Data released by the U.S. Department of State’s Refugee Processing Center shows that since 2012, roughly 250 Syrian refugees have arrived in California, with about half of that number resettling in Sacramento and San Diego.
The map lists the cities in the Golden State that have accepted Syrian refugees over the past three years. They include El Cajon, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, West Covina, Glendale, Pasadena, Moorpark, Salinas, Los Gatos, San Jose, Turlock, Modesto, Oakland, Walnut Creek, Sacramento, Fair Oaks and Plumas Lake.
According to the Sacramento Bee, which produced a map using the data, about 11 percent of Syrian refugees resettled in America since 2012 came to California.
The New York Times produced a map using national data: it can be viewed here.
Despite a series of devastating terrorist attacks carried out by members of the Islamic State in the Western world–a number of whom entered Europe as refugees–President Barack Obama has stuck to his plan to have the U.S. absorb 10,000 Syrian war refugees over the next year.
Over 240,000 Syrians have been killed since the civil war began under President Bashar al-Assad’s watch so far– roughly the population of Irvine, California.
On Monday, Gov. Jerry Brown advocated for California’s to accept Syrian refugees, in the midst of calls from other governors to stop or suspend the plan, warning that existing procedures to check the backgrounds of refugees are insufficient.
Brown’s current position lies in stark contrast with his stance in 1975, when he stood in opposition to the influx of Vietnamese refugees.
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