Refugees
Follow the latest Refugees news, videos, and analysis from ABC News.
2 years ago

Poland will soon become overwhelmed as number of refugees climbs into million

There are growing calls for the U.S., which has only taken in a few hundred Ukrainian refuges so far, to accept more.
2 years ago
VIDEO: Poland will soon become overwhelmed as number of refugees climbs into million
2 years ago

Europe's embrace of Ukrainians shows 'double standard' for nonwhite refugees: Experts

Europe’s embrace of Ukrainian refugees starkly contrasts with a largely hostile response to refugees and asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East.
2 years ago
A man from Syria looks out at sea after being rescued in a wooden boat with 27 refugees from Africa and Magreb by Open Arms NGO 45 nautical miles far away from the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea, March 5, 2022.
2 years ago

Refugee crisis worsens

The crisis in Ukraine is tearing families apart, and now the government is addressing concerns about discrimination. ABC News’ Andrea Fujii reports.
2 years ago
VIDEO: Refugee crisis worsens
2 years ago

Refugee crisis in Europe

The U.N. says the Russian attack on Ukraine has forced more than 420,000 people to flee the country. ABC News’ Matt Gutman reports on the families being ripped apart.
2 years ago
VIDEO: Refugee crisis in Europe
2 years ago

Afghan refugees work to start a new life in the US

ABC News’ Juju Chang gains rare access inside the Amid Oman Village in New Mexico, where some Afghan refugees are learning the building blocks of living in the U.S.
2 years ago
VIDEO: Afghan refugees work to start a new life in the US
3 years ago

Biden admits historic low number of refugees, outside of Afghan evacuees

In the 2021 fiscal year, the U.S. admitted its lowest number of refugees in the program's over 40-year history, according to newly released State Department data.
3 years ago
Military Police walk past Afghan refugees at the Village at the Ft. McCoy US Army base, Sept. 30, 2021, in Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin.
3 years ago

US refugee agency for children at risk of maxing out capacity

The agency tasked with connecting unaccompanied children to relatives or sponsors in the U.S. is nearing maximum capacity to hold the children before they are resettled.
3 years ago
Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand stand on a ladder to look over a fence to see the detained migrant children in front of a detention center in Homestead, Fla., June 28, 2019.
5 years ago

They saved thousands of migrants on the high seas, and may face prison for it

The case of the Iuventa boat is part of a trend of criminalizing volunteers helping migrants around Europe, say human rights groups.
5 years ago
The Iuventa and its crew of volunteers rescued 14,000 people until it was seized by Italian authorities in 2017.
5 years ago

Displaced people figure reaches new high of 70.8 million ahead of World Refugee Day

According to a new report released by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, by the end of 2018 there were 70.8 million people forcibly displaced.
5 years ago
A boy sits at the entrance of a prefab at the Skaramangas refugee camp, on the outskirts of Athens, on June 5, 2019. The camp houses 2624 refugees and migrants from 28 countries, including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan ans Egypt.
5 years ago

World Refugee Day raises awareness to people displaced around the world

Founded by the UN, World Refugee Day brings attention to the struggles and misconceptions of refugees who are displaced from war and persecution.
5 years ago
VIDEO: World Refugee Day brings focused to people displaced around the world
6 years ago

For the first time in 40 years, US resettles fewer refugees than rest of world

For the first time in almost 40 years, the United States is resettling fewer refugees than the rest of the world, according to a new study by Pew Research Center.
6 years ago
Ruben Garcia (C), director of the Annunciation House, speaks on a cell phone with a person from the Office of Refugee Resettlement as he sits with Cristian, who migrated from Guatemala, and Miriam, who migrated from Honduras as they try to track down their children after being released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody, June 25, 2018, in El Paso, Texas. Cristian and Miriam are part of a group of 32 parents that arrived at the Annunciation House migrant shelter as they wait to be reunited with their children.
6 years ago

'I feel like my life is empty:' Refugees suffer from mental illness on Greek islands

Aid groups struggle to keep up with the demand for mental treatment.
6 years ago
Some 300 migrants and refugees live in tents in an olive grove outside of the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
6 years ago

VIDEO:  Appalling conditions inside Syrian refugee camp on Lesbos
6 years ago

Inside Lesbos' Moria camp, home to thousands of trapped refugees and migrants

ABC News visited the largest refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
6 years ago
Anas Hommada, 14, sits in his tent in Lesbos' Moria camp with three of his siblings holding a photo of his missing father, Amer.
6 years ago

