This language just entered top 5 for Idaho refugee arrivals — for first time in decades

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Spanish became one of the top languages for refugee arrivals to Idaho in Fiscal Year 2024 as the number of people coming from Latin American countries jumped, according to the Idaho Office for Refugees.

The language was not in the top five for two decades before last year. However, a new presidential administration could affect this trend.

“The president, in consultation with Congress, gets to set a (refugee) cap every year,” said Holly Beech, communications manager at the Idaho Office for Refugees. “By opening up more positions for people from Latin America, it does create a protected safe pathway for these people to seek safety.”

Refugees are people trying to leave their home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on things such as race, religion or political opinions. The overall refugee ceiling dropped from 85,000 in FY 2016 to 30,000 in FY 2019 at the end of former President Donald Trump’s first term, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Trump has made anti-immigrant rhetoric a cornerstone of his political life and promised mass deportations during his most recent presidential campaign. Part of his immigration plan involves suspending the nation’s refugee program, according to The New York Times. Last year, he said he would bar refugees from areas such as Gaza, Time Magazine reported.

Refugee resettlement was still low in the early COVID years during President Joe Biden’s term. But each year since FY 2022, the cap has been set at 125,000 people. His administration also increased its goals for Latin American refugees, according to The Associated Press. However, Biden has faced criticism for his actions limiting asylum.

From FY 2010 to FY 2020, Idaho resettled just 86 people from the Latin American/Caribbean region, Beech said. But in FY 2024, 136 people came to the Gem State from the region, out of almost 1,200 total arrivals to the U.S.

Overall in FY 2024, Ukrainian was the top primary language of refugee arrivals to Idaho, followed by Swahili, Dari, Spanish and Arabic, according to Beech. People who speak Swahili come from many African countries, including Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dari speakers are arriving from Afghanistan, and Arabic speakers from multiple countries, including Syria.

The majority of those to Idaho from Latin America came from Guatemala and Venezuela, but some were from Haiti and Colombia. Refugees from Cuba, Honduras and El Salvador numbered fewer than a handful from each nation, Beech said.

In recent years, Venezuela has lost more than a quarter of its population due to economic and political troubles, according to The New York Times.

“It’s an incredible journey to try to contemplate,” said Lisa Meierotto, an associate professor whose research includes migration in the School of Public Service at Boise State University. “In Venezuela, there is a huge political crisis and corruption that is compounding a lot of the problems. … All of those are sort of push factors that are driving people out of Venezuela.”

In Guatemala, people can face issues like gender-based violence, she said. Many Guatemalans have left their homeland since the 1980s due to violence, corruption, poverty and natural disasters, according to Refugees International.

In theory, people always have the right to seek asylum, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, policies often shift.

“Those decisions, they change. They change with every administration. They change within administrations,” Meirotto said. “We don’t really know what policies will be for asylum seekers next year.”