Where refugees in Texas are arriving from

TEXAS - In the last 50 years, the United States has resettled more than three million refugees. Those fleeing violence, persecution and war are more likely to come to the United States.

The number of refugees admitted into the country per year is proposed by the president and requires congressional approval. After the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush suspended refugee admissions for several months due to national security concerns. From 2001 to 2015, caps on refugee admissions stayed between 70,000 and 80,000.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, in 2016, President Obama increased an earlier approved ceiling of 80,000 to allow in an additional 5,000 refugees as part of an effort to address a growing migration crisis caused by worsening conflict in Syria. Then in 2017, Obama proposed the U.S. set a ceiling of 110,000 refugee admissions. 

President Trump reversed Obama’s proposed ceiling by capping the number of refugees allowed into the country in FY2017 at 50,000. He lowered this ceiling further to 45,000 for 2018, then 30,000 for 2019, and 18,000 for 2020. His administration argued that the reduction was necessary to direct more government resources to the backlog of applications from nearly 800,000 asylum seekers who had reached the southern U.S. border.  Trump lowered the ceiling again to 15,000 for FY2021.

In May 2021, President Biden revised Trump’s annual admissions cap to 62,500 for the remainder of the year, and in October, he doubled the ceiling for FY 2022 to 125,000. Biden maintained the 125,000 cap for FY 2023 and FY 2024, with the majority of 2024 admission slots allocated for refugees from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

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.

Here are the numbers of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Texas in September 2024, according to the Refugee Processing Center.

September 2024 refugee statistics

Countries where refugees arrived from in September to Texas:

1. Venezuela: 551
2. Afghanistan: 275
3. Congo: 217
4. Myanmar: 216
5. Syria: 95
6. Eritrea: 79
7. Guatemala: 59
8. Nicaragua: 52
9. Somalia: 27
10. Iraq: 16
11. Republic of South Sudan: 15
12. Burundi: 14
13. Colombia: 13
14. Honduras: 12
15. Sudan: 12
16. Pakistan: 11
17. Central African Republic: 7
18. Ethiopia: 7
19. Iran: 6
20. El Salvador: 5
21. Nigeria: 4
22. Yemen: 4
23. Cuba: 3
24. Palestine: 2

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

Top 5 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

Top 5 states that accepted the most refugees in FY2024:

1. Texas: 9,764
2. California: 7,597
3. New York: 6,234
4. Florida: 4,578
5. Pennsylvania: 4,445

FY2024 refugee statistics

Countries where refugees arrived from Oct. 1, 2023 through Sept. 30, 2024 to Texas:

Venezuela - Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023 

• To Texas: 2,039
• To the U.S. as a whole: 12,878

Congo - Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023 

• To Texas: 1,791
• To the U.S. as a whole: 19,922

Afghanistan - Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023 

• To Texas: 1,574
• To the U.S. as a whole: 14,707

Myanmar - Refugees that arrived from Myanmar since October 2023 

• To Texas: 882
• To the U.S. as a whole: 7,347

Syria - Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023 

• To Texas: 676
• To the U.S. as a whole: 11,274

Guatemala - Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023 

• To Texas: 551
• To the U.S. as a whole: 5,017

Nicaragua - Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023 

• To Texas: 313
• To the U.S. as a whole: 3,299

Eritrea - Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023 

• To Texas: 286
• To the U.S. as a whole: 2,410

Iraq - Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October 2023 

• To Texas: 189
• To the U.S. as a whole: 2,278

Somalia - Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023 

• To Texas: 177
• To the U.S. as a whole: 4,801

Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela

1. Texas: 2,039
2. Florida: 1,883
3. Illinois: 664
4. New York: 514
5. Georgia: 512

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

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

Top states receiving refugees from Myanmar

1. Texas: 882
2. Illinois: 761
3. New York: 736
4. Wisconsin: 570
5. Georgia: 462

Top states receiving refugees from Syria

1. Michigan: 1,186
2. New York: 1,112
3. Pennsylvania: 954
4. California: 763
5. Texas: 676

Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala

1. California: 794
2. Texas: 551
3. Florida: 257
4. North Carolina: 255
5. New York: 219

Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua

1. Florida: 382
2. Texas: 313
3. California: 259
4. North Carolina: 139
5. Minnesota: 135

Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea

1. Texas: 286
2. Washington: 253
3. lowa: 162
4. North Carolina: 141
5. Maryland: 129

Top states receiving refugees from Iraq

1. California: 364
2. Michigan: 260
3. Texas: 189
4. Nebraska: 136
5. Illinois: 122

Top states receiving refugees from Somalia

1. Minnesota: 1,267
2. New York: 366
3. Ohio: 326
4. Arizona: 280
5. Missouri: 257