1. Massachusetts accepts almost two thousand refugees yearly.

As a wealthy state with a relatively strong system of public supports, it’s important for Massachusetts to play a role in welcoming refugees fleeing war, persecution and natural disaster. Since 2009, the number of refugee arrivals to Massachusetts each years has averaged between 1,400 and 1,900. Since 2007, a total of 16,116 refugees have settled in Massachusetts.

States have little direct control over the placement of refugees. The State Department, in consultation with nine domestic nonprofit organizations, chooses where refugees will be settled based on a number of variables, including family ties, housing affordability, job opportunities and community support. States do, however, provide social services for all of their residents, including refugees. The presence of a strong social service system, or lack thereof, is a factor in the State Department’s refugee settlement decisions. In recent years, some states legislatures have introduced legislation that would revoke refugees’ right to state social services in an attempt to discourage refugee settlement. In Massachusetts, no such legislation has been introduced.

2. Massachusetts tends to accept more refugees per capita than most states, but we dipped below average in 2016.

Last year, the Commonwealth welcomed fewer refugees per capita than 32 states, a departure from a decade-long trend; over the last decade, only 17 states saw more refugee arrivals per capita than Massachusetts. It is critical to note that the state’s slip in ranking is due to a rise in refugee admissions in other states, not a decrease in admissions to the Commonwealth. In fact, as Figure 1 illustrates, Massachusetts actually saw more refugee arrivals in 2016 than in 2015.

3. Since 2007, more Iraqis have settled in Massachusetts than any other group.

Not surprisingly, Iraqis are the single largest group of refugees to settle in Massachusetts since 2007. More than 4,500 Iraqis were placed in the Commonwealth. Only four other groups—Bhutanese, Somalian, Burmese and Congolese—accounted for more than 1,000 refugee arrivals over that time period.

 4. Congolese, Syrians and Ukrainians make up an increasing share of refugees in Massachusetts.

In recent years, the number of Iraqi refugees coming to Massachusetts has fallen while the number of Congolese arrivals has risen. In fact, in 2016 Congolese arrivals almost outpaced Iraqi arrivals. Other recently growing refugee groups include Syrians and Ukrainians pushed out of their home nations by civil conflict.

In 2016, the United States took in 96,874 refugees, up from 66,517 in 2015. As the country continues to accept more refugees, it is critical that states like Massachusetts with the financial resources and social services systems necessary to support newcomers make every effort to settle refugees.

In 4 Charts: Refugees in Massachusetts

By Anise Vance

April 27, 2017