3 Million Refugees in the United States

J.D. Payne, over on his Missiologically Thinking blog has recently shared with us that the total number of refugees in the United States has now surpassed three million.  That is significant.  Refugees are peoples from all over the world who have endured some of the worst forms of suffering imaginable and who often represent some of the most obscure and underengaged people groups in the world.  The resettlement of these people in the United States signifies a tremendous enrichening of this nation as refugee peoples bring with them invaluable life experience and lessons learned through the endurance of great trials.  Refugees also present a gift to the Church in the form of an unmistakable opportunity to serve hurting, neglected and precious individuals and families.  Whether you are in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Baron, Wisconsin or Garden City, Kansas -- refugees may not be very far from where you live.  Local church leaders must ask themselves, "Can we really claim to be faithfully carrying out our gospel mandate if we have no level of engagement with our refugee neighbors?"

From J.D.'s blog:

Missiologically Thinking » 3 Million Refugees in the United States: 
"Since 1975:

• Over 1.4 million refugees came from South East Asian countries
• Over 605,000 came from countries of the Former Soviet Union
• Over 262,000 Africans arrived
• Over 289,000 came from the countries of the Near East and South Asia
• The five largest nationalities resettled were Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Iraqi, Cuban, and Somali
• The five states that have resettled the most refugees, in descending order, are California, New York, Texas, Washington, and Florida"