Iraq, Burma, Bhutan and Somalia account for well over half of all refugees admitted into the U.S. over the past few years. And while most end up in the largest states, the nation’s smallest states such as the Dakotas accept more refugees as a share of their population.
Those are the findings from a survey of the federal government’s Office of Refugee Resettlement for the most recent fiscal year that ended in September. The U.S. admitted nearly 70,000 refugees — people fleeing religious or other persecution — in fiscal 2014. About the same number gained entry in the prior year.
The fate of refugees has become a political fire-starter in the past few weeks, pitting Republicans against the Obama administration over whether to allow 10,000 fleeing Syrians into the U.S. But until now only a few hundred Syrians a year have been granted refugee status.
In fiscal 2014, some 19,651 Iraqis were given refuge in the U.S., reflecting on ongoing trend after years of violence following the American overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein. They accounted for 28% of all refugees. Next in line was Burma (14,577), Somalia (9,011) and Bhutan (8,316).
Texas, California, New York, and Florida, the nation’s four largest states in terms of population, became the destination for the most number of refugees.
Relative to their population, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Nebraska and Vermont were the top five recipients of refugees.
New York was 27th and California just 36th on a per-capita basis.