In fiscal year 2016, the United States admitted 84,995 refugees – the highest number of refugees since the turn of the century. According to Pew Research analysis, only 10 states resettled the majority of refugees. Six of those states voted Republican in the 2016 presidential election.
Of the 10 states, those that voted Republican took in 7,633 more refugees than states that voted Democratic. After the record-setting year for refugee resettlement, Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, which were seen as swing states during the 2016 presidential election, voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump took a hard stance on immigration and refugee policies.
From October 2016 to January 2017 – the first four months of the fiscal year – the U.S. admitted 32,125 refugees, according to the State Department Refugee Processing Center. This is roughly double the 18,067 refugees admitted during the same time last year. It remains to be seen how actions taken during Trump’s first year of presidency will be reflected in the 2017 fiscal year.
