by Onondaga County at 25%. New York City only resettled 5.6% out of the 5,026.

The above three states resettled 20 738 refugees who represented 24% of the refugees received by the United States in the fiscal year 2016. Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, North Carolina, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Illinois represent other sites who took in a significant number of refugees.

Conclusion

From the above analysis about the states that resettled the highest number of refugees, most of these states are also highly populated. The cause of the varying number of refugees that were admitted in different states is down to the rules put in place by state governors. Some states refuse to admit Syrian refugees because of fear of the security of their people. With the new U.S president, the number of refugees admitted is expected to drop considering his hard stand concerning the admission of foreigners to the U.S.