(Stacker) — 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 2022, twice the 2021 total.
Refugee arrivals in 2023 are on track to outpace the two previous years, with over 44,000 refugees arriving since January.
In August 2023, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Syria, Congo, and Afghanistan. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
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. Syria has seen more than 5 million refugees flee to neighboring nations since 2011 while a longstanding civil war rages, with an additional 6.8 million people forced from their homes and seeking refuge elsewhere in the country. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans.
Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Texas in August 2023.
August refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in August
To Texas:
#1. Congo: 114
#2. Syria: 88
#3. Afghanistan: 59
#4. Burma: 37
#5. Iran: 26
#6. Sudan: 24
#7. Venezuela: 18
#8. Iraq: 16
#9. Somalia: 11
#10. Honduras: 7
#11. El Salvador: 6
#12. Nicaragua: 5
#13. Guatemala: 4
#13. Pakistan: 4
#15. Senegal: 2
#16. Russia: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Syria: 1,429
#2. Congo: 1,085
#3. Afghanistan: 710
#4. Burma: 479
#5. Guatemala: 292
States that accepted the most refugees in August:
#1. California: 562
#2. Texas: 422
#3. New York: 384
#4. Illinois: 283
#5. North Carolina: 274
Read on to see the countries that Texas has accepted the most refugees from since October 2022.
1. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2022
To Texas: 1,551
To the U.S. as a whole: 15,675
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,551
#2. Kentucky: 1,542
#3. Ohio: 1,173
#4. Arizona: 1,021
#5. New York: 821
2. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2022
To Texas: 623
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,725
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 1,105
#2. Texas: 623
#3. Virginia: 614
#4. New York: 364
#5. Washington: 341
3. Burma
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October 2022
To Texas: 598
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,717
Top states receiving refugees from Burma
#1. Wisconsin: 637
#2. Texas: 598
#3. Indiana: 580
#4. New York: 523
#5. Illinois: 484
4. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2022
To Texas: 594
To the U.S. as a whole: 8,238
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. Michigan: 810
#2. New York: 645
#3. Texas: 594
#4. Pennsylvania: 557
#5. California: 541
5. Iran
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October 2022
To Texas: 150
To the U.S. as a whole: 675
Top states receiving refugees from Iran
#1. Texas: 150
#2. California: 145
#3. Washington: 75
#4. Georgia: 43
#5. Nevada: 27
6. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2022
To Texas: 131
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,129
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 236
#2. Texas: 131
#3. Pennsylvania: 62
#4. North Carolina: 53
#5. Colorado: 51
7. Iraq
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2022
To Texas: 126
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,061
Top states receiving refugees from Iraq
#1. Michigan: 146
#2. California: 142
#3. Texas: 126
#4. Washington: 65
#5. Illinois: 63
8. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2022
To Texas: 95
To the U.S. as a whole: 957
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. California: 96
#2. Texas: 95
#3. North Carolina: 87
#4. New York: 82
#5. Maryland: 81
9. Central African Republic
Refugees that arrived from Central African Republic since October 2022
To Texas: 92
To the U.S. as a whole: 597
Top states receiving refugees from Central African Republic
#1. Texas: 92
#2. Colorado: 52
#3. Georgia: 40
#4. Arizona: 39
#5. Oregon: 37
10. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2022
To Texas: 76
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,563
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 219
#2. Florida: 139
#3. Pennsylvania: 109
#4. North Carolina: 97
#5. New York: 87
11. Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October 2022
To Texas: 74
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,505
Top states receiving refugees from Sudan
#1. Ohio: 116
#2. Illinois: 99
#3. Georgia: 96
#4. New York: 85
#5. Nebraska: 79
12. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2022
To Texas: 71
To the U.S. as a whole: 547
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Florida: 72
#2. Texas: 71
#3. North Carolina: 42
#4. Maryland: 31
#4. Massachusetts: 31
13. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2022
To Texas: 68
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,085
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. New York: 126
#2. Florida: 119
#3. North Carolina: 108
#4. New Jersey: 85
#5. Pennsylvania: 75
14. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2022
To Texas: 65
To the U.S. as a whole: 867
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Ohio: 81
#2. Washington: 73
#3. Texas: 65
