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Where refugees in Kentucky are arriving from

“Give me your tired, your poor / your huddled masses yearning to be free …” Such were the words of Emma Lazarus, written in 1883 and enshrined in American history in 1930, in the form of a bronze plaque affixed to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The implication of these words still evokes a sense of national pride and identity, even if their intended target—refugees—has become an unfortunately politicized group in recent history.

The U.S. opened its arms to more than 207,000 souls in 1980, according to historic data tracked by the Refugee Processing Center, most of whom came here from Asia. At the time, the Soviet-Afghan War had begun along with the insurgency of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia that resulted in the mass genocide of nearly 2 million in the late 1970s. Vietnam was not yet a distant memory, and echoes of what would spark the civil war in Sri Lanka were already beginning to be heard.

That year, the U.S. was itself in flux. The country was moving from the well-intentioned-if-ultimately conflicted Carter years to the Regan era, which severely curtailed the acceptance of refugees: the national number of refugees dropped by more than two-thirds between 1980 and 1983.

Now, nearly 40 years later, the world finds itself yet again in the throes of a distant international conflict—this time in Ukraine—and the U.S., as it always has, again struggles with the degree to which its leaders will allow it to live up to Emma Lazarus’ song.

As of June 30, 2022, just over 15,000 refugees have been accepted into the country since the beginning of the year, a mere fraction of the numbers admitted less than a generation ago. To a limited degree, COVID-19 still plays a role in this reduction; to a larger degree, politics is the culprit. Still each state in the nation accepts its fair share of refugees. Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Kentucky in June 2022.

June refugee statistics
Countries where refugees arrived from in June
Kentucky
#1. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 74
#2. Syria: 6
#3. Iran: 5
#4. Somalia: 1

National
#1. Democratic Republic of the Congo: 808
#2. Syria: 518
#3. Afghanistan: 261
#4. Ukraine: 142
#5. Burma: 111

States that accepted the most refugees in June
#1. Texas: 267
#2. California: 235
#3. New York: 155
#4. Pennsylvania: 110
#5. Illinois: 106

Read on to see the countries that Kentucky has accepted the most refugees from since October

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#1. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Refugees that arrived from Democratic Republic of the Congo since October
Kentucky: 440

National: 3,735
Top states
#1. Kentucky: 440
#2. Texas: 381
#3. Arizona: 218
#4. Michigan: 199
#5. New York: 196

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#2. Syria

Refugees that arrived from Syria since October
Kentucky: 150

National: 3,525
Top states
#1. California: 399
#2. Michigan: 351
#3. Pennsylvania: 266
#4. New York: 252
#5. Texas: 237

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#3. Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Sudan since October
Kentucky: 33

National: 1,308
Top states
#1. North Carolina: 104
#2. Texas: 101
#3. New York: 72
#4. Arizona: 64
#5. Idaho: 63

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#4. Burma

Refugees that arrived from Burma since October
Kentucky: 21

National: 1,129
Top states
#1. New York: 164
#2. Wisconsin: 142
#3. Texas: 114
#4. Georgia: 77
#5. Indiana: 71

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#5. Somalia

Refugees that arrived from Somalia since October
Kentucky: 15

National: 289
Top states
#1. Minnesota: 88
#2. Ohio: 29
#3. Washington: 21
#4. New York: 17
#5. Kentucky: 15

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#6. Ukraine

Refugees that arrived from Ukraine since October
Kentucky: 10

National: 1,028
Top states
#1. Washington: 300
#2. California: 202
#3. Missouri: 58
#4. South Carolina: 56
#5. New York: 54

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#7. Rwanda

Refugees that arrived from Rwanda since October
Kentucky: 8

National: 69
Top states
#1. Texas: 18
#2. Idaho: 11
#3. Kentucky: 8
#4. Oregon: 7
#4. New York: 7

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#8. Afghanistan

Refugees that arrived from Afghanistan since October
Kentucky: 6

National: 846
Top states
#1. California: 158
#2. Texas: 105
#2. Virginia: 105
#4. Colorado: 76
#5. Washington: 56

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#9. Iran

Refugees that arrived from Iran since October
Kentucky: 5

National: 195
Top states
#1. California: 48
#2. Texas: 29
#3. Virginia: 16
#3. Georgia: 16
#5. Arizona: 12

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#10. Eritrea

Refugees that arrived from Eritrea since October
Kentucky: 2

National: 146
Top states
#1. Arizona: 14
#1. Iowa: 14
#3. Texas: 13
#4. Washington: 11
#5. Minnesota: 10

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#11. Burundi

Refugees that arrived from Burundi since October
Kentucky: 1

National: 52
Top states
#1. Michigan: 12
#2. Idaho: 9
#3. Maryland: 6
#4. Georgia: 5
#4. Tennessee: 5

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#11. Republic of South Sudan

Refugees that arrived from Republic of South Sudan since October
Kentucky: 1

National: 225
Top states
#1. Arizona: 41
#2. Maryland: 25
#3. Utah: 20
#4. Texas: 19
#4. Missouri: 19