Stacker compiled countries where refugees are arriving from in Virginia using data from the Refugee Processing Center.
Where refugees in Virginia are arriving from
Updated
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday, May 9 that roughly 6,000 Ukrainian refugees were approved for temporary entry into the U.S. as part of a program designed to fast-track the admission of 100,000 people displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine. While similar expedited processes have been used in the past, refugee admissions to the U.S. are typically lower and slower.
The U.S. passed the Refugee Act of 1980 to accommodate hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodians fleeing their homes in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The act pledges to respond to the urgent needs of people around the world who are subject to persecution or have a well-founded fear of persecution often on the basis of race, religion, nationality, social affiliation, or political opinion in their home countries.
Historically, the U.S. has resettled more refugees than any other country. However, despite a decade-long increase in the number of refugees around the world, America’s response to these urgent needs in recent years has been hindered by politics.
In 2021, just 11,411 refugees, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Burma, were admitted to the U.S. under a ceiling of 62,500—the lowest number since the Refugee Act of 1980 was enacted.
Since 2017, refugee resettlement capacity in the U.S. has been reduced by 38%. The country’s resettlement rate dropped 86% in roughly that same period.
In addition to policies that have gutted government agencies responsible for resettlement and created processing roadblocks for applicants—it takes an average of two years to vet refugees for resettlement in the U.S.—fewer refugees in the last five years has resulted in less funding for the programs that still exist. More than 130 resettlement sites around the country have closed due to a lack of funding.
Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Virginia in April 2022.
April refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in April
Virginia
#1. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 19
#2. Syria: 13
#3. Afghanistan: 11
#4. Colombia: 7
#5. El Salvador: 6
#6. Iran: 2
#7. Ukraine: 2
National
#1. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 551
#2. Syria: 539
#3. Burma: 226
#4. Afghanistan: 151
#5. Ukraine: 105
States that accepted the most refugees in April
#1. California: 160
#2. Texas: 143
#3. Michigan: 129
#4. New York: 108
#5. Kentucky: 105
Read on to see the countries that Virginia has accepted the most refugees from since October
#1. Democratic Republic of the Congo
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Democratic Republic of the Congo since October
Virginia: 59
National: 2,528
Top states
#1. Kentucky: 304
#2. Texas: 243
#3. Michigan: 152
#4. Arizona: 147
#5. Ohio: 128
#2. Syria
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October
Virginia: 47
National: 2,511
Top states
#1. California: 274
#2. Michigan: 263
#3. Pennsylvania: 182
#4. New York: 179
#5. Florida: 150
#3. Afghanistan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October
Virginia: 36
National: 313
Top states
#1. Colorado: 39
#2. California: 38
#3. Virginia: 36
#4. Washington: 26
#5. Texas: 25
#4. El Salvador
Updated
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October
Virginia: 25
National: 284
Top states
#1. California: 69
#2. Maryland: 34
#3. Virginia: 25
#4. New York: 19
#5. Texas: 18
#5. Honduras
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October
Virginia: 20
National: 249
Top states
#1. Florida: 26
#2. Texas: 25
#3. Massachusetts: 24
#4. Virginia: 20
#5. North Carolina: 17
#6. Guatemala
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October
Virginia: 19
National: 489
Top states
#1. California: 106
#2. Texas: 60
#3. New Jersey: 49
#4. Georgia: 30
#5. Arizona: 23
#7. Burma
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October
Virginia: 15
National: 928
Top states
#1. New York: 133
#2. Wisconsin: 121
#3. Texas: 90
#4. Indiana: 59
#5. North Carolina: 58
#8. Iran
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October
Virginia: 15
National: 111
Top states
#1. California: 27
#2. Georgia: 16
#3. Virginia: 15
#4. Texas: 13
#5. Arizona: 5
#9. Ukraine
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October
Virginia: 9
National: 809
Top states
#1. Washington: 243
#2. California: 159
#3. Pennsylvania: 50
#4. Missouri: 42
#5. Ohio: 38
#10. Sudan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October