#4. Colorado: 48
#5. New York: 46
15. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2022
To Texas: 37
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,034
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 330
#2. Ohio: 88
#3. Arizona: 58
#4. Washington: 51
#5. New York: 44
16. Burundi
Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October 2022
To Texas: 32
To the U.S. as a whole: 272
Top states receiving refugees from Burundi
#1. Iowa: 38
#2. Texas: 32
#3. Pennsylvania: 23
#4. Missouri: 21
#5. Michigan: 15
17. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2022
To Texas: 26
To the U.S. as a whole: 391
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 56
#2. New York: 43
#3. Virginia: 40
#4. California: 38
#5. Georgia: 35
18. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2022
To Texas: 20
To the U.S. as a whole: 156
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 29
#2. Texas: 20
#3. Arizona: 10
#3. Maryland: 10
#3. Massachusetts: 10
19. Ethiopia
Refugees that arrived from Ethiopia since October 2022
To Texas: 12
To the U.S. as a whole: 362
Top states receiving refugees from Ethiopia
#1. Minnesota: 145
#2. Washington: 31
#3. New York: 19
#4. Georgia: 17
#5. Colorado: 16
20. Vietnam
Refugees that arrived from Vietnam since October 2022
To Texas: 11
To the U.S. as a whole: 30
Top states receiving refugees from Vietnam
#1. Texas: 11
#2. North Carolina: 8
#2. Oregon: 8
#4. Alabama: 3
21. Senegal
Refugees that arrived from Senegal since October 2022
To Texas: 9
To the U.S. as a whole: 86
Top states receiving refugees from Senegal
#1. Illinois: 12
#2. Texas: 9
#2. Massachusetts: 9
#4. South Carolina: 8
#5. North Carolina: 7
22. Turkey
Refugees that arrived from Turkey since October 2022
To Texas: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 8
Top states receiving refugees from Turkey
#1. Texas: 8
23. Republic of South Sudan
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October 2022
To Texas: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 455
Top states receiving refugees from Republic of South Sudan
#1. New York: 49
#2. North Carolina: 32
#3. Maryland: 30
#4. Minnesota: 28
#4. Washington: 28
24. China
Refugees that arrived from China since October 2022
To Texas: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 15
Top states receiving refugees from China
#1. Texas: 6
#2. California: 4
#3. New York: 3
#4. Colorado: 1
#4. Georgia: 1
25. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2022
To Texas: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,303
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 412
#2. California: 241
#3. New York: 95
#4. Ohio: 72
#5. Pennsylvania: 61
25. Yemen
Refugees that arrived from Yemen since October 2022
To Texas: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 158
Top states receiving refugees from Yemen
#1. Michigan: 21
#1. New York: 21
#3. Illinois: 17
#4. Virginia: 15
#4. North Carolina: 15
25. Cuba
Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2022
To Texas: 5
To the U.S. as a whole: 27
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Washington: 9
#2. Florida: 8
#3. Texas: 5
#4. Nevada: 3
#5. Georgia: 1
28. Sri Lanka
Refugees that arrived from Sri Lanka since October 2022
To Texas: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 13
Top states receiving refugees from Sri Lanka
#1. New York: 5
#2. Texas: 4
#3. Minnesota: 2
#3. New Jersey: 2
29. Tunisia
Refugees that arrived from Tunisia since October 2022
To Texas: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 2
Top states receiving refugees from Tunisia
#1. Texas: 2
29. Moldova
Refugees that arrived from Moldova since October 2022
To Texas: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 442
Top states receiving refugees from Moldova
#1. Washington: 116
#2. California: 99
#3. Massachusetts: 54
#4. Minnesota: 32
#4. North Carolina: 32
31. Rwanda
Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October 2022
To Texas: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 66
Top states receiving refugees from Rwanda
#1. Ohio: 14
#2. Illinois: 11
#3. North Carolina: 6
#3. Pennsylvania: 6
#3. South Carolina: 6
31. Russia
Refugees that arrived from Russia since October 2022
To Texas: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 234
Top states receiving refugees from Russia
#1. California: 67
#2. Washington: 57
#3. Oregon: 26
#4. Ohio: 11
#5. Minnesota: 9
31. Uganda
Refugees that arrived from Uganda since October 2022
To Texas: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 38
Top states receiving refugees from Uganda
#1. Ohio: 6
#2. Arizona: 4
#2. Colorado: 4
#2. Illinois: 4
#2. New Jersey: 4
31. Bangladesh
Refugees that arrived from Bangladesh since October 2022
To Texas: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Bangladesh
#1. Texas: 1
31. Mali
Refugees that arrived from Mali since October 2022
To Texas: 1
To the U.S. as a whole: 26
Top states receiving refugees from Mali
#1. Pennsylvania: 6
#2. North Carolina: 4
#3. Arizona: 2
#3. Louisiana: 2
#3. Massachusetts: 2