
The U.S. is on track to accept fewer than 21,000 refugees in 2018, a historically low number that is well below the annual 45,000 cap imposed by the Trump administration.

The projection is based on the 6,865 refugees allowed into the country during the first four months of 2018, according to federal data.

Of all the states, Texas had the largest influx of refugees, taking in 462 - with the most coming from Uganda - followed by Arizona (456), California (419) and New York (409). Wyoming and Hawaii have taken in no refugees so far this year.

A map showing how many refugees were placed in each state during the first four months of 2018, with Texas, Arizona, California and New York taking in the largest proportion of refugees

If the overall projection proves true, it would be a significant decrease, even compared to the 33,368 people who were admitted into the U.S. refugee program in 2017 - when the influx was slowed by a restriction in admissions for several months while the Trump administration sought to toughen the screening process. It is a dramatic decrease from the nearly 97,000 who were accepted into the country during Obama's last year in office.

The refugee program has shrunk so dramatically that a number of field offices dedicated to handling their arrival have closed over the past year because they aren't receiving enough people at this time.

'This number (of refugees) is historically the lowest number we have resettled at least since 1975,' said Eskinder Negash, CEO of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.

The committee recently closed its Vermont office because it had been prepared to take in 100 refugees, but instead received only eight, he said.

'It has human impact,' Negash said. 'Imagine yourself living in a refugee camp for 17 years and you're hoping to get a chance to start again, and then after you go through the whole process (you're told), "I'm sorry, not now."'

This map illustrates the top source countries for refugees arriving each state in the first four months of 2018. It shows that Ukrainians were most likely to land on the West Coast, while Eritreans are concentrated in Nevada. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was the top source country in more than half of the U.S. states

A spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of State said the goal of the refugee program is not to bring as many people here as possible, but to 'ensure that these vulnerable individuals are protected and that their basic needs are met in the places to which they have fled until they can return home.'

Refugee Path to America Step 1: Refugees seeking to enter the U.S. must first apply for refugee status with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. The application is reviewed to determine if the individual meets the definition of someone who has 'a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.' Step 2: Once the applicant is determined to have refugee status, he or she is referred for resettlement in another country, where they will eventually be given legal resident status and the opportunity to apply for citizenship. Step 3: If that country is the U.S., the application is then processed by a Resettlement Support Center. The centers are charged with interviewing the refugee and putting them through an intensive screening process in conjunction with multiple federal agencies. That process includes background checks, medical evaluation, fingerprinting and screening terror lists. Syrian applications are subject to an additional layer of review. Step 3: The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reviews all the information collected by the resettlement centers and conducts an in-person interview with the refugee before deciding whether to approve him or her for resettlement in America. Step 4: Refugees approved by USCIS receive cultural orientation in advance of their arrival in the U.S. and assistance once they get here. Source: U.S. Department of State Advertisement

'Refugee resettlement is the solution for only a small percentage of the world's refugees, with only one half of one percent of all refugees resettled to third countries each year,' she added.

The U.S. has accepted more than 3.3 million refugees since 1975, according to the U.S. Department of State.

A map showing the top source countries for each state reveals that Ukrainians are largely settled along the West Coast and Alaska, while Eritreans are placed predominately in Nevada. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was the top source country in more than half of the states in the first four months of 2018.

The makeup of where U.S. refugees came from has also changed in 2018, with none of the top five origin countries being Muslim-majority. In 2017, Iraq, Syria and Somalia were still in the top five source countries for U.S. refugees.

For the past decade, roughly two-thirds of the world's refugees came from Muslim-majority countries, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of United Nations refugee data.

'The fact is that they're instituting new vetting procedures and tightening up the vetting process and that's why the numbers are below the ceiling,' said Mark Krikorian executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-immigration think tank based in Washington D.C.

'The fact that there are no Muslim countries in the top countries make sense because that's where the new vetting is most important,' he added.

About half of Americans (51 percent) believe the U.S. has a 'responsibility' to take in refugees, compared with 43 percent who believe the opposite, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

But the issue is polarizing: When breaking out those results based on political party, only 26 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents believe the U.S. has a responsibility to refugees, compared with 74 percent of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents.

So far in 2018, the U.S. has accepted 6,865 foreign refugees, putting the country on track to accept fewer than 21,000 by the end of the calendar year. It's a significant drop compared to the flow allowed under former administrations, including President Obama, whose administration allowed nearly 97,000 refugees into the country in 2016

'Refugee resettlement is the solution for only a small percentage of the world's refugees, with only one half of one percent of all refugees resettled to third countries each year,' said a U.S. Department of State spokeswoman in an email.

Caleb Gashugi (left) is greeted by family at Albany International Airport on November 15, 2017. The 19-year-old traveled from Kenya, where he had lived as a refugee from violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo since he was 10 years old

'The safety and security of the American people is paramount,' she added. 'That is why we are committed to working in concert with our homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence partners to identify additional opportunities to improve our refugee security screening'

That safety could have a cost later on when it comes to international relationships and reputation, said Leon Fresco, former deputy assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Immigration under President Obama.

'If we don't make a strong commitment to the refugee program, we lose our moral currency to tell other countries to accept refugees - then we create a breeding ground for terrorism,' he said. 'We have to be careful to balance out those different interests.'

Caleb Gashugi, 19, is among the refugees who have arrived in the U.S. under the Trump administration. He fled violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo at age 10 and had lived in Kenya – including time in a refugee camp – since then.

Gashugi described the refugee camp has having 'a painful condition' with no clean water or shelter beyond a tent – and no opportunity for him to go to school. He now lives in Albany, New York with the family that had informally adopted him after his only surviving family member went missing in Kenya.

'Coming here, it's somehow creating hope in me that I will be able to tackle life as an adult,' Gashugi said. 'If you are here, I think you can do everything.'