Minnesota Expected To Exceed Refugee Numbers In 2016

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota is expected to get more refugees in 2016 than it has in any year in the past decade.

The reported increase is a ripple effect of the migration wave sweeping the Middle East and Europe.

The federal government is looking to admit 15,000 more next year on top of the 70,000 typically accepted, as the Obama administration has committed to aid Syrian refugees.

Resettlement groups say the mix of refugees' nationalities will likely remain the same here in Minnesota -- according to current state figures, that would mean roughly 45 percent from Somalia, followed by populations from Myanmar, Iraq, Ethiopia and Bhutan.

In:
• Syria