Trump administration terminates program that united thousands of families fleeing violence in Central America

The so-called CAM program is one of several terminated under Trump.
6 years ago
Gabriel Mejia hugs his daughter Wendy, 16, as he holds his son Elias, 1, after her arrival from El Salvador at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Nov. 12, 2015 in Linthicum, Md. After 15 years apart, Mejia reunited with his children, some of the first teenagers to be granted refugee status and permission to travel legally to the United States through the State Department's Central American Minor program.
7 years ago

Trump administration implements new restrictions on refugee program as ban comes to an end

Trump signed an executive order this evening implementing the restrictions.
7 years ago
People participate in a rally to protest the separation of families under President Donald Trump's travel ban in New York, June 29, 2017.
7 years ago

Afghan refugee completes record-breaking solo round-the-world flight

She is the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single engine plane.
7 years ago
Shaesta Waiz, the pilot who completed the landmark 2017 'Dreams Soar' round-the-world flight to raise awareness for greater access for girls and youth globally to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education.
7 years ago

Haunting images show Rohingya Muslim refugees washed up on shore after boat capsized

Some 500,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since August.
7 years ago
A man watches as bodies of Rohingya refugees are transported after their boat with passengers fleeing from Myanmar capsized off the Inani beach near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Sept. 28, 2017.
7 years ago

VIDEO:  Sesame Street visits children at Jordan refugee camp
7 years ago

Ben Stiller shares stories from meeting with refugee families in Jordan: 'America has to set the example'

Actor and director Ben Stiller is using his star power to draw attention to the global refugee crisis
7 years ago
Ben Stiller visits Syrian refugees in Jordan.
7 years ago

Record Number of Refugees and Migrants Died in the Mediterranean This Winter, UNICEF Says

At least 1,354 migrants and refugees drowned this winter, UNICEF said.
7 years ago
Migrants and refugees are assisted by members of the Spanish nonprofit Proactiva Open Arms during a rescue operation, Feb. 3, 2017.
7 years ago

What We Know About the Refugee Resettlement Deal Obama Forged With Australia

Within days of Donald Trump’s election, the Australian government forged a refugee resettlement deal with the United States under President Barack Obama.
7 years ago
Asylum seekers on their first day in the detention center in Nauru, Sept. 19, 2001.
7 years ago

US Holocaust Museum Urges Lawmakers to Protect Refugees 'Whatever Their National or Religious Identity'

But the statement makes no reference to Trump's executive order.
7 years ago
Syrian refugees gather at the Turkish border as they flee intense fighting in northern Syria between Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants in Akcakale, Turkey, June 15, 2015.
7 years ago

How the Government Strives to Tell if a Refugee Applicant Is Lying About Being a Christian

President Trump said last week he would prioritize Christian refugees.
7 years ago
People gather for a protest at the International arrivals of Boston's Logan International Airport after people arriving from Muslim-majority countries were held at the border control as a result of the new executive order by US President Donald Trump in Boston, Jan. 28, 2017.
7 years ago

For Hundreds of Thousands Fleeing War, Reaching Uganda Camp Means Safety

Uganda received nearly half a million refugees from South Sudan last year.
7 years ago
Gwongo Paul Dada, a refugee who arrived in Uganda in October, works with the Norwegian Refugee Council as a hygiene promoter in the Bidibidi refugee camp.
7 years ago

For Many, the European Dream Stops in Serbia

Refugees in Serbia are being trapped in freezing temperatures.
7 years ago
A migrant washes himself outside a crumbling warehouse that has served as a makeshift shelter in Belgrade, Serbia, Jan. 14, 2017. Migrants have been exposed to freezing temperatures and snow as extreme winter weather gripped Serbia and other parts of Europe last week.
7 years ago

UN: Freezing Temperatures in Europe Creating 'Dire' Situation for Refugees

The U.N. said the five refugees have frozen to death already this year.
7 years ago
Refugees wrapped in blankets and winter clothing cross the Macedonia-Serbia border in freezing temperatures in this January 2016 file photo.   © UNHCR/Igor Pavicevic
7 years ago

Paris Plans to Auction 'Love Locks' from the Pont des Arts Bridge in Support of Refugees

