New MPI Article Traces Upswing in U.S. Refugee Resettlement after Years of Decline & Offers Latest Data on Refugees and Asylees
WASHINGTON, DC — After recent years in which the number of refugees resettled in the United States hit historical lows, U.S. refugee resettlement is slowly increasing. In the first eight months of fiscal year (FY) 2023, nearly 31,800 refugees were resettled in the United States—up from the all-time low of 11,400 in FY 2021 and more than any year since FY 2017, according to a Migration Policy Institute (MPI) article released today. While the FY 2023 arrivals are still well less than half the average number of refugees resettled yearly over the life of the modern resettlement program, the increase suggests the country has turned a corner from the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce humanitarian migration as well as pandemic-era restrictions on movement and processing slowdowns.
Ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20, the new article for MPI’s online journal, the Migration Information Source, offers an overview of U.S. refugee and asylum trends, including countries of origin, states of destination, religious affiliation and transition to lawful permanent residence. As the article notes, U.S. refugee resettlement has lagged the Biden administration’s ambitions, and the number of new arrivals remains far short of the ceiling set at 125,000 admissions for FY 2023. So far this fiscal year, 70 percent of resettled refugees come from just four countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar (also known as Burma), Syria and Afghanistan.
Beyond looking at refugee resettlement, the article examines the U.S. asylum system, explaining how it differs from resettlement. It also offers a data snapshot of recent asylum seekers and asylees. In FY 2021 (the most recent year for which data are available), asylum seekers tended to come from Venezuela, China or El Salvador. More than 1.3 million asylum cases are pending in U.S. immigration court or before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The new article is the latest in the Migration Information Source’s collection of immigrant population Spotlights, which compile a wealth of data about various U.S. immigrant groups. Other articles look at immigrants of different national origins, health-care workers, international students, and more. Top-level data about all types of immigration are collected in MPI’s enduring guide, Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States.
More information about refugees and asylees is available on MPI’s Migration Data Hub. Interactive tools allow users to compare the annual U.S. refugee ceiling and number of resettlements, track refugee and asylum seeker populations globally and hone in on the top countries of destination since 1960.
Support for the Spotlight on refugees and asylees was provided in part by the Doris Duke Foundation.
Read the article: www.migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-united-states.
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