Where refugees in Alabama 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 December 2023, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Congo, Syria, 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 Alabama in December 2023.

December refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in December
To Alabama:
#1. Guatemala: 5
#2. Somalia: 1

To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Congo: 1,910
#2. Syria: 1,215
#3. Afghanistan: 1,071
#4. Burma: 393
#5. Guatemala: 321

States that accepted the most refugees in December:
#1. California: 561
#2. Texas: 476
#3. Washington: 399
#4. New York: 387
#5. Ohio: 362

Read on to see the countries that Alabama has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.

Katja Tsvetkova // Shutterstock

#1. Congo

Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To Alabama: 10

To the U.S. as a whole: 5,711
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Kentucky: 573
#2. Texas: 471
#3. Arizona: 414
#4. Ohio: 407
#5. New York: 352

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#2. Venezuela

Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To Alabama: 8

To the U.S. as a whole: 799
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 168
#2. Texas: 103
#3. Tennessee: 53
#4. Washington: 36
#5. Pennsylvania: 35

Lauren Squire // Shutterstock

#3. Guatemala

Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To Alabama: 5

To the U.S. as a whole: 785
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 99
#2. North Carolina: 64
#3. Texas: 59
#4. New York: 40
#5. Georgia: 39

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#4. El Salvador

Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To Alabama: 3

To the U.S. as a whole: 368
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. North Carolina: 48
#2. California: 44
#3. Maryland: 36
#4. Texas: 32
#5. Virginia: 26

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#5. Angola

Refugees that arrived from Angola since October 2023
To Alabama: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 1
Top states receiving refugees from Angola
#1. Alabama: 1

Dave Primov // Shutterstock

#5. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To Alabama: 1

To the U.S. as a whole: 770
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 289
#2. Ohio: 66
#3. Arizona: 45
#4. Missouri: 31
#5. Georgia: 30

This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 44 states.