Washington, D.C. — For the first time in 30 years, the U.S. resettled more than 100,000 refugees in a fiscal year.
On Thursday, Julieta Valls Noyes, Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Population, Refugees, and Migration Bureau, posted that the fiscal year 2024 resettlement total is 100,034 — a number that could change slightly when the official total is released.
The number represents a 67% increase from fiscal year 2023, when the U.S. resettled 60,014 refugees. And it’s an increase of more than 300% from 2019, the last pre-pandemic fiscal year during the Trump administration.
“The continued rebuilding of our refugee resettlement infrastructure is heartening,” said Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. “Properly resourcing our system makes a difference in how we face the challenges of global migration.
“Refugee resettlement is an extremely well-vetted, legal pathway that takes pressure off our borders. The United States must continue to welcome people fleeing persecution.
“Although the total falls short of the 125,000 cap because of lingering operational and capacity challenges, it demonstrates continued progress in rebuilding the refugee resettlement system after COVID and years of underfunding.”