These crises are the most recent in a long line of conflicts forcing people from their homes. A look at where refugees to the U. Of the 84, refugees admitted to the United States in fiscal year , the largest numbers came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Burma Myanmar and Iraq.
Note: For more on refugees, including those to the U. Historically, waves of refugees to the U. In the s, waves of refugees came to the U. However, refugee admittance dropped off steeply in the wake of the terrorist attacks in The total annual number of refugees has trended upward since then. The U. Code defines a refugee as any person outside of the U. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Modern waves of refugees arriving in the U. Refugee Act. The law established the Office of Refugee Resettlement , raised overall refugee quotas and provided a provision to deal with special humanitarian concerns. This was largely in response to the massive waves of refugees coming to the U. Since the passage of the Refugee Act in , which incorporated this definition of refugee into the INA, the United States has admitted more than 3.
Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Refugee Admissions. Refugee Admissions Share Share this page on:. For example, although refugees from Myanmar have been the largest group admitted to the United States since FY , they were the top group in just 19 states.
Eight states, including California and Michigan, resettled more Iraqis than any other nationality over the past decade, while Florida and New Jersey received more Cuban refugees than any other group. Ukrainians were the top group only in Washington state see Figure 5.
Figure 5. Largest Refugee Nationality by U. State of Initial Resettlement, FY Since , some states and localities have become increasingly vocal about having greater input in the resettlement process, citing concerns such as limited federal funding, use of local resources, and potential national-security threats. President Trump tried to require states to opt into the refugee resettlement program, but his executive order was blocked by a federal court.
Overall, the United States admitted more Christian refugees in the past decade than those of any other religion. Between FY and FY , Christians represented 48 percent , of the , refugees with known religious affiliation.
The share of Christians among all refugees was much higher for some nationalities, including some of most common groups. For instance, 95 percent of all refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 85 percent from Eritrea, 70 percent from Myanmar, and 50 percent from Iran reported being Christians.
During the same period, 33 percent , of all refugees admitted to the United States were Muslim. Virtually all refugees from Somalia and Syria were Muslim, as were 67 percent of refugees from Iraq. FY marked the only time since when the United States resettled more Muslim refugees 46 percent, or 38, individuals than Christians 44 percent, or 37, individuals see Figure 6.
Figure 6. The U. Individuals with critical medical conditions or disabilities, and families with young children are typically prioritized for resettlement. Between FY and FY , 64 percent of all refugees admitted to the United States were children under age 14 and women see Figure 7. Figure 7. In FY the most recent data available , 46, persons were granted asylum either affirmatively or defensively, a 24 percent increase from the nearly 37, who received asylum in , according to the DHS Yearbook of Immigration Statistics.
Of these, 59 percent more than 27, individuals were granted asylum affirmatively, while the remaining 41 percent, or nearly 18, individuals, were granted asylum defensively.
See Box for explanation of the differences between affirmative and defensive asylum. An individual seeking entry with a visa or already present in the United States may decide to submit an asylum request through the affirmative process with U. However, if a foreign national has no lawful means of entering the country and asks for asylum, or if he or she is apprehended as an unauthorized migrant and an asylum request is filed, the case is adjudicated in immigration court, as part of a defensive application.
For both defensive and affirmative applications, the person is obligated to file for asylum within one year of entering the country. During an affirmative asylum interview, an asylum officer will determine whether the applicant meets the definition of a refugee.
An asylum application may be approved, denied, or sent to the courts for further review. If a claim is denied in immigration court, an applicant may appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals or, in some cases, the federal courts.
Additionally, more than 9, individuals who resided both outside 6, and inside approximately 3, the United States were approved for derivative status as immediate family members of principal asylum applicants. Note: This reflects the number of travel documents issued to family members residing abroad, not their actual arrival to the United States. Nationals of China, Venezuela, and El Salvador accounted for nearly 38 percent 17, of those granted affirmative or defensive asylum status in see Table 2.
Nationals from three Central American countries—El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala—combined represented more than 16 percent of all asylum grants in , compared to just 4 percent in A significant number of applications are still under review due to processing backlogs.
Table 2. Source : U. Since FY , more than , people have been granted asylum. Nationals of China were by far the largest group, accounting for more than one-quarter of all asylum grants during the decade. Click here for a report on the state of the U.
Adjustment to Lawful Permanent Resident Status. In FY , , refugees and asylees adjusted their status to lawful permanent residence aka getting a green card , of whom 80, 76 percent were refugees and 26, 24 percent , were asylees see Figure 8. Figure 8. Refugees and Asylees Granted U. Lawful Permanent Residence, FY Refugees must apply for a green card one year after being admitted to the United States. Asylees become eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident LPR status after one year of residence but are not required to do so.
As LPRs, refugees and asylees are eligible to receive federal student financial aid, join certain branches of the U. They generally may also apply for U. Until , there had been an annual limit of 10, on the number of asylees authorized to adjust to LPR status.
No annual limit exists on the number of refugees eligible to adjust to LPR status. Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera, December 9, Available online. Baugh, Ryan. Annual Flow Report: Refugees and Asylees: Washington, DC: U. Capps, Randy and Michael Fix. Ten Facts about U. Refugee Resettlement. Chishti, Muzaffar and Jessica Bolter.
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