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Texas Sees Sharp Decline In Refugee Arrivals

Stephanie Tacy for KUT
First English Lutheran Church holds an interfaith vigil for refugees after President Trump issued an executive order temporarily barring them from entering the country in February.

The number of refugees resettled in Texas has dramatically decreased since Donald Trump became president, according to new findings from the Pew Research Center.

In October 2016, 1,096 refugees resettled in the state, compared with just 353 last April. California, Arizona, Michigan and New York also saw big drops.

Credit Pew Research Center

Overall, the number of refugees entering the country fell from 9,945 in October to 3,316 in April. Pew found a decline in 46 states. 

President Trump has tried to temporarily bar refugees from entering the country, including a moratorium in his latest travel ban. On Thursday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision that put the ban on hold. The chief judge said it "drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination." 

The ban is ultimately expected to go to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Last fall, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the state was withdrawingfrom the federal Refugee Resettlement Program, citing security concerns. In February, nonprofits across the state formally took overprocessing and resettling families.

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