United States of America received more refugees, a majority of whom were from Kenyan camps, in 2023 as compared to the two preceding years.
The State of Minnesota, in particular, resettled over 1,500 refugees in 2023, which was more than triple the figure recorded in 2022 and way more than the 258 that arrived in 2021.
According to Star Tribune, a US publication, the high numbers were a result of President Joe Biden's decision to raise the refugee admissions ceiling to 125,000 since taking over the reins in 2021.
Of the arrivals, Somalis who had lived in camps, including Dadaab in Kenya after escaping the war-torn East African country, made the highest number at 443. Others were Congolese as well as Ethiopians.
According to the division director for refugee services at the Minnesota Council of Churches, Ben Walen, the state is gearing up to receive 2,400 new refugees in 2024.
Nationally, the US reported an increase in the number of refugees arriving since former President Donald Trump's era when he curtailed efforts to resettle migrants.
Since 2021, Biden has consistently revised the refugee admissions ceiling, but the number of individuals that were admitted was lower than the cap due to several challenges, including staffing concerns.
"I think the Biden administration has made it clear that it's seen as more as a goal (hitting the refugee admissions ceiling); that's the number we want to see arrive in that year," observed Rebekah Phillips, director of refugee services at Arrive Ministries.
"So I think there was a lot of resources put around that to make that happen both locally here in Minnesota and also at the national level … and even those who are doing overseas processes for refugees started to add to their staff capacities."
"We saw the refugee resettlement pathway really come back to life a little bit, and I think that's the reason for the increases we did see. Now I think it's challenging to go from a trickle to a full faucet of water again," she added.
The migration is likely influenced by the Kenyan Government's plan to shut down two major refugee camps, Dadaab and Kakuma, which hosts more than 500,000 individuals.
Since 2021, the Kenyan Government has been mulling closing down the centres in an effort to lower terrorism risks across the country, a move likely to affect the refugees, most of whom are Somalis.
In the plan, the state planned to create an integrated settlement in which the refugees would be expected to co-exist with the host communities.
Former Interior PS Karanja Kibicho had earlier revealed that a report by intelligence organisations established that the 2013 Westgate attack, the 2015 Garissa University attack and that of Dusit D2 were planned at the Dadaab camp.
