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Where refugees in New Jersey 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 June 2024, the greatest number of refugees admitted by the U.S. came from Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Congo. Each nation faces a unique set of circumstances that can make their citizens unsafe if they stay in their home country.
In Venezuela, over 7.5 million people have left the country due to extreme inflation, violence, food and medicine scarcity, and other factors. Most have resettled in Latin American and Caribbean countries. Afghan refugees have been fleeing to neighboring countries for decades, especially to Pakistan and Iran, which combined host over 8 million Afghans. 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.
Stacker referenced data from the Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in New Jersey in June 2024. Countries with only one refugee since October 2023 are not included.
June refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in June
To New Jersey:
#1. Venezuela: 22
#2. Afghanistan: 15
#3. Nicaragua: 11
#4. El Salvador: 6
#5. Guatemala: 4
#5. Haiti: 4
#5. Syria: 4
#8. Eritrea: 3
#8. Honduras: 3
#10. Somalia: 1
To the U.S. as a whole:
#1. Venezuela: 1,163
#2. Afghanistan: 1,093
#3. Congo: 615
#4. Syria: 422
#5. Somalia: 403
States that accepted the most refugees in June:
#1. Texas: 619
#2. California: 370
#3. New York: 355
#4. Florida: 339
#5. Arizona: 243
Read on to see the countries that New Jersey has accepted the most refugees from since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023.
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#1. Venezuela
Refugees that arrived from Venezuela since October 2023
To New Jersey: 180
To the U.S. as a whole: 5,616
Top states receiving refugees from Venezuela
#1. Florida: 933
#2. Texas: 802
#3. Illinois: 352
#4. Georgia: 253
#5. North Carolina: 204
#2. Guatemala
Refugees that arrived from Guatemala since October 2023
To New Jersey: 107
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,253
Top states receiving refugees from Guatemala
#1. California: 425
#2. Texas: 340
#3. Florida: 204
#4. North Carolina: 199
#5. Georgia: 136
#2. Syria
Refugees that arrived from Syria since October 2023
To New Jersey: 107
To the U.S. as a whole: 8,653
Top states receiving refugees from Syria
#1. New York: 857
#2. Michigan: 806
#3. Pennsylvania: 640
#4. Texas: 510
#5. California: 479
#4. Afghanistan
Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October 2023
To New Jersey: 71
To the U.S. as a whole: 9,974
Top states receiving refugees from Afghanistan
#1. California: 2,006
#2. Texas: 1,012
#3. Virginia: 854
#4. Washington: 605
#5. New York: 462
#5. El Salvador
Refugees that arrived from El Salvador since October 2023
To New Jersey: 61
To the U.S. as a whole: 987
Top states receiving refugees from El Salvador
#1. Texas: 134
#2. California: 114
#3. Maryland: 107
#4. Virginia: 74
#5. North Carolina: 70
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#6. Nicaragua
Refugees that arrived from Nicaragua since October 2023
To New Jersey: 47
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,921
Top states receiving refugees from Nicaragua
#1. Florida: 245
#2. Texas: 147
#3. California: 143
#4. Minnesota: 107
#5. Arizona: 88
#7. Honduras
Refugees that arrived from Honduras since October 2023
To New Jersey: 34
To the U.S. as a whole: 727
Top states receiving refugees from Honduras
#1. Texas: 118
#2. Florida: 87
#3. New York: 55
#4. California: 42
#4. Georgia: 42
#8. Colombia
Refugees that arrived from Colombia since October 2023
To New Jersey: 32
To the U.S. as a whole: 967
Top states receiving refugees from Colombia
#1. Florida: 124
#2. North Carolina: 91
#3. Texas: 81
#4. New York: 64
#5. Washington: 63
#9. Pakistan
Refugees that arrived from Pakistan since October 2023
To New Jersey: 22
To the U.S. as a whole: 704
Top states receiving refugees from Pakistan
#1. Pennsylvania: 101
#2. Texas: 73
#3. Virginia: 62
#4. New York: 49
#5. North Carolina: 46
#10. Congo
Refugees that arrived from Congo since October 2023
To New Jersey: 14
To the U.S. as a whole: 15,226
Top states receiving refugees from Congo
#1. Texas: 1,392
#2. Kentucky: 1,286
#3. Arizona: 1,050
#4. New York: 1,002
#5. Ohio: 966
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#11. Haiti
Refugees that arrived from Haiti since October 2023
To New Jersey: 8
To the U.S. as a whole: 187
Top states receiving refugees from Haiti
#1. Pennsylvania: 29
#2. Florida: 26
#3. Texas: 14
#3. Georgia: 14
#5. Missouri: 12
#12. Eritrea
Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October 2023
To New Jersey: 7
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,613
Top states receiving refugees from Eritrea
#1. Washington: 162
#1. Texas: 162
#3. North Carolina: 104
#4. Iowa: 98
#5. Ohio: 97
#13. Niger
Refugees that arrived from Niger since October 2023
To New Jersey: 6
To the U.S. as a whole: 6
Top states receiving refugees from Niger
#1. New Jersey: 6
#14. Cuba
Refugees that arrived from Cuba since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 130
Top states receiving refugees from Cuba
#1. Florida: 51
#2. Texas: 17
#3. Tennessee: 10
#4. New York: 9
#5. Washington: 6
#14. Cameroon
Refugees that arrived from Cameroon since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 102
Top states receiving refugees from Cameroon
#1. Texas: 13
#1. Pennsylvania: 13
#3. Nevada: 8
#4. Maryland: 7
#4. California: 7
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#14. Sri Lanka
Refugees that arrived from Sri Lanka since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 9
Top states receiving refugees from Sri Lanka
#1. Texas: 5
#2. New Jersey: 4
#14. Ukraine
Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October 2023
To New Jersey: 4
To the U.S. as a whole: 1,263
Top states receiving refugees from Ukraine
#1. Washington: 483
#2. California: 201
#3. New York: 75
#4. Florida: 66
#5. Ohio: 54
#18. Guinea
Refugees that arrived from Guinea since October 2023
To New Jersey: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 75
Top states receiving refugees from Guinea
#1. Colorado: 15
#2. Georgia: 9
#3. North Carolina: 7
#4. Arizona: 5
#4. Michigan: 5
#18. Palestine
Refugees that arrived from Palestine since October 2023
To New Jersey: 3
To the U.S. as a whole: 14
Top states receiving refugees from Palestine
#1. Illinois: 9
#2. New Jersey: 3
#3. Georgia: 2
#20. Somalia
Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October 2023
To New Jersey: 2
To the U.S. as a whole: 3,185
Top states receiving refugees from Somalia
#1. Minnesota: 959
#2. Ohio: 219
#3. New York: 208
#4. Arizona: 171
#5. Missouri: 150
This story features data reporting and writing by Emma Rubin and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 46 states.
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