The city hopes to raise money to help the country's roughly 800,000 refugees.
7 years ago
A tourist fixes a love Padlocks on the "Pont des arts," May 31, 2015, in Paris, France.
8 years ago

Mediterranean Migrant Drownings Reach Record High as Hundreds Drown off Libya

Up to 240 people are thought to have died after two boats capsized off Libya.
8 years ago
Migrants panic as they fall in the water during a rescue operation off the Libyan coast in the  Mediterranean Sea, Nov. 3, 2016.
8 years ago

Children in 'Jungle' Refugee Camp at Risk of Trafficking, Organizations Warn

The camp is unsafe for children, organizations warn.
8 years ago
Migrant children hold posters at the "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais, northern France, on Oct. 26, 2016, during the operation to clear the squalid settlement where 6,000-8,000 people have been living in dire conditions.
8 years ago

France Begins Removing Thousands From Squalid 'Jungle' Refugee Camp

The makeshift camp has become home to an estimated 8,000 refugees.
8 years ago
Migrants line up to register at a processing center in the migrant camp known as "the Jungle" near Calais, northern France, Oct. 24, 2016.
8 years ago

'Forced From Home': Exhibit Shows Visitors What It's Like to Be a Refugee

This interactive exhibit in Washington sheds light on the struggles of refugees.
8 years ago
Visitors can watch original virtual reality documentaries produced by Doctors Without Borders that tell patient stories from Tanzania, Mexico and Iraq, Sept. 24, 2016.
8 years ago

President Obama Shares Emotional Video of Child Who Asked to Host Syrian Refugee

President Obama looks to make a different story on Syrian refugees go viral.
8 years ago
Barack Obama speaks during a press conference in the East Room of the White House, Aug. 2, 2016, in Washington.
8 years ago

As criticism continues over Donald Trump Jr.'s "bowl of skittles" tweet, President Obama hopes different story on Syrian refugees goes viral.
8 years ago

London’s Parliament Square Transformed Into 'Life Jacket Graveyard'

More than 2,500 life jackets worn by refugees were placed in the square.
8 years ago
Life jackets worn by fleeing refugees lie in Parliament Square in London, Britain, Sept. 19, 2016.
8 years ago

White House Aims to Take In 110,000 Refugees in Next Fiscal Year

The White House hopes to welcome 110,000 refugees in the 2017 fiscal year.
8 years ago
Refugees prepare to cross a street as they leave a building of the Greek Asylum service in Athens, Aug. 19, 2016.
8 years ago

Baby Born on Migrant Rescue Ship in Mediterranean Sea

Doctors Without Borders tweeted out a photo of the infant.
8 years ago
Newman Otas was born on a migrant rescue boat operated by Médecins Sans Frontières in the middle of the Mediterranean sea.
8 years ago

Number of Child Refugees Has Doubled in Last Decade, UN Says

Almost one in 200 children is a refugee, UNICEF said.
8 years ago
Palestinian refugee mothers attend with their sons their first day of the new school year at one of the UNRWA schools at a Palestinian refugee camp al Wehdat, in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 1, 2016.
8 years ago

Thousands of Refugees Rescued Off the Coast of Libya

Most of those rescued from overcrowded wooden boats were from Eritrea.
8 years ago
Migrants, most of them from Eritrea, jump into the water from a crowded wooden boat as they are helped by members of an NGO during a rescue operation at the Mediterranean sea, about 13 miles north of Sabratha, Libya,  Aug. 29, 2016. Thousands of migrants and refugees were rescued Monday morning from more than 20 boats by members of Proactiva Open Arms NGO before transferring them to the Italian cost guards and others NGO vessels operating at the zone.
8 years ago

2016 on Track to Be Deadliest Year for Refugees Trying to Reach Europe

More than 3,000 people have died on the journey to Europe so this year.
8 years ago
A search and rescue operation is carried out after a boat carrying refugees sank in the Aegean Sea off Turkey's western province of Aydin on March 6, 2016.
8 years ago

Wealthy Countries Doing 'Next to Nothing' for Record-High Number of Refugees: Report

Oxfam report shows poorer countries host most of the world's record-high number of refugees.
8 years ago
A refugee holding a boy react as they are stuck between Macedonian riot police officers and refugees during a clash near the border train station of Idomeni, northern Greece, Aug. 21, 2015.