Virginia: 8
National: 1,170
Top states
#1. Texas: 100
#2. North Carolina: 91
#3. New York: 65
#4. Idaho: 57
#5. Illinois: 56
#11. Colombia
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October
Virginia: 7
National: 41
Top states
#1. California: 7
#2. Virginia: 7
#3. Tennessee: 7
#4. New Jersey: 6
#5. Washington: 6
#12. Republic of South Sudan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October
Virginia: 7
National: 216
Top states
#1. Arizona: 41
#2. Maryland: 24
#3. Utah: 20
#4. Texas: 19
#5. Missouri: 19
#13. Bhutan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Bhutan since October
Virginia: 4
National: 14
Top states
#1. Georgia: 4
#2. Virginia: 4
#3. Ohio: 3
#4. Minnesota: 3
#14. Pakistan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October
Virginia: 2
National: 21
Top states
#1. Ohio: 6
#2. California: 5
#3. New York: 3
#4. Wisconsin: 3
#5. Virginia: 2
#15. Eritrea
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October
Virginia: 1
National: 102
Top states
#1. Iowa: 14
#2. Minnesota: 10
#3. Arizona: 10
#4. Maryland: 9
#5. Ohio: 9
#13. Bhutan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Bhutan since October
Virginia: 4
National: 14
Top states
#1. Georgia: 4
#2. Virginia: 4
#3. Ohio: 3
#4. Minnesota: 3
#1. Afghanistan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October
Virginia: 105
National: 846
Top states
#1. California: 158
#2. Texas: 105
#2. Virginia: 105
#4. Colorado: 76
#5. Washington: 56
#2. Democratic Republic of the Congo
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Democratic Republic of the Congo since October
Virginia: 80
National: 3,735
Top states
#1. Kentucky: 440
#2. Texas: 381
#3. Arizona: 218
#4. Michigan: 199
#5. New York: 196
#3. Syria
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October
Virginia: 72
National: 3,525
Top states
#1. California: 399
#2. Michigan: 351
#3. Pennsylvania: 266
#4. New York: 252
#5. Texas: 237
#4. El Salvador
Updated
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October
Virginia: 26
National: 360
Top states
#1. California: 84
#2. Maryland: 59
#3. New York: 29
#4. Virginia: 26
#5. North Carolina: 22
#5. Guatemala
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October
Virginia: 22
National: 701
Top states
#1. California: 148
#2. Texas: 94
#3. New Jersey: 53
#4. Georgia: 38
#5. Pennsylvania: 33
#6. Honduras
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October
Virginia: 20
National: 286
Top states
#1. Texas: 34
#2. Florida: 31
#3. New Jersey: 28
#4. Massachusetts: 26
#5. California: 22
#7. Burma
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Burma since October
Virginia: 19
National: 1,129
Top states
#1. New York: 164
#2. Wisconsin: 142
#3. Texas: 114
#4. Georgia: 77
#5. Indiana: 71
#8. Iran
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Iran since October
Virginia: 16
National: 195
Top states
#1. California: 48
#2. Texas: 29
#3. Virginia: 16
#3. Georgia: 16
#5. Arizona: 12
#8. Sudan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October
Virginia: 16
National: 1,308
Top states
#1. North Carolina: 104
#2. Texas: 101
#3. New York: 72
#4. Arizona: 64
#5. Idaho: 63
#10. Ukraine
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October
Virginia: 9
National: 1,028
Top states
#1. Washington: 300
#2. California: 202
#3. Missouri: 58
#4. South Carolina: 56
#5. New York: 54
#10. Colombia
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October
Virginia: 9
National: 90
Top states
#1. New Jersey: 15
#2. North Carolina: 11
#3. Virginia: 9
#4. New York: 8
#5. California: 7
#12. Republic of South Sudan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October
Virginia: 8
National: 225
Top states
#1. Arizona: 41
#2. Maryland: 25
#3. Utah: 20
#4. Texas: 19
#4. Missouri: 19
#13. Eritrea
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October
Virginia: 6
National: 146
Top states
#1. Arizona: 14
#1. Iowa: 14
#3. Texas: 13
#4. Washington: 11
#5. Minnesota: 10
#13. Iraq
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Iraq since October
Virginia: 6
National: 331
Top states
#1. Michigan: 50
#2. California: 46
#3. Texas: 37
#4. New York: 25
#5. Pennsylvania: 24
#15. Bhutan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Bhutan since October
Virginia: 4
National: 14
Top states
#1. Georgia: 4
#1. Virginia: 4
#3. Ohio: 3
#3. Minnesota: 3
#16. Pakistan
Updated
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October
Virginia: 2
National: 35
Top states
#1. California: 10
#2. New York: 7
#3. Ohio: 6
#4. South Carolina: 3
#4. Wisconsin: 3
Originally published on stacker.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.