In the state of New York, the city of Buffalo is the top refugee resettlement destination.<\/p>\n
This is according to the Immigration Research Initiative<\/a>, but a new study from the University at Buffalo finds refugees are facing serious challenges when it comes to finding better paying jobs long after resettlement.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re having a lot of successes, but they\u2019re also facing a lot of challenges over the years and even decades at times,\u201d said Abigail Cooke, associate professor of geography at the University at Buffalo.<\/p>\n Cooke is the corresponding author of a published study<\/a> that examines the long-term employment barrier Buffalo\u2019s refugee community is experiencing.<\/p>\n She says spoken and written language barriers, and difficulty navigating the job market are two key hurdles.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is showing up in reaching out and asking for help from various kinds of people either service providers who they may have had contact with at resettlement, or from community leaders from their own ethnic or regional communities,\u201d said Cooke.<\/p>\n According to the University at Buffalo from 2002 to 2019, approximately 16,000 new refugees resettled in the city. They\u2019re from various regions around the world including:<\/p>\n 43% from South\/Southeast Asia Since the establishment of the Refugee Act of 1980, sitting presidents have set the annual cap on the number of new refugee arrivals in the United States in consultation with Congress.<\/p>\n The Trump administration set the annual cap for the 2026 fiscal year to 7,500, which is the lowest in the program\u2019s 45-year history.<\/p>\n
\n39% from Africa
\n14% from the Middle East
\n4% from other places<\/p>\n