The Role of Hospitable and Inhospitable States in the Process of Refugee Resettlement in the United States

Abstract

Abstract Although the resettlement of refugees is always politically contentious in host countries, the current global refugee crisis has only magnified those contentions. In the United States and in many European countries, there has been a strong backlash against the resettlement of refugees—particularly those from Muslim-majority countries. However, within countries such as the United States, there are areas of the country that are more anti-refugee than others. The purpose of this article is to explore the variation in refugee resettlement across the 50 US states from 2002 to 2010. Refugee resettlement in the United States is done in conjunction with the federal government, religious and secular non-profits, and state governments. Some states are far more hospitable to refugee resettlement than others and this article explores the political, economic and social factors that influence the number of refugees resettled in each state. We find that states with a moralistic political culture resettle the most refugees but more liberal states do not resettle more refugees than conservative states. Also, states with a better quality of life resettle more refugees but so do states with higher poverty rates.