The U.S. provides refuge to persons who have been persecuted or
have a well-founded fear of persecution through two programs:
one for refugees and one for asylees, both allow for the
affected person and their immediate relatives to be allowed into
U.S. A total of 56,384 persons were admitted to the U.S. as
refugees during 2011. The leading countries of nationality for
refugees were Burma, Bhutan, and Iraq. The leading countries of
nationality for persons granted either affirmative or defensive
asylum were China, Venezuela, and Ethiopia. To be eligible as a
refugee or asylee the person is either unable to unwilling to
return to their homeland because of persecution or a well-
founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion,
nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion.
Cuba had the most refugees (2,920) accepted into the U.S. from a
Latin American country; there was an increase of 5.2% from last
year. Where as Venezuela, Colombia and Guatemala were the Latin
America countries where mo